Sutra 18

Devanagari script

क्रियाविशेषकाः प्रादय उपसर्गाः ॥ कZ_०२.१०.१८ ॥

Transliteration

kriyāviśeṣakāḥ prādaya upasargāḥ

Translation

Preverbs/prefixes (upasargas), such as pra-, etc., are modifiers that specify/qualify the action.

Word by Word

• क्रियाविशेषकाः: (words) that qualify/modify an action (i.e., adverbial qualifiers)
• Type: Adjective (used substantively)
• Root: विशेष (√शिष्/√शेष् in sense ‘to distinguish’, nominal base विशेष)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-बहुवचन; विशेषण-प्रयोगः (क्रियायाः विशेषकाः = ‘qualifiers/modifiers of action’)

• प्र: ‘pra-’ (forth, forward), representative of the group beginning with pra-
• Type: Particle/Prefix
• Root: प्र (upasarga)
• Form: उपसर्ग; अव्यय; ‘प्र’ इत्यादि-गणस्य प्रतिनिधिः

• आदयः: and others; the rest (i.e., etc.)
• Type: Noun (collective/marker)
• Root: आदि
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-बहुवचन; ‘आदि’ = ‘and others’; ‘प्र-आदयः’ = ‘pra- and the rest’

• उपसर्गाः: preverbs/prefixes (verbal prefixes)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपसर्ग
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-बहुवचन; विधेय (predicate)

More Details

FAQs

How do upasargas matter in governance documents?

They change operational meaning (e.g., ‘send’ vs ‘send forth/dispatch’), so precise prefixes reduce ambiguity in execution and liability.