Verse 3.7.88

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.7.88:

धातोरर्थान्तरे वृत्तेर्धात्वर्थेनोपसंग्रहात् ।
प्रसिद्धेरविवक्षातः कर्मणोऽकर्मिका क्रिया ॥ ८८ ॥

dhātorarthāntare vṛtterdhātvarthenopasaṃgrahāt |
prasiddheravivakṣātaḥ karmaṇo'karmikā kriyā || 88 ||

88. (1) When the root is used in a meaning other than its usual one (2) when the object is included in the meaning of the root (3) or is well known (4) or is not meant to be expressed, the action (denoted by the root) is said to be without an object.

Commentary

If something which is not in any way affected by an action can still be looked upon as its object, how can the distinction between transitive (sakarmaka) and intransitive (akarmaka) among roots be maintained? This is now answered.

[Read verse 88 above]

[The distinction between transitive and intransitive roots in not affected. Some actions denoted by roots imply an object as part of the meaning of the root. Other roots denote actions which have an object outside their meaning. The former are intransitive and the latter transitive roots, āste which can be analysed as āsanaṃ karoti = ‘he does sitting,’ denotes an action which has an object which is part of the meaning of the root. But pacati in odanaṃ pacati denotes an action which has an object outside the meaning of the root. That is why the root √pac = ‘to cook’ is said to be a transitive root (sakarmaka). Sometimes a root is said to be intransitive even if the action which it expresses has an object outside the meaning of the roots. That will be explained later. A root which is ordinarily transitive becomes intransitive when it is used in a meaning other than its ordinary one. For example, in bhāraṃ vahati = ‘he carries a load’, the verb ‘carries’ is transitive. But when we say nadī vahati = the river flows, that meaning is absent and so the root √vah is now intransitive. ‘To flow’ means an action which is not presented by the word as affecting something else than the agent. When the meaning of the root itself includes a hidden object, such a root also is intransitive. For example, jīvati = he lives. This verb really means prāṇān dhārayati = ‘he maintains life’. So an object is implied in it and is, therefore, intransitive. Another similar case is that of verbs which invariably bring an agent and an object to the mind even though neither is mentioned. For example, varṣati = ‘it rains’. Here ‘deva’ is understood as the agent and water is understood as the object. Such verbs are also intransitive and that is why the suffix ‘kta’, when added to such roots, denotes the agent. Sometimes the speaker does not want to say anything about the object. Then the verb, though ordinarily transitive, becomes intransitive. We can just say pacati in answer to the question kiṃ karoti. It is then intransitive.]

It is now stated that, in addition to the four ways mentioned in the previous stanza, there are other ways in which a verb becomes intransitive.