8.2.24
रात्सस्य
Operational rule vidhi
For a संयोग occurring at end of a पद which contains रेफ as the first letter, the last letter is deleted only if it is a सकार and not otherwise.
Word by word (padaccheda)
Left context रात् pañcamī · ekavacanaTarget सस्य ṣaṣṭhī · ekavacana
- Left context Pañcamī (5th case): "after X", the operation applies to what follows (1.1.67 तस्मादित्युत्तरस्य). Also used for limits and sources.
- Target Ṣaṣṭhī (6th case): names what gets replaced, "in place of X" (1.1.49 षष्ठी स्थानेयोगा).
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Full reading
रात् सस्य
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
Commentary
Of a word ending in a conjunct consonant, only स् is elided if it comes after र् (but any other consonant coming after र् is not elided).
Thus अक्षाः and अत्साः for अर्क्षास् and अत्सार्स् the Aorist of क्षर् and त्सर in the following passages : गोभिरक्षाः, प्रत्यञ्चमत्साः ॥ The ईट् is not added as a Vedic diversity. See 7.3.97.
So also मातुः, पितुः for मातुर्स् and पितुर्स् ॥ Here by 6.1.111, the ऋ + अ of मातृ + अस् is changed to उ, which is followed by र् by 1.1.51.
Though the final स् would have been elided even after र् by 8.2.23, the special mention of स् after र् shows, that this is a niyama rule. So that any other letter than स् following after र् will not be dropped. Thus ऊर्क् from ऊर्ज् + क्विप् 3.2.177, here ज् is not elided, though final in a pada, but is changed to a guttural by 8.2.30, and to क् by 8.4.56. Also अमार्ट् from मृज् in लङ् the तिप् (त्) is elided by 6.3.18; there is vriddhi by 7.2.114, the ज् is changed to ष् by 8.2.36, which is changed to ड् 8.4.53 and finally to ट् (चर्) ॥
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.