8.4.14
उपसर्गादसमासेऽपि णोपदेशस्य
Operational rule vidhi
A धातु which has णकार in the औपदेशिक form get णत्वम् in presence of an उपसर्ग that has रेफ or षकार.
Word by word (padaccheda)
Left context pañcamī · ekavacanaRight context असमासे saptamī · ekavacanaIndeclinable अपि avyayaTarget ण- उपदेशस्य 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.
- Right context Saptamī (7th case): "when X follows", the operation applies to what precedes (1.1.66 तस्मिन्निति निर्दिष्टे पूर्वस्य). Also a condition or domain ("in the sense of").
- Indeclinable An avyaya such as च "and", वा "optionally", न "not".
- Target Ṣaṣṭhī (6th case): names what gets replaced, "in place of X" (1.1.49 षष्ठी स्थानेयोगा).
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Full reading
असमासे अपि ण-
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
Commentary
Of a root which has ण in its original enunciation, when it comes after a cause of such change standing in an उपसर्ग , even though the word be not a समास , the न is changed to ण।
The word णोपदेश means a root which is enunciated in the Dhatupatha with an initial ण ॥ Thus प्रणमति 'he bows'. परिणमति, प्रणायकः 'a leader' परिणायकः &c.
Why do we say "after an Upasarga"? Observe प्रनायकः = प्रगता नायका अस्माद् देशात् 'a country without a leader'. Here the word प्र is not an upasarga, but a mere nipata. See 1.4.57, 1.4.58 and 1.4.59. In fact, प्र is upasarga here with regard to गत understood, and not with regard to नी ॥
Why do we say "even when it is not a compound?" Because by context, the anuvritti of the word पूर्वपद, which is current throughout this subdivision, would have been understood in this sutra also, and the rule would have applied to samasas only, for there only we have purvapada. By using the word असमासे it is shown that the adhikara of purvapada ceases, and the rule applies to non-compounds also where there is no पूर्वपद ॥
Why do we say "having ण in Upadesa"? Observe प्रनर्दति, प्रनर्दितुम्, प्रनर्दकः ॥ For the root नर्द is recited in Dhatupatha with न ॥ There are eight such roots नर्द्, नाट्, नाथ्, नाध्, नन्द्, नक्क्, नॄ, नृत् ॥ See 6.1.65.
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.