Panini Grammar: Reduplication Abhyasa

By Sadhvi Hemswaroopa and Ashwini Kumar Aggarwal

Reduplication is a broad term, often specialized in linguistics, referring to repeating a word or syllable, sometimes with changes, for emphasis or grammatical function.

- Meaning: Repeating a word or part of a word, often with slight phonetic changes, for grammatical or semantic purposes.

o In Sanskrit Linguistics: In Sanskrit Verbs, repeating a portion of the Root for the Past Perfect Tense. e.g. पच् + लिट् → पच् पच् + णल् → पपाच । He had cooked.

o In Sanskrit Verbs, repeating a portion of the 3rd Conjugation Root for the Present Tense. e.g. हु + लट् → हु हु + ति → जुहोति । He offers.

For example, when forming verbal forms for लिट् Past Perfect Tense:

- The root पच् pac (to cook) is doubled. पच् + पच्

- The abhyāsa portion after phonetic modification is प

- The abhyasta portion is प पच्

- The reduplicated Verb becomes पपाच papāca (had cooked).

The rules surrounding the abhyāsa are crucial for generating the correct grammatical forms in Sanskrit, determining aspects like the appropriate augment (e.g., नुक् nuk) or the elision of certain consonants.

The Terms Reduplication Abhyāsa Abhyasta

- Reduplication: A common morphological device used in Vedic and Classical Sanskrit to mark various verbal stems, including the Past Perfect Tense liṭ, Indefinite Past Aorist Tense luṅ, Desideratives san, Intensives yaṅ, and some Present Tense classes laṭ. It involves a "doubling" (known as dvirvacana द्विर्वचन or dvitva द्वित्व) of the root or a portion of it.

- अभ्यास Abhyāsa: This term denotes the prefixed, repeated portion of the Root. Usually the left side entity.

- अभ्यस्त Abhyasta: This term refers to the collective entities, repeated portion and the root. Left side and right side entities. In this case, the root is known as the initial or first portion, and the abhyāsa is the latter portion. E.g. दद॑ति॒, here root portion = द॑ the initial, and abhyāsa = द, the latter reduplicate portion.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9348012665
• ISBN13: 9789348012661
• Release Date: December 2025
• Publisher: Devotees of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ashram
• Length: 86 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"