8.3.18
व्योर्लघुप्रयत्नतरः शाकटायनस्य
Operational rule vidhi
In the context of संहिता, according to शाकटायन, the पदान्त-वकार and पदान्त-यकार, when followed by a letter from अश्-प्रत्याहार are converted respectively to लघु-उच्चारण-वकार and लघु-उच्चारण-यकार.
Word by word (padaccheda)
Target व्योः ṣaṣṭhī · dvivacanaSubstitute / term लघुप्रयत्नतरः prathamā · ekavacanaTarget शाकटायनस्य ṣaṣṭhī · ekavacana
- Target Ṣaṣṭhī (6th case): names what gets replaced, "in place of X" (1.1.49 षष्ठी स्थानेयोगा).
- Substitute / term Prathamā (1st case): in operational rules, the substitute or the thing introduced; in definitions, the term or its referent.
Dotted words are technical terms, dashed ones pratyāhāras (names for classes of sounds or affixes). Hover or tap one to see its card.
Full reading
व्योः लघुप्रयत्नतरः शाकटायनस्य
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
व्योः शाकटायनस्य → लघुप्रयत्नतरः
Replace vyoḥ śākaṭāyanasya with laghuprayatnataraḥ. Inherited words (anuvṛtti) may add further conditions.
Commentary
व् and य् (in भगोय् etc. and after अ or आ , at the end of a पद) are pronounced with a lighter articulation before an अश् letter (vowels and soft-consonants) according the opinion of शाकटायन।
That the effort in pronouncing which is very light is called laghu-prayatna-tara. Effort or articulation is a quality of the person who utters and which is the cause of the utterance of a letter. व् and य् of lighter articulation are substituted for the final व् and य् in भोय्, भगोय्, अघोय्, or after an अ or आ ॥ The lighter व् will replace the heavy व्, and so the lighter य् the heavy य् ॥
Thus भोयत्र, भगोयत्र, अघोयत्र, कयास्ते or क आस्ते, अस्मायुद्धर or अस्मा उद्धर, असावादित्यः or असा आदित्यः, द्वावत्र, or द्वा अत्र, द्वावानय or द्वा आनय ॥
The lighter articulation results from the relaxation of the muscles and the organs employed in speech. The places of pronunciation are palate &c, the organs are the root, the middle and the tip of the tongue. When the contact of the tongue with the various places is very light, the articulation is laghu prayatna-tara. In fact, य् and व् are to be slurred over.
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.