Case 7: "in"
Also known as: the locative case, saptamī vibhakti ("seventh case")
Introduction
Case 7 represents the location or context of an action. The "location" aspect is much more common, and it can be translated by the words "in" and "on."
क्षेत्रे कृष्णेन सह वीरा नन्दन्ति
kṣetre kṛṣṇena saha vīrā nandanti
In the field the heroes, with Krishna, rejoiced.
उदरे सिंहस्य तिष्ठन्ति बाला ग्रामस्य
udare siṃhasya tiṣṭhanti bālā grāmasya
The boys of the village stand on the belly of the lion.
The "context" aspect, however, is also important. You should make sure to remember it!
शोके क्रोधो हि जायते
śoke krodho hi jāyate
For anger is born in (the context of) grief.
स मरणे मन्यते
sa maraṇe manyate
He thinks in (the context of) death.
Case 7 can by translated by many different terms: "in," "between" (in two things), "among" (in the plural), "on," "within," and "with regard to."
Inflection
Now that we have studied all eight of the Sanskrit noun cases, we can complete our table and see all 24 forms that the masculine -a nouns take.
| गज | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 (subject) | गजः gajaḥ |
गजौ gajau |
गजाः gajāḥ |
| Case 2 (object) | गजम् gajam |
गजौ gajau |
गजान् gajān |
| Case 3 ("with") | गजेन gajena |
गजाभ्याम् gajābhyām |
गजैः gajaiḥ |
| Case 4 ("for") | गजाय gajāya |
गजाभ्याम् gajābhyām |
गजेभ्यः gajebhyaḥ |
| Case 5 ("from") | गजात् gajāt |
गजाभ्याम् gajābhyām |
गजेभ्यः gajebhyaḥ |
| Case 6 ("of") | गजस्य gajasya |
गजयोः gajayoḥ |
गजानाम् gajānām |
| Case 7 ("in") | गजे gaje |
गजयोः gajayoḥ |
गजेषु gajeṣu |
| Case 8 (address) | गज gaja |
गजौ gajau |
गजाः gajāḥ |
Remember, the neuter -a nouns differ in cases 1, 2, and 8 only. To review, here are its forms:
| फल | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 (subject) | फलम् phalam |
फले phale |
फलानि phalāni |
| Case 2 (object) | फलम् phalam |
फले phale |
फलानि phalāni |
| Case 8 (address) | फल phala |
फले phale |
फलानि phalāni |
Pronouns
Here, we bring our discussion of the three common Sanskrit pronouns to a close:
| मद् | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 (subject) | अहम् aham |
आवाम् āvām |
वयम् vayam |
| Case 2 (object) | माम् mām |
आवाम् āvām |
अस्मान् asmān |
| Case 3 ("with") | मया mayā |
आवाभ्याम् āvābhyām |
अस्माभिः asmābhiḥ |
| Case 4 ("for") | मह्यम् mahyam, me |
आवाभ्याम् āvābhyām |
अस्मभ्य्म् asmabhyam |
| Case 5 ("from") | मत् mat |
आवाभ्याम् āvābhyām |
अस्मत् asmat |
| Case 6 ("of") | मम mama |
आवयोः āvayoḥ |
अस्माकम् asmākam |
| Case 7 ("in") | मयि mayi |
आवयोः āvayoḥ |
अस्मासु asmāsu |
| त्वद् | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 (subject) | त्वम् tvam |
युवाम् yuvām |
यूयम् yūyam |
| Case 2 (object) | त्वाम् tvām |
युवाम् yuvām |
युष्मान् yuṣmān |
| Case 3 ("with") | त्वया tvayā |
युवाभ्याम् yuvābhyām |
युष्माभिः yuṣmābhiḥ |
| Case 4 ("for") | तुभ्यम् tubhyam |
युवाभ्याम् yuvābhyām |
युष्मभ्यम् yuṣmabhyam |
| Case 5 ("from") | त्वत् tvat |
युवाभ्याम् yuvābhyām |
युष्मत् yuṣmat |
| Case 6 ("of") | तव tava |
युवयोः yuvayoḥ |
युष्माकम् yuṣmākam |
| Case 7 ("in") | त्वयि tvayi |
युवयोः yuvayoḥ |
युष्मासु yuṣmāsu |
| तद् | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 (subject) | सः saḥ |
तौ tau |
ते te |
| Case 2 (object) | तम् tam |
तौ tau |
तान् tān |
| Case 3 ("with") | तेन tena |
ताभ्याम् tābhyām |
तैः taiḥ |
| Case 4 ("for") | तस्मै tasmai |
ताभ्याम् tābhyām |
तेभ्यः tebhyaḥ |
| Case 5 ("from") | तस्मात् tasmāt |
ताभ्याम् tābhyām |
तेभ्यः tebhyaḥ |
| Case 6 ("of") | तस्य tasya |
तयोः tayoḥ |
तेषाम् teṣām |
| Case 7 ("in") | तस्मिन् tasmin |
तयोः tayoḥ |
तेषु teṣu |
Sandhi: -n duplication
You can see a new sandhi rule in the examples below. Take a look:
तस्मिन् भवति → तस्मिन् भवति
tasmin bhavati → tasmin bhavati
It arises in there.
तस्मिन् इति वदति → तस्मिन्निति वदति
tasmin iti vadati → tasminniti vadati
"In there," he says.
तस्मिन् एव → तस्मिन्नेव विद्यते
tasmin eva → tasminneva vidyate
It is found in that itself.
गजान् एव गच्छतु → नरानेव गच्छतु
gajān eva gacchatu → narāneva gacchatu
May he go to the elephants themselves.
नरान् इव बालान् तुद → गजानिव नरान् तुद
narān iva bālān tuda → gajāniva narān tuda
Strike the boys as if they were men.
Based on these examples, the rule seems to be this:
-n, when following a short vowel, is doubled when followed by a vowel. [Version 1]
Unfortunately, most textbooks stop here. Why does this odd change occur?
Think back to the rules final -n sandhi, which we analyzed many lessons ago. The basis of our analysis was that we could think of final -n as an old *-ns, where * indicates a hypothetical form. This trick can still come in handy. Let's rewrite the examples above using the *-ns ending:
*तस्मिन्स् भवति
*tasmins bhavati
It arises in there.
*तस्मिन्सिति वदति
*tasminsiti vadati
"In there," he says.
*तस्मिन्सेव विद्यते
*tasminseva vidyate
It is found in that itself.
*गजान्सेव गच्छतु
*gajānseva gacchatu
May he go to the elephants themselves.
*नरान्सिव बालान्स् तुद
*narānsiva bālāns tuda
Strike the men as if they were elephants.
No sandhi changes have been applied here. However, note that these altered examples have the same meter as the examples affected by sandhi! This seems to be the cause of the change. So, we could create this more intuitive rule instead:
Final -n duplicates to match the meter produced by the *-ns ending. [Version 2]
-n does not duplicate after a long vowel because there is no need; the meter stays the same. But -n has to duplicate after a short vowel to create a heavy syllable and match the results produced by the hypothetical ending.