, , and stems

In the previous lesson, we learned about the -a stems, which use masculine and neuter endings. In this lesson, we'll learn about three very similar stems:

  • The stems (ākārantāni, “ending in ”)

  • The stems (īkārantāni, “ending in ”)

  • The stems (ūkārantāni, “ending in ”)

Stems that end with these sounds are almost always feminine. In particular, the and endings are often used as the feminine versions of stems that end in -a:

  • गज → गजा
    gaja → gajā
    (male) elephant → (female) elephant

  • मृग → मृगी
    mṛga → mṛgī
    (male) deer → (female) deer

Basic stems

In the previous lesson, we used the masculine stem gaja, which means ”(male) elephant,” to demonstrate the -a stem. Here, we will use the stem gajā, which means “(female) elephant,” so that the differences are clear.

As before, notice that the words in the singular use endings that are different from the others we've seen. But the words in the dual and plural mostly use endings that we've seen before:

 SingularDualPlural
Case 1गजा
gajā
गजे
gaje
गजाः
gajāḥ
Case 2गजाम्
gajām
गजे
gaje
गजाः
gajāḥ
Case 3गजया
gajayā
गजाभ्याम्
gajābhyām
गजाभिः
gajābhiḥ
Case 4गजायै
gajāyai
गजाभ्याम्
gajābhyām
गजाभ्यः
gajābhyaḥ
Case 5गजायाः
gajāyāḥ
गजाभ्याम्
gajābhyām
गजाभ्यः
gajābhyaḥ
Case 6गजायाः
gajāyāḥ
गजयोः
gajayoḥ
गजानाम्
gajānām
Case 7गजायाम्
gajāyām
गजयोः
gajayoḥ
गजासु
gajāsu
Case 8गजे
gaje
गजे
gaje
गजाः
gajāḥ

Basic stems

The and stems are similar to the stems. But they have some small differences in the singular. In the table below, we use the feminine stem nadī, which means “river”:

 SingularDualPlural
Case 1नदी
nadī
नद्यौ
nadyau
नद्यः
nadyaḥ
Case 2नदीम्
nadīm
नद्यौ
nadyau
नदीः
nadīḥ
Case 3नद्या
nadyā
नदीभ्याम्
nadībhyām
नदीभिः
nadībhiḥ
Case 4नद्यै
nadyai
नदीभ्याम्
nadībhyām
नदीभ्यः
nadībhyaḥ
Case 5नद्याः
nadyāḥ
नदीभ्याम्
nadībhyām
नदीभ्यः
nadībhyaḥ
Case 6नद्याः
nadyāḥ
नद्योः
nadyoḥ
नदीनाम्
nadīnām
Case 7नद्याम्
nadyām
नद्योः
nadyoḥ
नदीषु
nadīṣu
Case 8नदि
nadi
नद्यौ
nadyau
नद्यः
nadyaḥ

The main difference is that the stems frequently insert y between the stem and the ending:

  • गजया → नद्या
    gajayā → nadyā

  • गजायै → नद्यै
    gajāyai → nadyai

  • गजायाः → नद्याः
    gajāyāḥ → nadyāḥ

  • गजायाम् → नद्याम्
    gajāyām → nadyām

Basic stems

The stems follow the exact same pattern as the -ī stems. Where becomes -y and -i, becomes -v and -u. The only meaningful difference is that the case 1 singular has an extra visarga:

 SingularDualPlural
Case 1चमूः
camūḥ
चम्वौ
camvau
चम्वः
camvaḥ
Case 2चमूम्
camūm
चम्वौ
camvau
चमूः
camūḥ
Case 3चम्वा
camvā
चमूभ्याम्
camūbhyām
चमूभिः
camūbhiḥ
Case 4चम्वै
camvai
चमूभ्याम्
camūbhyām
चमूभ्यः
camūbhyaḥ
Case 5चम्वाः
camvāḥ
चमूभ्याम्
camūbhyām
चमूभ्यः
camūbhyaḥ
Case 6चम्वाः
camvāḥ
चम्वोः
camvoḥ
चमूनाम्
camūnām
Case 7चम्वाम्
camvām
चम्वोः
camvoḥ
चमूषु
camūṣu
Case 8चमु
camu
चम्वौ
camvau
चम्वः
camvaḥ

Review

  1. When a masculine -a stem becomes feminine, which stem endings does it usually use?

  2. The stems use a visarga in the case 1 singular. Do we use a visarga in the case 1 singular of the stems? What about the stems?