Consonant stems

Consonant stems are the last of the major families of nominal stems. As you might guess, these stems end in consonants.

Consonant stems use the basic nominal endings we saw earlier. But some consonant stems have strong and weak versions that they use in front of different endings, just as the -ṛ stems do. And since these stems end in consonants, various sandhi changes might occur.

As a reminder, we use the strong stem in cases 1, 2 and 8 (except for the plural of case 2) and the weak stem everywhere else.

Basic consonant stems

Many consonant stems have strong and weak versions. But there also many that use just one version for all endings. Let's quickly learn about these basic consonant stems, which use the same version with all endings.

Here are the forms of the masculine stem marut, which means “wind.” Apart from some sandhi changes, all of these forms are regular:

Likewise, here are the forms of the neuter stem manas, which means “mind.” All of these forms use the basic nominal endings:

-at, -mat, and -vat

Many of the words that end in at are created with the suffixes -at, -mat, and -vat.

at is a root suffix. When we attach it to a root that means “X,” we get a stem that means “(someone who is) X-ing”:

• पश्यत्
  paśyat
  (someone who is) seeing

• अहम् सिंहं पश्यन् धावामि।
  aham siṃhaṃ paśyan dhāvāmi.
  I, seeing the lion, run.

And -mat and -vat are nominal suffixes that mean “possessing X”:

• भगवत्
  bhagavat
  having glory or fortune; glorious, fortunate, blessed

• हनुमत्
  hanumat
  having (prominent) jaws; Hanuman

Generally, all of these stems use the same endings. The strong stem is -ant, and the weak stem is -at.

Here are the masculine forms of the adjective bhagavat, which means ”blessed” or “fortunate”:

As before, the strong stems are highlighted. Notice the long vowel in the case 1 singular (bhagavān) and the short vowel in the case 8 singular (bhagavan).

One small exception is that the case 1 singular of -at is -an, not -ān:

• हनुमन् → हनुमान्
  hanuman → hanumān
  Hanuman (case 1 singular)

• गच्छत् → गच्छन्
  gacchat → gacchan
  while going (case 1 singular)

Next, here are the neuter endings of bhagavat:

For the feminine, we usually use the endings -antī, -vatī, and -matī. We then use the normal endings for -ī stems.

-an, -man, and -van

These stems are formed with the suffixes -an, -man, or -van. The strong stem is -ān and the weak stem is -a. But if the ending starts with a vowel, we use -an.

Here are the forms of the masculine stem ātman, which means “self”:

Note that the case 1 singular is ātmā and has no final -n sound.

Here are forms of the neuter stem karman, which roughly means “action”:

-in, -min, and -vin

These stems are formed with the suffixes -in, -min, or -vin. The strong stem is -in and the weak stem is -i. But if the ending starts with a vowel, we use -in instead.

Here are the forms of the masculine stem yogin, which means “yogi”:

As above, note that the case 1 singular is yogī and has no final -n sound.

Here are the forms of the neuter stem:

-vas, -ivas, and -yas

-vas is a root suffix. When we attach it to a root that means “X,” we usually get a stem that means “one who has X-ed.” Some roots will use the suffix -ivas instead.

For -vas, the strong stem is -vāṃs and the weak stem is -uṣ. But if the ending starts with a consonant, we use -vat instead. -ivas is similar, except that its strong stem is -ivāṃs and we use -ivat if the ending starts with a consonant.

Here are the masculine forms of the stem vidvas, which means “one who knows” or “a wise person”:

Here is the same stem in the neuter:

-yas is a nominal suffix. When added to a nominal stem that means “X,” -yas creates a stem that means “more X.” Its strong stem is -yāṃs and its weak stem is -yas.

Here are the masculine forms of the adjective śreyas, which means “better”:

And in the neuter: