Pāḷi Grammars
ES

Kaccāyana-Byākaraṇaṃ · chapter 4 of 8

§337

Kvaci samāsantagatānam akāranto

Sometimes there is ‘a’ of the end vowel of those that stand at the end of a compound.

Text and translation

Read in the chapter →

337. 350. Kvaci samāsantagatānam akāranto (722)

[Kvaci + samāsa-antagatānaṃ + akāro + anto = 4 words]

Samāsantagatānaṃ nāmānam anto saro kvaci akāro hoti.

Devānaṃ rājā devarājo, devarājā (S. i, 236-7); devānaṃ sakhā devasakho, devasakhā; pañca ahāni pañcāhaṃ (Vin. iv, 112), sattāhaṃ (M. ii, 242; Khu. i, 87), pañcagavaṃ; chattupāhanaṃ (Vin. ii, 451); upasaradaṃ; visālakkho (Khu. vi, 241); vimukho.

Kāraggahaṇaṃ kimatthaṃ? Ākāranta-ikārantā ca honti. Paccakkhā dhammā yassa so ’yan ti paccakkhadhammā, surabhino gandho surabhigandhi; sundaro gandho sugandhi; pūtino gandho pūtigandhi; kucchito gandho kugandhi; duṭṭhu gandho yassa so ’yan ti duggandhi; pūti eva gandho pūtigandhi.

Nadīantā ca kattuantā ca kapaccayo hoti samāsante.

Bahū nadiyo yasmiṃ so ’yaṃ bahunadiko, janapado. Bahavo kattāro yassa so ’yaṃ bahukattuko, puriso.

Sometimes there is ‘a’ of the end vowel of those that stand at the end of a compound.
Sometimes, the end vowel of the nouns that stand at the end of a compound becomes ‘a’.
  1. Devānaṃ rājā devarājo, devarājā (king of the devas).
  2. Devānaṃ sakhā devasakho, devasakhā (friend of the devas).
  3. Pañca ahāni pañcāhaṃ (five days).
  4. Sattāhaṃ (seven days).
  5. Pañcagavaṃ (five cows).
  6. Chattupāhanaṃ (umbrella and sandals).
  7. Upasaradaṃ (near autumn).
  8. Visālakkho ([one who has] large eyes).
  9. Vimukho ([one who has] a deformed face).

What is the purpose of taking “kāra” [why does it say “akāranto” instead of “a-anto”]? To allow the substitutions by ‘ā’ and ‘i’.

  1. Paccakkhā dhammā yassa so ’yan ti paccakkhadhammā ([one who has] realized Dhammas).
  2. Surabhino gandho surabhigandhi (scent of a fragrant flower).
  3. Sundaro gandho sugandhi (good smell).
  4. Pūtino gandho pūtigandhi (smell of something rotten).
  5. Kucchito gandho kugandhi (bad smell).
  6. Duṭṭhu gandho yassa so ’yan ti duggandhi ([one who has] bad smell).
  7. Pūti eva gandho pūtigandhi (rotten smell).

At the end of the compound there is the suffix ‘ka’ of those that have “nadī” as the last member and of those that have “kattu” as the last member.

  1. Bahū nadiyo yasmiṃ so ’yaṃ bahunadiko, janapado (many rivers in that; that is “bahunadiko” [one which has many rivers], a district [is what is meant]).
  2. Bahavo kattāro yassa so ’yaṃ bahukattuko, puriso (many helpers of that one; he is “bahukattuko” [one who has many helpers], a person [is what is meant]).

Without the footnotes: they are on the chapter card.

Drafts

Ask about §337

Questions are asked from the analysis following Visuddhāyuṃ (draft): the answer uses this sutta's row and the project's sources. It is for enrolled students and requires signing in.

Ask about §337 →

Pāḷi text and English translation by Bhikkhu Nandisena; edition, apparatus and glossary by the Instituto de Estudios Buddhistas Hispano (IEBH). This material may be reproduced for personal use and distributed free of charge. Copyright © 2026 IEBH. Published under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21948010.