Vasudevavijaya of Vasudeva (Study)

by Sajitha. A | 2018 | 50,171 words

This page relates ‘Avyayibhava-samasa (Compound)’ of the study on the Vasudevavijaya of Vasudeva from the 11th century A.D. The Vasudevavijayam is an educational poem belonging to the Shastra-Kavya category of technical Sanskrit literature. The Vasudevavijayam depicts in 657 verses the story of Lord Krishna while also elucidates the grammatical rules of the Ashtadhyayi of Panini (teaching the science of grammar). The subject-content of the poem was taken from the tenth Skandha of the Bhagavatapurana.

Avyayībhāva-samāsa (Compound)

In the Avyayībhāva compound, the sense of the first of its elements is the prominent one or the independent one. The Salient feature of this compound is that its first element probably is invariably an indeclinable. This indeclinable plays an important role in the formation of the compound with its meaning.

Pāṇini discusses the formation of the compounds from the second chapter of his work and starts with the discussion of Avyayībhāva. Pāṇini's treatment of Avyayībhāva is quite comprehensive. In the treatment of Avyayībhāva, Pāṇini introduces 16 aphorisms (i.e. 2/1/5 to 2/1/21) dealing with its nature, formation and meaning.

In Vāsudevavijaya, Vāsudeva starts the illustration of compounds from the first verse of the fourth canto. The verse runs as follows;

rakṣāyai gorbhiyaśca śāntyai mūrtiṃ gṛhṇati mādhave'dhiśayyam |
uddīpre sā jahau mahiṣṭhā nidrā pelavamadhyamāṃ yaśodām ||
Vāsudevavijaya 4/1 ||

The verse gives example for the opening rules of the section of compound. The word adhiśayyam is an example for Avyayībhāva Samāsa. The derivation of the word is śayyāyām iti-adhiśayyam | Here there is a Paribhāṣā or interpreting aphorism i.e. samarthaḥ padavidhiḥ (2/1/1). Wherever in grammar a padavidhi is found, that must be understood to apply to samartha words. A rule relating to pada or complete word is called padavidhi | Thus by the application of this rule, the word adhi and śayyā are capable to join together. Then the next rule is prākkaḍārātsamāsaḥ (2/1/3) which is an Adhikāra Sūtra. This means from this point up to the aphorism kaḍārāḥ karmadhārāye all the terms that described here will get the designation of Samāsa or compound. When it got the designation, the rule avyayaṃ vibhaktisamīpasamṛddhivyṛddhya rthābhāvātyayāsampratiśabdaprādurbhāvapaścādyathānupūrcyayaugapadyasādṛśyasampattisākalyāntavacaneṣu || (2/1/5) will applicable to get the form of an Avyayībhāva. In adhiśayyam, the laukika vigraha is already stated i.e śayyāyām iti and here adhi is an indeclinable employed with the sense of an inflective affix (vibhakti), of the seventh case. The alaukikavigraha is śayyā ṅi adhi | Now, it is a crude form (prātipadika) and thus the case affixes of this word are to be elided (luk) as per the rule supo dhātuprātipadikayoḥ (2/4/71) thus the form will be śayyā adhi, then the word adhi has got the technical term upasarjanaṃ as it is an avyaya or indeclinable which is used in the first case in the directed rule; it is possible by the rule prathamānirdiṣṭaṃsamāsa upasarjanam | (2/2/43) The Uparjana is to be placed as the former portion of the compound as per the rule upasarjanaṃ pūrvam (2/2/30). Hence the adhi śayyā is a crude form as it is a Samāsa by the rule kṛttaddhitasamāsāśca and so here employs the affix Su. adhi śayyā s | Here the word ends with a feminine affix will substituted by a short vowel i.e. hrasva. Then the form is adhiśayya s | After this the s is substituted by am by the rule nāvyayībhāvādato'mtvapañcamyāḥ, then adhiśayya am |T hen as per the rule ami pūrvaḥ, there is the single substitution of the first vowel as it is followed by the case ending am | Hence the form adhi śayyam |

The rule, avyayaṃ vibhakti… has given several examples in Vāsudevavijaya Those all examples will be given is the appendix.

Another rule yathā'sādṛśye is illustrated in the verse:—

paripāya śucāśnuvānamantargṛhamakṣidvitayena sā yatheccham |
tanayaṃ sumukhā sukhaṃ sumadhyā sahasā vāṅmanasātipāti haiyaḥ ||
(Vāsudevavijaya IV.2)

The indeclinable word yathā when it does not signify likeness, is invariably compounded with a word ending in a case affix. The example given for this rule is yatheccham | icchāmanatikramya yatheccham |

Derivation of the word yatheccham is as follows:—

icchā am yathā yathā'sādṛśye (samāsatvaṃ)
icchā yathā sūpo dhātu pratipādikayoḥ (supluk)
yathā icchā or yathecchā prathamānirdiṣṭaṃsamāsa upasarjanam (yathā has got the technical term upasarjanam)
  upasarjanaṃ pūrvam (Uparjana should be placed first in a compound)
yathecchā s kṛttaddhitasamāsāśca (pratipadikasaṃjñā) svaijasamauṭ.. (su pratyayaḥ)
yathecchā s gostriyorupasarjanasya (hrasva)
yatheccha am nāvyayībhāvādato'mtvapañcamyāḥ (am)
yatheccham || ami pūrvaḥ (pūrvarūpaḥ)


The next rule, yāvadavadhāraṇe (2/1/8) states that the indeclinable word yāvat, when it signifies limitation, is invariably compounded with a word ending in a case affix. The compound so formed is called Avayayībhāva.

The example for this rule holds in the verse:—

viṣayānparigṛhya yāvadarthaṃ salilapratyupayujya māsikādīn |
niyamāndadhataḥ padaṃ ha bhejuḥ dvijamukhyāstadabibhyataḥ parebhyaḥ ||
(Vāsudevavijaya 4.4)

The word given as an example for this rule is yāvadartham | yāvantaḥ arthāḥ tāvantaḥ viṣayāḥ |

yāvad jas artha jas yāvadavadhāraṇe (avyayībhāvasamāsaḥ)
yāvad artha supo dhātupratipadikayoḥ (Elision of sup)
yāvadartha prathamānirdiṣṭaṃ samāsa upasarjanam, upasarjanaṃ pūrvam |
  (technical term upasarjana for yāvat and employment as first participant)
yāvadartha s kṛttaddhitasamāsāśca | (Crude form or pratipādika) svaujasamauṭ (sup)
yāvadartha am nāvyayībhāvādato'mtvapañcamyāḥ |(Substitution for am for s)
yāvadartham ami pūrvaḥ (pūrvarūpaḥ)


The same verse i.e Vāsudevavijaya 4.4 gives an example for another rule regarding Avayayībhāva, viz. sup pratinā mātrārthe (2/1/9). A word ending in a case -affix is compounded with the indeclinable word prati when meaning a little and the compound is called Avayayībhāva. The example is salilaprati meaning kiñcit salilam upabhujya | salilasya leśaḥ salilaprati |

salila ṅas prati sup pratitā mātrārthe |
  (avyayībhāvasamāsaḥ, prati is here in the sense of a drop)
salila prati sūpo dhātupratipadikayoḥ (Elision of sup)
salila prati prathamānirdiṣṭaṃ samāsa upasarjanam
  (salila has the technical term upasarjam as it is the subanta word which is used in the first case in the rule)
  upasarjanaṃ pūrvam (Already occupies the first place)
salila prati s kṛttaddhitasamāsāśca (pratipādikatvam) svaujasamauṭ (su)
salilaprati | avyayādāpsupaḥ (elision of sup)


In the same way, there are examples for almost rules of Avayayībhāva. All other rules along with their examples and details are given in appendix for the easy and quite access. It is notable that some rules regarding Avayayībhāva have excluded by Vāsudeva such as vibhāṣā (2/1/11), saṃkhyā vaṃśyena (2/1/19) etc.

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