BASIC GRAMMAR
OF SANSKRIT
SANSKRIT HUB
Table of Contents
Basics of Sanskrit Words.....................1
Roots (Dhatu)
Building Words
Genders (Linga)
Cases (Vibhakti).................................3
Nominative Case (Prathama
Vibhaktiḥ )
Accusative Case (Dvitīyā Vibhaktiḥ )
Instrumental Case (Tṛ tīyā Vibhaktiḥ )
Dative Case (Caturthī Vibhaktiḥ )
Ablative Case (Pañcamī Vibhaktiḥ )
Genitive Case (Ṣ aṣ ṭhī Vibhaktiḥ )
Locative Case (Saptamī Vibhaktiḥ )
Numbers (Vachana)......................7
Putting It All Together ..................8
Vocabulary Practice....................10
Quiz............................................17
Feedback....................................17
Basics of Sanskrit Words
Roots (Dhatu):
In Sanskrit, every noun starts from a basic
root word called a dhatu. Think of it like the
stem of a plant from which everything else
grows.
Building Words:
To turn this root into a complete word, you
need to add prefixes or suffixes. These are
like the parts of a plant that grow from the
stem—branches, leaves, flowers.
Genders (Linga):
Every noun belongs to one of three
genders:
Masculine (Pullinga): Words that are
usually for male beings or masculine
objects.
Feminine (Strilinga): Words for female
beings or feminine objects.
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Neuter (Napumsakalinga): Words for
objects or beings that aren’t
specifically male or female.
2
Cases (Vibhakti):
Nouns also have different forms
depending on their role in a sentence.
These roles are called cases, and there
are seven of them. (When you will click on
the speaker beside a sasnkrit phrase or
word, it will take you to its
pronounciation.) Each case tells you what
job the noun is doing:
Nominative Case (Prathama
Vibhaktiḥ):
This is like the star of the show. It tells
who is doing the action.
§ Example: If you say “The boy reads,” the
boy is the star. In Sanskrit, it would be
"बालकः पठति (Bālakaḥ paṭhati)."
Accusative Case (Dvitīyā Vibhaktiḥ):
This is for the receiver of the action, the
thing that the action is happening to.
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§ Example: In “The boy reads the book,”
the book is what’s being read. In Sanskrit,
it’s "बालकः पुस्तकम् पठति (Bālakaḥ pustakam
paṭhati)."
Instrumental Case (Tṛtīyā Vibhaktiḥ):
This shows what is being used to do the
action.
§ Example: If the boy writes with a pen,
the pen is the tool. In Sanskrit, it’s "बालकः
लेखनीया लिखति (Bālakaḥ lekhanīyā likhati)."
Dative Case (Caturthī Vibhaktiḥ):
This indicates the recipient, like who is
getting something.
§ Example: If the boy gives a gift to his
friend, the friend is the recipient. In
Sanskrit, it’s "बालकः मित्राय उपहारं ददाति
(Bālakaḥ mitrāya upahāraṃ dadāti)."
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Ablative Case (Pañcamī Vibhaktiḥ):
This shows where something comes from
or why it’s happening.
§ Example: If the boy runs away from the
dog, the dog is the reason. In Sanskrit, it’s
"बालकः शुनकात् धावति (Bālakaḥ śunakāt
dhāvati)."
Genitive Case (Ṣaṣṭhī Vibhaktiḥ):
This indicates possession, like who owns
something.
§ Example: If it’s the boy’s book, the boy
owns the book. In Sanskrit, it’s "बालकस्य
पुस्तकं (Bālakasya pustakaṃ)."
5
Locative Case (Saptamī Vibhaktiḥ):
This shows location or place where
something happens.
§ Example: If the boy is in the house, the
house is the place. In Sanskrit, it’s "बालकः
गृहे अस्ति (Bālakaḥ gṛhe asti)."
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Numbers (Vachana):
Nouns can also change form based on
how many things they are talking about:
Singular (Eka-vachana): Talking about
one thing.
Dual (Dvi-vachana): Talking about two
things.
Plural (Bahu-vachana): Talking about
many things.
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Putting It All Together
When you want to create a noun in
Sanskrit:
Start with the root (dhatu).
Add the right prefixes or suffixes to
show its gender (masculine, feminine,
neuter).
Use the correct case to show what job
the noun is doing in the sentence.
Choose the form based on whether
you’re talking about one, two, or many
of that noun.
For example, if you start with a dhatu that
means “to play” and you want to make a
word for “player”:
You decide if the player is male,
female, or an inanimate object.
You pick the right suffix to show if the
player is doing the action, receiving it,
owning something, etc.
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You choose if you’re talking about one
player, two players, or a team of
players.
By putting all these pieces together, you
can build lots of different words in
Sanskrit, each with its own specific
meaning based on the context!
§ Example: If you want to say that a
player is playing football, you will say
“एकः क्रीडकः पादकन्दुकम् क्रीडति” (Ekaḥ krīḍakaḥ
pādakandukaṁ krīḍati.)
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Vocabulary Practice
Some examples of nouns are:
Book - पुस्तकम् (Pustakam)
Flower - पुष्पम् (Puṣpam)
Home - गृहम् (Gṛham)
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Town - नगरम् (Nagaram)
Forest - वनम् (Vanam)
Door - द्वारम् (Dvāram)
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Water - जलम् (Jalam)
Fruit - फलम् (Phalam)
Man - पुरुषः (Puruṣaḥ)
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Woman - नारी (Nārī)
Animal - पशुः (Paśuḥ)
Lion - सिंहः (Siṃhaḥ)
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Bird - पक्षी (Pakṣī)
Elephant - गजः (Gajaḥ)
Plant - वनस्पतिः (Vanaspatī)
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Sun - सूर्यः (Sūryaḥ)
Moon - चन्द्रः (Candraḥ)
Night - रात्रिः (Rātriḥ)
15
Pen - लेखनी (Lekhanī)
Pencil - अङ् कनी (Aṅ kanī)
This is a basic list of vocabulary.
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Quiz
The following link leads to a vocabulary
quiz. Click the link below to access the
link.
https://forms.gle/a9YnQzabcsJSMQQi9
Feedback
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https://forms.gle/BLvqadQK7iZcb9PE8
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ज्ञानं परमं ध्येयम्।
Knowledge is the ultimate goal.
