अव्ययमालाClass 9 Sanskrit Anand Chapter 2 Notes – Maharashtra Board

Summary: अव्ययमाला

The opening lines praise Sanskrit (गीर्वाणभारती) as the sweetest language, its poetry as sweeter, and सुभाषित — 'well-said' short sayings — as the sweetest of all. Few letters, deep meaning and easy to sing: that is why students should memorise them.

Verse 1 is a prayer: may the One who made ears to hear, a smiling mouth to speak, a nose to smell, feet to walk, eyes to see, hands to give and a mind to meditate, protect us. Seven -तुम् forms in one verse!

Verse 2: the good qualities of good people act as their messengers even when they live far away — just as bees (षट्पदाः) come by themselves after smelling the केतकी flower. Verse 3: cows eat dry grass and drink pond water, yet give milk to the world — so they are called 'mothers of the world'.

Verse 4 is a witty riddle: a girl refuses to marry a man who thinks विहस्य is a genitive (षष्ठी), विहाय a dative (चतुर्थी) and अहम्, कथम् accusatives. They are really ल्यबन्त अव्यय and a pronoun/adverb — a man so poor in grammar is not for her! Verse 5: teeth, hair, nails and people look bad when they leave their place, so a wise man should not abandon his own place.

रम्यसंस्कृतम् — वर्णानां साहचर्यम्: when two vowels come very close, the sound changes; that change is sandhi. Examples: न + अस्ति = नास्ति, गण + ईशः = गणेशः, सदा + एव = सदैव, करोमि + अहम् = करोम्यहम्.

Key points to remember

• सुभाषितम् = a 'well-said' short saying; its mark is अल्पाक्षरत्वम् (few letters)
• गीर्वाणभारती = Sanskrit, the language of the gods
• Verse 1: -तुम् forms श्रोतुम्, वक्तुम्, घ्रातुम्, विहर्तुम्, द्रष्टुम्, दातुम्, ध्यातुम्
• Verse 2: गुणाः act as दूताः (messengers) for सताम् (good people); आघ्राय is ल्यबन्त
• Verse 3: भुक्त्वा, पीत्वा (त्वान्त); cows = लोकमातरः
• Verse 4: विहस्य (having laughed) and विहाय (having left) look like case forms but are ल्यबन्त अव्यय
• Verse 5: स्थानभ्रष्टाः न शोभन्ते — do not leave your proper place
• Purpose can be shown two ways: -तुम् (श्रोतुम्) or a noun in -अर्थम् / dative (श्रवणार्थम् / श्रवणाय)
• Vowel sandhi types: सवर्णदीर्घ, गुण (ए, ओ), वृद्धि (ऐ, औ), यण् (य्, व्)

अव्ययमाला – Notes

1. Verse 1 — a prayer full of -तुम्

• Each body part is paired with its purpose: कर्णौ (two ears) श्रोतुम्, आस्यम् (mouth) वक्तुम्, घ्राणम् (nose) घ्रातुम्, पादयुग्मम् (pair of feet) विहर्तुम्, नेत्रे (two eyes) द्रष्टुम्, हस्तयुग्मम् (pair of hands) दातुम्, चित्तम् (mind) ध्यातुम्.
• The mouth is called सुहास्यम् — beautifully smiling. Note that hands are given 'to give', not 'to take'.
• येन सृष्टं स पातु = may He by whom (all this) was created protect (us). पातु is a command/wish form (लोट्) of पा 'to protect'.
• Purpose can also be said with a noun: श्रवणार्थम् or श्रवणाय (for hearing), वचनाय (for speaking), दर्शनाय (for seeing).

2. Verses 2 and 3 — good qualities and generous cows

• Verse 2: सताम् = of good people (genitive plural of सत्). Even if they live far away, their virtues travel ahead like messengers.
• The comparison: bees, called षट्पदाः ('six-footed'), are not invited — they come on their own once they smell the केतकी (screw-pine) flower. आघ्राय = having smelt (आ + घ्रा + य).
• Verse 3: cows eat only dry grass (शुष्काणि तृणानि) and drink plain water (तोयम्) from a pond, yet give nourishing milk to all. Taking little and giving much makes them लोकमातरः.
• Grammar spot: भुक्त्वा (having eaten) and पीत्वा (having drunk) are त्वान्त; the main verb is यच्छन्ति (give).

3. Verse 4 — the grammar riddle

• A clever girl describes a suitor: for him विहस्य is a षष्ठी (genitive), विहाय is a चतुर्थी (dative), and अहम् and कथम् are द्वितीया (accusative). 'How can I become द्वितीया (his second wife) to him?'
• The joke: विहस्य (वि + हस् + य, having laughed) and विहाय (वि + हा + य, having left) only LOOK like देवस्य and देवाय; they are ल्यबन्त अव्यय.
• अहम् is the nominative (प्रथमा) 'I', and कथम् ('how?') is an अव्यय — not accusatives like गृहम्.
• The word द्वितीया is used in two senses — 'second case' and 'second wife'. Such a pun is called श्लेष.

4. Verse 5 — keep your place

• स्थानभ्रष्टाः = fallen from their place. A tooth that has fallen out, hair in the food, a cut nail — none of them look good once out of place.
• In the same way, people (नराः) lose respect when they leave the position or duty that suits them.
• इति विज्ञाय (having understood this) — विज्ञाय is ल्यबन्त (वि + ज्ञा + य). मतिमान् = a wise person; परित्यजेत् = should abandon (विधिलिङ्).
• Words in the first case (प्रथमा) in this verse: स्थानभ्रष्टाः, दन्ताः, केशाः, नखाः, नराः, मतिमान्.

5. रम्यसंस्कृतम्: वर्णानां साहचर्यम् (vowel sandhi)

• सवर्णदीर्घ — two similar vowels merge into the long vowel: न + अस्ति = नास्ति; रवि + इन्द्रः = रवीन्द्रः; भानु + उदयः = भानूदयः; मातृ + ऋणम् = मातॄणम् (the long ॠ often looks like मातृणम् in print).
• गुण — अ/आ + इ/ई = ए; अ/आ + उ/ऊ = ओ: गण + ईशः = गणेशः; लम्ब + उदरः = लम्बोदरः.
• वृद्धि — अ/आ + ए/ऐ = ऐ; अ/आ + ओ/औ = औ: सदा + एव = सदैव; गङ्गा + ओघः = गङ्गौघः.
• यण् — इ/ई before an unlike vowel becomes य्; उ/ऊ becomes व्: करोमि + अहम् = करोम्यहम्; खलु + एतत् = खल्वेतत्. If you do not know sandhi, you cannot split words and the meaning is lost.

Body part, its purpose and the अव्यय (verse 1)

Key terms

अव्ययमाला – Flashcards

Read the question, answer it in your head, then tap the card to check. 20 cards.

अव्ययमाला – MCQ Quiz

15 questions. Tap an option — you will see at once if it is right and why.

How to study अव्ययमाला

⏱ About 40 minutes

1. Learn the verses (15 min)
   Read each verse with its prose order, say its meaning in English, then memorise one verse a day.
2. Spot the अव्यय (10 min)
   Underline every -तुम्, -त्वा and -य word in the five verses and say its root.
3. Practice (15 min)
   Solve the 'Try it yourself' answers and the sandhi examples, take the quiz, revise flashcards and play 🎮 Play.