Case 2: The Object
Also known as: the accusative case, dvitīyā vibhakti ("second division")
Introduction
A few lessons ago, we studied the case that is used to define a verb's subject. Now we will learn the case that is used to define a verb's object. For simplicity, let's call this case the object case, or case 2 for short.
Take a look at the example sentences below. (These sentences have not had the sandhi rules applied.)
नराः बालान् तुदन्ति
narāḥ bālān tudanti
The men strike the boys.
कृष्णः वीरम् पृच्छति
kṛṣṇaḥ vīram pṛcchati
Krishna asks the hero.
The object case is also used to show that action is done "to" or "toward" something:
अर्जुनः अश्वम् गच्छति
arjunaḥ aśvam gacchati
Arjuna goes to the horse.
You might be familiar with the English word "whom," which is used in expressions like "for whom" and "from whom." The word "whom" can also be used by itself, without a word like "for" or "from." But what does "whom" really mean?
The answer is actually quite simple: the word "whom" is like the "object case" version of the word "who." The rarity of "whom" in English illustrates the fact that inflection has continued to disappear from the English language. "Whom" is often used incorrectly by those who try to make themselves sound educated; sentences like Whom do you think you are?
are ungrammatical.
So, where should "whom" be used? It is used whenever the idea of "who" is not in the subject case. So, we have Who do you think you are?
, but we also have Whom did you see?
, I am the person whom you approach
, and Of whom do you speak?
The words "me," "him," "her," and "them" are used in many of the same situations as "whom" — consider Did you see me?
, You approach him,
You speak of him
— but "whom" is much less common.
As far as I am aware, this is the full extent of object-case inflection in modern English.
Inflection
| गज | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 (subject) | गजः gajaḥ |
गजौ gajau |
गजाः gajāḥ |
| Case 2 (object) | गजम् gajam |
गजौ gajau |
गजान् gajān |
The dual endings for case 1 and case 2 are the same! As we proceed with our study of the Sanskrit noun, you'll find that many of the noun endings are not unique. But in a normal sentence, other words usually provide enough context for you to understand a word's meaning.
Pronouns
| मद् | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 (subject) | अहम् aham |
आवाम् āvām |
वयम् vayam |
| Case 2 (object) | माम् mām |
आवाम् āvām |
अस्मान् asmān |
| त्वद् | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 (subject) | त्वम् tvam |
युवाम् yuvām |
यूयम् yūyam |
| Case 2 (object) | त्वाम् tvām |
युवाम् yuvām |
युष्मान् yuṣmān |
| तद् | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 (subject) | सः saḥ |
तौ tau |
ते te |
| Case 2 (object) | तम् tam |
तौ tau |
तान् tān |
Note the similarity between the endings for the 3rd-person pronoun and the endings for nouns like gaja.
Compound vowel sandhi
When we first talked about sandhi, we restricted ourselves to the simple vowels only. Now we will talk about what happens if the first vowel is a compound vowel. The rule is as follows:
In front of any vowel, a compound vowel has its second vowel sound changed to a semivowel. Remember that e, ai, o, and au are treated as *ai, *āi, *au, and *āu for historical reasons.
Does this rule look familiar? Maybe you'll recognize it if I bring this table back from the second lesson of the guide:
| Weak | Medium | Strong |
|---|---|---|
| i, ī | *ai | *āi |
| u, ū | *au | *āu |
| ṛ, ṝ | *ar | *ār |
This "special rule for complex vowels" is really the same rule that makes gacchaty aśvaḥ. The second vowel sound changes to a semivowel and produces the result we have above. This sandhi rule seems to indicate that the "old" vowel forms really did once exist.
You might not realize it, but you've seen this rule in practice already: in verbs like bhavati and nayati! It's easier to say that the roots of these verbs are bhav and nay, and that's the system we've followed; but, it's just as valid to say that the roots are bho and ne. These roots would change because of the a that we add to make the verb stem:
भो + अ + ति → भवति
bho + a + ti → bhavati
He becomes.
ने + अ + ति → नयति
ne + a + ti → nayati
He leads.
-e in external sandhi
The word te, which is the masculine plural of tad in case 1, ends in -e. Words that end in e follows a special sandhi rule. The rule is a little arbitrary, but it's straightforward.
First, recall the general rule for final compound vowels:
In front of any vowel, a compound vowel has its second vowel sound changed to a semivowel. Remember that e, ai, o, and au are treated as *ai, *āi, *au, and *āu for historical reasons.
Our new -e sandhi rule extends the rule above:
In external sandhi, e "drops" the semivowel. But when e is in front of a-, e stays the same and the a- disappears. No other changes occur.
ते गच्छन्ति → ते गच्छन्ति
te gacchanti → te gacchanti
They go.
ते इच्छन्ति → त इच्छन्ति
te icchanti → ta icchanti
They want.
ते अश्वाः → ते ऽश्वाः
te aśvāḥ → te 'śvāḥ
They are horses.
Note that the letter a is removed because of the influence of the big and powerful e.
Devanagari: Conjunct Consonants
Two consonants are conjunct when they are next to each other. For example, tarati has no conjunct consonants, whereas taranti has two: n is conjunct to t. In Devanagari, conjunct consonants do strange things. They form strange combinations that are sometimes much different from the two original letters.
It takes a considerable amount of time to get used to these combinations, but the truth is that most of them can be read on the first try. For instance, consider न्त. How would you read this combination? You might notice that the two letters are न and त, except that the न seems to be attached to त. So, you might suspect that this is a combination of consonants, leading you to conclude that न्त is nta — correctly! Most of the other conjunct consonants are just as simple, but a few are slightly more complex.
Special Combinations
The conjunct consonants featured here have combined so much that it is impossible to recognize them in the result. Both of these combinations are quite common, so you should learn them well.
- देवनागरी
- IAST
- क्ष
- kṣa
- ज्ञ
- jña