sup

Once we know which vibhakti to use, we can select a sup suffix and begin our derivation. In this lesson, we'll see the 21 basic sup suffixes and learn how we can choose the right suffix according to our intended meaning.

adhikāra rules

The sup endings are defined in the scope of three adhikāra rules. The first states that they are all pratyayas:

The second defines where a pratyaya appears in the derivation:

And the third defines what a “base” means in this context:

ṅī and āp are pratyayas that create feminine bases, and we can set them aside for now.

The pratyāhāra

Here are the 21 base endings in the sup pratyāhāra:

There are several points worth noticing here.

First, notice that many of these endings have it sounds attached to them:

• Some of these it letters are for the sake of making pratyāhāras. Thus suṭ refers to just the first five of these endings, and sup (as we know already) refers to all of them.

• Some of these it letters are for the sake of easier pronunciation, or to make endings distinct. Thus we have su̐, ṅasi̐, and the like.

• Some are labeled systematically. For example, the ṅit endings — that is, the endings with ṅ as an it — are often replaced, depending on the prātipadika and its gender.

Second, notice that these endings are not the standard endings we would use for a stem like rāma. Panini examined many different nominal ending patterns and chose this set to represent what they have in common. Then we can apply various vidhi rules to get the endings we need.