8.2.86
गुरोरनृतोऽनन्त्यस्याप्येकैकस्य प्राचाम्
Operational rule vidhi
For the words whose टि has been mandated to be प्लुत and उदात्त by the earlier sutras, all the other ऋकारभिन्न गुरु letters of that word can also take turns one by one to become प्लुत and उदात्त, according to the experts of the east.
Word by word (padaccheda)
Target गुरोः ṣaṣṭhī · ekavacanaTarget अनृतः ṣaṣṭhī · ekavacanaTarget अनन्त्यस्य ṣaṣṭhī · ekavacanaIndeclinable अपि avyayaTarget एकैकस्य ṣaṣṭhī · ekavacanaTarget प्राचाम् ṣaṣṭhī · bahuvacana
- Target Ṣaṣṭhī (6th case): names what gets replaced, "in place of X" (1.1.49 षष्ठी स्थानेयोगा).
- Indeclinable An avyaya such as च "and", वा "optionally", न "not".
Dotted words are technical terms. Hover or tap one to see its card.
Full reading
गुरोः अनृतः अनन्त्यस्य अपि एकैकस्य प्राचाम्
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
Commentary
In the room of a prosodially long vowel (with the exception of ऋ) though it may not stand at the end, there is substituted a प्लुत for one at a time, under the above circumstances -- प्रत्यभिवादेशूद्रे 8.2.83 & दूराद्धूते च 8.2.84, in the opinion of Eastern Grammarians.
This sutra indicates a special sthanin for the pluta vowel taught by 8.2.83 to 8.2.84. With the exception of ऋ, for every heavy vowel, though it may not be the final vowel of the vocative word, and for the final vowel also, but only one at a time, there is pluta substitution, in the opinion of Eastern Grammarians. Thus हे दे꣡३वदत्त or देवद꣡३त्त or देवदत्त꣡ ३ ॥ Similarly with य꣡३ज्ञदत्त, यज्ञद꣡३त्त or यज्ञदत्त꣡ ३ ॥
Why do we say गुरोः "of a prosodially long vowel"? So that the अ of य and ज्ञ in Devadatta and Yajnadatta may not be prolated, for this अ is short.
Why do we say अनृतः "with the exception of ऋ"? Observe कृष्णमि꣡३त्र, कृष्णमित्र꣡ ३, but never कृ꣡३ष्णमित्र ॥
The word एकैकस्य shows that the prolation should not be simultaneous, but of one at a time; not दे३वद३त्त३ ॥
The word प्राचाम् "in the opinion of Eastern Grammarians" is used for the sake of creating option. So in one alternative, there is no prolation at all.
As आयुष्मान् एधि देवदत्त ॥ Thus the present sutra, makes 8.2.83 and 8.2.84, optional sutras. This also is an authority for the following dictum of Patanjali"सर्व एव प्लुतः साहसमनिच्छता विभाषा कर्त्तव्यः" (Mahabhashya 8.2.92 Commentary). Thus all rules relating to Prolation become optional. In short, the word प्राचाम् should be read in all rules regarding prolation, and thus without doing violence (sahasa) to grammatical authority, one may have optional pluta everywhere.
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.