SanskritAvyaya: the words that never change
After the tables of nouns and verbs, here is a restful page. An अव्यय (avyaya, "unchanging") is a word that keeps one form always. It has no gender, no number and no case. Sanskrit's small words for "and", "not", "here", "now", "also" and "but" are all avyayas, and since they appear in nearly every sentence, learning fifty of them pays off quickly.
They are especially useful for reading verse. In a shloka, the avyayas are fixed landmarks. Find च, न, एव, अपि, तु, हि, and the changing words around them begin to sort themselves out.
Joining and emphasising
| Avyaya | Hindi | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| च | और | and | रामः लक्ष्मणः च (Rama and Lakshmana) |
| अपि | भी | also, even | अहम् अपि गच्छामि (I too go) |
| एव | ही | only, indeed | सत्यम् एव जयते (truth alone wins) |
| तु | तो, लेकिन | but | सः तु न आगच्छत् (but he did not come) |
| वा | या | or | रामः वा कृष्णः वा |
| हि | क्योंकि, निश्चय ही | for, surely | चञ्चलं हि मनः (the mind is indeed restless) |
| न | नहीं | not | अहं न जानामि (I do not know) |
| मा | मत | do not | मा गच्छ (do not go) |
| इति | ऐसा, यह कहकर | thus; end of quoted words | "आगच्छ" इति अवदत् (he said, "come") |
| इव | की तरह | like, as | चन्द्रः इव मुखम् (a face like the moon) |
Place
| Avyaya | Hindi | English | Avyaya | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| अत्र | यहाँ | here | तत्र | वहाँ | there |
| कुत्र | कहाँ | where? | यत्र | जहाँ | where (relative) |
| सर्वत्र | सब जगह | everywhere | अन्यत्र | और कहीं | elsewhere |
| उपरि | ऊपर | above | अधः | नीचे | below |
| अन्तः | अंदर | inside | बहिः | बाहर | outside |
| पुरतः | सामने | in front | पृष्ठतः | पीछे | behind |
Time
| Avyaya | Hindi | English | Avyaya | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| अद्य | आज | today | श्वः | कल (आने वाला) | tomorrow |
| ह्यः | कल (बीता) | yesterday | अधुना | अब | now |
| कदा | कब | when? | यदा | जब | when (relative) |
| तदा | तब | then | सदा | सदा, हमेशा | always |
| सर्वदा | हमेशा | at all times | कदापि | कभी भी | ever |
| पुनः | फिर | again | शीघ्रम् | जल्दी | quickly |
Manner, reason and question
| Avyaya | Hindi | English | Avyaya | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| एवम् | इस प्रकार | thus, so | कथम् | कैसे | how? |
| यथा | जैसे | as | तथा | वैसे | so |
| किमर्थम् | किसलिए | why? | यतः | क्योंकि | because |
| अतः | इसलिए | therefore | तस्मात् | इस कारण | therefore |
| सह | साथ | with | विना | बिना | without |
| शनैः | धीरे | slowly | उच्चैः | ज़ोर से | loudly |
| खलु | निश्चय ही | indeed | किल | कहते हैं कि | it is said |
| अस्तु | ठीक है | so be it | आम् | हाँ | yes |
The matching pairs
Sanskrit loves sentences built on a pair: a word beginning with य- in the first half answered by a word beginning with त- in the second. Hindi inherited the habit: जब... तब, जहाँ... वहाँ, जैसा... वैसा.
- यत्र... तत्र: where... there. यत्र धूमः तत्र अग्निः। Where there is smoke, there is fire.
- यदा... तदा: when... then. The Gita's यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य... तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् is built on this pair.
- यथा... तथा: as... so. यथा राजा तथा प्रजा। As the king, so the people.
- यावत्... तावत्: as long as... so long.
Small words in the shlokas
Look at how many of the words in a single Gita line are avyayas: मा फलेषु कदाचन is "never (मा... कदाचन) in the fruits". न हि ज्ञानेन सदृशं पवित्रम् इह विद्यते: "not indeed (न हि) ... here (इह)". Because these words never change, you can recognise them from your first week, long before the noun and verb tables are secure. That is a real encouragement when a verse looks impenetrable.
Two cautions
- च ("and") comes after the word it adds, not between: रामः सीता च, "Rama and Sita".
- न is "not" for statements; मा is "do not" for prohibitions, as in मा शुचः, "do not grieve".