Dec 21, 2014

हरिः ॐ | नमो नमः |

After opening prayers and a review of present tense form of verbs, we moved on to the topic of the day.

कर्म पदम् - Karma Padam (Accusative Case):

So far we had been learning about nouns in all three genders, in the nominative case. We had constructed sentences with a subject and verb. The subject of a sentence usually takes the nominative case ending. The subject is also known as the कर्ता, or, कर्तृ पदम् . Subject is the doer, or, the one who does the action that is described in the verb, known as, क्रिया पदम् . Today we discussed the object of the sentence, which takes the accusative case ending. Usually the object of a sentence can be identified by asking the question what, or, whom in relation to the verb.

Examples:
1. रामः फलं खादति |  Rama eats a fruit.
रामः (Rama) - Subject
खादति (Eats) - Verb
When we ask the question Rama eats what? we get the answer - फलं (a fruit), which is the object of this sentence.

2. गणेशः स्कन्दं पश्यति |  Ganesha sees Skanda.
गणेशः (Ganesha) - Subject
पश्यति (Sees) - Verb
When we ask the question Ganesha sees whom? we get the answer - स्कन्दं (Skanda), which is the object of this sentence.

In the case of certain verbs, like गच्छति (goes), the object is identified by asking the question "where"
3. सीता  वनं गच्छति |   Sita goes to the forest.
सीता (Sita) - Subject
गच्छति (goes) - Verb
When we ask the question Sita goes where? we get the answer - वनं (forest), which is the object of this sentence.

In Sanskrit, a different ending is added to the root of the noun, to express the noun in accusative case. Accusative case is known as dvitIyA vibhakti, द्वितीया विभक्तिः. Today we learned the accusative case endings for the all the three genders in singular number. In the case of neuter gender, the nominative and accusative forms are similar.

Gender	Nominative Case	Accusative Case
पुल्लिङ्गः	रामः	रामम्
स्त्रीलिङ्गः	सीता	सीतां
स्त्रीलिङ्गः	देवी	देवीम्
नपुंसकलिङ्गः	वनम्	वनम्

We then formed sentences with a subject, verb and an object. 

1. कृष्णः  पत्रिकां  पठति |  Krishna reads a magazine.

2.  बालकाः श्लोकं पठन्ति |    The boys read the shloka.

3. वानरः  सूर्यम्  पश्यति  | The monkey sees the sun.

Reading & Comprehension

रामं स्कन्दं हनुमन्तं वैनतेयं वृकोदरम् |
शयने यः स्मरेन्नित्यं  दुःस्वप्नस्तस्य नश्यति ||
He, who shall remember Rama, Skanda(muruga), Hanuman, Garuda(Vainateya), and, Bhima (vRkodaram), when(before) going to sleep, his bad dream is always removed/destroyed.

In this shloka, all the nouns, ramaH, skandaH, vainateyaH, vrkodaraH, and, hanumAn, are used in the accusative case, hence declined in dvitIyA vibhakti.

Homework

1. Construct five sentences with a subject, verb, and an object in singular number.
2. Write the shloka once in your notebook neatly, and memorize the shloka. 

We concluded with Prayers.
We shall meet again on Jan 4, 2015. Enjoy your holidays!

ॐ  शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||

Dec 14, 2014

हरिः ॐ | नमो नमः |

After opening prayers, we reviewed the verbs that we had learned in the previous class and revised their singular and plural forms for third person nouns and pronouns.

ईकारान्त स्त्रीलिङ्गशब्दाः - Feminine Gender Nouns ending with long 'i'(I/'ee'):

We had learned about feminine gender nouns ending with long 'a', as in सीता , लता, and, बालिका, in the previous classes. Another frequent form of feminine gender nouns end with I/ee.

Examples:

1. देवी    =  Goddess, a female deity, a respectable lady
2. नदी    =   River
3. घटी    =   Clock
4. लेखनी  = Pen
5. कर्तरी   = Scissors
6. पार्वती / सरस्वती /  गौरी  etc.  (common nouns)

To form the dual number form of an IkArAnta shabdaH, drop the long 'i' and add 'yau'.
To form the plural number form of an IkArAnta shabdaH, drop the long 'i' and add 'yaH'.
Hence for the singular noun नदी , dual form would be नद्यौ , plural form would be  नद्यः .

That brought us to the topic of samyuktaakShara, or, conjunct consonants. When two consonants are joined together, a new letter form is used to represent the combination of certain consonants. We reviewed few such conjunct consonants that we frequently encounter.

1. d+y+a  = द् + य्  + अ   = द्य 
2. t+r+a    =  त् + र् + अ  =  त्र 
3. k+ṣ+a   =  क् + ष् + अ  = क्ष 
4. ś+r+a   =  श् + र् + अ   = श्र 
5. j+ñ+a   =  ज् + ञ         =  ज्ञ 

Here is a summary of dual and plural forms for all the IkArAnta shabda-s that we learned today.

Singular	Dual	Plural
देवी	देव्यौ	देव्यः
नदी	नद्यौ	नद्यः
घटी	घट्यौ	घट्यः
लेखनी	लेखन्यौ	लेखन्यः
कर्तरी	कर्तर्यौ	कर्तर्यः

Reading & Comprehension

We had learned two lines of this subhaashitam in the last class. Here are the other two lines.

पिबन्ति नद्यः स्वयमेव नाम्भः |
स्वयं न खादन्ति फलानि वृक्षाः |
नादन्ति सस्यं खलु वारिवाहाः |
परोपकाराय सतां विभूतयः ||

Rivers do not drink the water themselves. The water bearing clouds do not eat the crop, indeed. So are the wealth and assets of noble men; always used for the welfare of others.

Homework

Please review all the feminine nouns we have learned today and their dual and plural forms.

1. Practice to read the complete subhaaShitam and write it once in your notebook.  
2. Identify the verbs/kriyapadaani that are in the subhaashitam.
3. Form 3 sentences with feminine gender nouns and verbs.
4. Practice writing the samyuktaakShara-s five times each.

We concluded with Prayers.
We shall meet again on Dec 21, 2014

ॐ  शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||

Dec 7, 2014

हरिः ॐ | नमो नमः |

After opening prayers and review of the concepts we had learned in the previous classes, we started our study of action filled words :)

क्रिया पदानि - Verbs:

क्रिया , means action, and पदं / पदानि , means word/words. Hence a word that indicates action in a sentence is called as क्रियापदम् . Verbs are crucial in expressing any action done by the subject, or, the doer. So far we had learned quite a bit about nouns, in various genders, and, numbers. Once we learn about verbs as well, we can become quite versatile in what we can communicate.

Today we shall be learning about the present tense form of verbs, that go with Third person nouns and pronouns.

Verbs are not sensitive to the gender of the noun (subject). This is similar to English.

                He sees;  She sees.  Verb form remains the same for all genders.

Verbs vary based on the number of the noun (subject). This is also similar to English.
                 He sees; They see!  Verb form changes with number.

We reviewed the parts of the body, and discussed how they help us in our daily lives with our activities, to build our verb vocabulary base.

Verb - (root)	Singular	Plural
See - (दृश् )	सः   पश्यति |	ते  पश्यन्ति |
Eat - (खाद् )	सा  खादति |	ताः  खादन्ति |
Speak - (वद् )	बालकः  वदति  |	बालकाः वदन्ति  |
Write - (लिख्)	बालिका  लिखति |	बालिकाः लिखन्ति |
Drink - (पा )	गजः   पिबति |	गजाः  पिबन्ति |
Read - (पठ् )	छात्रः  पठति  |	छात्राः  पठन्ति  |

The students then took turns forming sentences with a subject from their vocabulary base, and one of the verbs from the table above. They were quite creative in their sentences, and demonstrated their ability to effectively apply their vocabulary.

1. वृक्षः पिबति |  As the tree drinks through its roots, or feet, it is also known  as पादपः 
2. व्यापारी सत्यं वदति | Though we have not studied about objects yet, one of the students came up with this sentence. Quite impressive!
3. गजः वदति |
4. गणेशः खादति |
5. छात्राः  लिखन्ति |

Reading & Comprehension

We learned two lines of a subhaashitam. Note: The other two lines are reserved for the next class.

स्वयं न खादन्ति फलानि वृक्षाः |
परोपकाराय सतां विभूतयः ||

स्वयं  - themselves / personally; न  - not; खादन्ति   - eat; फलानि  - fruits
वृक्षाः  - trees; परोपकाराय - for the benefit of others;  सतां  - noble men's;  विभूतयः - assets/riches/wealth

Trees do not eat the fruits themselves. Similarly, the wealth and assets possessed by noble men, are to serve others who are in need.

Trees use the resources from the earth, energy from the sun, and after a long period of time and hard work produce tasty fruits. But after all that work, they generously offer their fruits to birds, animals and humans.  In this saying, the generosity of the trees is compared to the generosity and selflessness of great men. Great men too are like trees in their compassion and generosity. They use their hard earned wealth and riches to serve the entire humanity. Let us all strive to be like the Giving Tree.

Homework

1. Construct five simple sentences with a subject and verb in present tense. Use both singular and plural subjects, and use the appropriate verb form. Challenge: use the avyaya "न" , meaning, "not", in at least one sentence.
2. Practice reading the subhaashitam aloud few times, and write it neatly once in your notebook.
3. What is the sanskrit word for "water"? Find at least one synonym.

We concluded with Prayers.
We shall meet again on Dec 14, 2014.

ॐ  शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||

Nov 23, 2014

हरिः ॐ | नमो नमः |

After opening prayers and the theme song, we reviewed nouns in all their numbers, which we had studied in the previous class. We then moved on to learning about the parts of the human body.

शरीरस्य अवयवाः - Parts of the Body

शरीरः means body.
When we refer to a pair of eyes, pair of ears, pair of hands, pair of feet, etc., in sanskrit, the dual number of the noun is used. Depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, or, neuter, the appropriate dual form of the noun should be used. 

Eyes: an eye is नेत्रम् , a neuter noun, hence a pair of eyes are नेत्रे .
Ears: an ear is known as कर्णः , or, श्रोत्रः ; hence a pair of ears are कर्णौ / श्रोत्रौ .

Nose is a feminine noun, नासिका ; so is tongue, जिह्वा .

Teeth: a tooth is दन्तः , a masculine noun, and the plural word teeth is  दन्ताः .

A head is शिरः , a masculine noun.  We discussed about Aadi Sesha, who has thousand heads, and, Raavana who has ten heads. and in these specific cases, we would say शिराः to mean heads.
Hands: a hand is known as हस्तः , a masculine noun, hence two hands together,  is  हस्तौ .
Feet: a foot is पादः , a masculine noun, hence feet would be, पादौ .

Reading & Comprehension

We read and reflected on a saying that discusses about true ornaments/adornments to some of our body parts.

हस्तस्य भूषणं दानं सत्यं कण्ठस्य भूषणम् |
श्रोत्रस्य भूषणं शास्त्रं भूषणैः किम् प्रयोजनम् ||

Giving is hand's ornament. Speaking Truth is throat's adornment. Listening to knowledge is ear's embellishment. Other ornaments, like .. bracelets, necklaces, earrings, etc., are of what use?

Homework

1. Write the body parts in sanskrit along with the English meaning, five times.
2. Find a synonym for Eye in sanskrit in the online dictionary.
3. Practice reading the Subhaashita and memorize.

We concluded with Prayers.
We shall meet again on Dec 7, 2014.

ॐ  शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||

Nov 16, 2014

हरिः ॐ | नमो नमः |

After opening prayers, we reviewed the concept of gender in sanskrit. We practiced identifying the gender of a word, by examining the last syllable or the ending of the word.

We then moved on to the topic of the day.

वचनम्  - Number:

In sanskrit, words can be expressed in singular, dual, and, plural numbers. The dual number form is unique to sanskrit; it conveys that a pair or a couple of items are involved, as in the case of eyes, ears, hands, legs, and parents. Plural number in sanskrit, conveys that more than two items are being referred to.

Singular number is known as एकवचनम्
Dual number is known as द्विवचनम्
Plural number is known as बहुवचनम्

We first learned the three different number forms of the pronouns learned in the previous class, and then moved on to nouns in various genders. Here is the summary:

Gender	Singular	Dual	Plural
सर्वनाम शब्दाः  - Pronouns
पुल्लिङ्गः	सः	तौ	ते
स्त्रीलिङ्गः	सा	ते	ताः
नपुंसकलिङ्गः	तत्	ते	तानि
नाम शब्दाः - Nouns
पुल्लिङ्गः	रामः	रामौ	रामाः
स्त्रीलिङ्गः	सीता	सीते	सीताः
नपुंसकलिङ्गः	वनम्	वने	वनानि

We then practised this concept with other masculine, feminine and neuter gender nouns and pronouns, until the class became a pro at it :) We learned many new words in the process.

Homework

Write the dual and plural forms of these nouns, whose singular form is given here. Look up in a dictionary if you do not know the meaning of any of these words, or, the gender of the word.

1. बालकः 
2. बालिका 
3. पुस्तकम् 
4. माला 
5. व्यजनम् 
6. शरीरः 
7. शिरः 
8. हस्तः 
9. कः   * 
10. किम्  *

* - challenge words. 

We concluded with Prayers.
We shall meet again on Nov 23, 2014.

ॐ  शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||

Nov 2, 2014

हरिः ॐ | नमो नमः |

After opening prayer and the theme song of the year, we started our study of sanskrit.

सर्वनाम शब्दाः - Pronouns

We reviewed the list of commonly used pronouns that are gender neutral, in singular number:

1. अहम्    = I
2. त्वम्     = You

The rest of the pronouns, starting with, सर्व,  have different forms based on the gender and the number. We then reviewed the three genders in sanskrit, and how to tell if a word is masculine, feminine or neuter gender. Please refer to this earlier post explaining gender in sanskrit.

Pronoun	पुंल्लिङ्गः  Masculine	स्त्रीलिङ्गः   Feminine	नपुंसकलिङ्गः  Neuter
He, She, It, This (close proximity)	एषः	एषा	एतत्
He, She, It, That (at a distance)	सः	सा	तत्
Who	कः	का	किम्
All / Everyone	सर्वः	सर्वा	सर्वम्

We did an exercise to tell the gender of the noun, by looking at the last letter of the word.

akaaraanta pullinga shabda, means, a word that ends with the short vowel 'a', and is of masculine gender. VisargaH typically accompanies the last vowel a.
Ex: रामः, शिरः, हस्तः, एषः

aakaaraanta striilinga shabda means, a word that ends with the long vowel, 'aa', and is of feminine gender. iikaaraanta striilinga shabda means, a word that ends with the long vowel, 'ii'/'ee', and is of feminine gender.
Ex: सीता , माला , का, नदी , लेखनी 

akaaraanta napumsakalinga shabda means, a word that ends with the short vowel 'a' and is of nueter gender. This is typically accompanied by anusvaaraH.
Ex: वनम् , पत्रम् , पुष्पम्, फलम्, सर्वम् 

Note: visargaH and anusvaaraH are not considered as vowels; they are support vowels. Hence the vowel that they accompany are used to tell the ending letter. This pattern of identifying the gender works for majority of the words. However there are exceptions, and other patterns, that we will learn as we advance further.

The students then practised constructing sentences using the words in the vocabulary wall and the learned pronouns.

Reading & Comprehension 

We then read a short sanskrit poem by kālidāsa.
kālidāsa is a renowned sanskrit poet, and a literary genius. He was one of the court poets in the assembly of the king Bhoja-rājā. He is known for his skill to compose poems on any given topic. Once the king posed a challenge to come up with a poem, that ended in ka kha ga gha. This exercise is also known as samasyaa pooraNam. Based on a conversation kālidāsa had with a girl, on the way to the court, it is believed, he composed this poem:

का त्वं बाले ?  काञ्चन माला | Who are you, little girl?. Kanchana Mala.
कस्याः पुत्री ?  कनकलतायाः |  Whose daughter are you? Kanakalata's.
हस्ते किं ते ? ताली पत्रम् |   What is in your hands? Palm leaf.
का वा रेखा ?  क ख ग घ ||   What is the sketch/drawing? ka kha ga gha.

The rest of the poets who failed to complete the challenge, now realized why Bhoja-rājā had chosen kālidāsa for conferring the title of kavi-chakravarty.

Homework

1. Write the list of pronouns with their English meaning in your notebook.
2. Write the poem in sanskrit, in your notebook. Read few times to become fluent.
3. Look up nouns in the spoken sanskrit dictionary. Identify the gender. Build your list of 5 masculine, 5 feminine and 5 neuter gender nouns. Please write the words in Sanskrit, its meaning in English, and the gender.

We concluded with Prayers. We will meet again on Nov 16, 2014.
ॐ  शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||

June 8, 2014

हरिः ॐ | Hari OM.
Today, we took a sneak peak in to past tense. We had stumbled upon it a few times earlier in some of the exercises in abhyaasapustakam, but we had reserved it for a later class.

We first reviewed the present tense form of the verbs along with their dhatus that we had learned in the past sessions. Now a crude way to indicate that the action happened in the past, is to add this special word, स्म, to the verb in present tense. This is irrespective of the puruShaH and vacanam. Very simple :) Strictly speaking, this does not exactly represent past tense in sanskrit grammar, but comes to the aid of a beginner communicating in sanskrit, who has knowledge of the present tense forms of the verb, to convey that the action happened in the past, and is not present.

This is hoping that the beginner shall progress further and learn past tense in its true form, and then not rely in this aid. It is similar to taking the help of a float or a noodle to first get comfortable with the water in the swimming pool. Once you learn to swim, of course you do not need to hang on to the noodle :) So until you learn past tense, hang on to स्म  to swim in the ocean of sanskrit :)

Examples:
सीता नृत्यति स्म |  Sita danced in the past, or, Sita used to dance.
अहं ध्यानं करोमि स्म |  I meditated in the past, or, I used to meditate.

We then briefly looked at another way of communicating past tense: using the -ktavat pratyaya, which when suffixed to the verb, gives the past participle form of a verb. The ktavat pratyaya form varies based on the gender and number, but does not change or vary based on the person/puruSha.

Examples:
रामः वनं गतवान् |    Rama had gone to the forest.    
अहं आपणं गतवान् |   I had gone to the store.
        
सा फलं  खादितवती |    She had eaten a fruit.
अहं मात्रुगृहं गतवती |    I had gone to my mother's house.

However once we learn to conjugate the verb roots in past tense, these usages are discouraged.

With that our one year of sanskrit learning came to a conclusion.

Keep reading articles in sanskrit, until we meet again.

धन्यवादाः |
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||

June 1, 2014

Hari OM.

Today, after prayers, we moved on to something totally different than vibhakti, or, declensions.

We discussed how to communicate cause and effect in sentences.

We first learned the usage of the avyaya: अतः meaning 'therefore', or, 'hence'. In the case of अतः , the cause, or कारणम्  is first stated. Then the result or effect is stated using अतः .

Examples: 

सा प्रतिदिनं संगीत-अभ्यासं करोति | अतः सा सम्यक् गायति |
She practices singing music everyday. Hence she sings good.

Please note that there are two separate sentences. Each sentence has a subject and a verb. 

तस्य मूलम् अधिकं अस्ति | अतः अहं तत्  न क्रीणामि |
The price of that (object) is very high. Hence I did not buy that.

सः शिरोवेदनाम्  अनुभवति | अतः सः क्रीडितुम् न आगच्च्छति |
He has a head-ache. Therefore he has not come to play.

विद्युत् नास्ति | अतः व्यजनम् न भ्रमति |
There is no power. Hence the fan is not moving.

After practising few more sentences using अतः, we moved on to a similar construct यतः, meaning 'because'. In this construct, the result or the effect, known as कार्यम् , is stated first. Then the cause or कारणम् is explained using यतः .

We took the same examples that we worked with अतः , and re-stated them using यतः .

सा सम्यक् गायति | यतः सा प्रतिदिनं संगीत-अभ्यासं करोति|
She sings good. Because she practices singing music every day.

Depending on what one would like to state first, the cause or the effect, either one of these constructs अतः  , or, यतः could be used to express the connection.

We then discussed how to state something that is dependent, or, contingent upon another event, using the यदा - तदा  construct, which is similar to the "when" conjunction usage in English. In this construct, there is an event or expression that is dependent upon a condition, that is stated in the condition clause, using yadaa. These two go together, hand-in-hand, as one unit.

यदा सूर्योदयः भवति तदा कमलं विकसति |
When the sun rises, the lotus blooms.

यदा सः श्रुणोति तदा सः श्रेष्ठः छात्रः |
When he listens, he is the best student.

Please know that, it is an incomplete sentence to just state the condition clause, or, the yadaa clause, without stating the central idea of the expression/sentence.

We had learned earlier that कदा also means "when". However there is a subtle difference in when कदा is used, as opposed to, यदा.  In affirmative sentences, यदा is used, and in interrogative sentences कदा is typically used to indicate "when".

Activity:

We then moved on to reading and understanding a simple story which uses these constructs. Click this link to read the story - का श्रेष्ठा ?

Hope that was fun.
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः |

May 18, 2014

हरिः ॐ  Hari OM.
We reviewed all the vibhakti forms for the shabda-s - raama, sitaa and vanam, that we have covered over the past few months. We have been focussing only on eka vacanam or singular number, to first understand the concept and correct usage.

Here is a summary of the declensions that we have learned, for the three genders:

विभक्तिः  Case	प्रातिपदिकम्  राम	प्रातिपदिकम्  सीता	प्रातिपदिकम्  वन
प्रथमा Nominative	रामः	सीता	वनम्
द्वितीया Accusative	रामम्	सीताम्	वनम्
तृतीया Instrumental	रामेण	सीतया	वनेन
चतुर्थी Dative	रामाय	सीतायै	वनाय
पञ्चमी Ablative	रामात्	सीतायाः	वनात्
षष्ठी Genitive	रामस्य	सीतायाः	वनस्य
सप्तमी	रामे	सीतायाम्	वने

We practiced translating few English sentences, applying our vibhakti knowledge.

[English] The horse eats the grass.
[संस्कृतम्] अश्वः तृणं खादति |
The kids were fascinated by the fact that changing the order of the sentence to
 तृणं अश्वः खादति |  does not mean "The grass eats the horse." What a relief!

[English]  I write a shloka on the white board with a marker.
[संस्कृतम्] अहम्  श्वेतफलके अङ्कन्या श्लोकं लिखामि |

We shall be attempting more translations in the next few classes, please review and memorize the vibhakti forms.

We then moved on to the last missing piece in the vibhakti puzzle:
संबोधना प्रथमा , or the vocative case.

In sanskrit, there is a special way to invoke or call out to someone, known as Vocative case in English. The dual and plural forms of vocative case are the same as prathamA vibhakti or nominative case for the shabda-s we are working on, however just the singluar form is specialized. Usually, as part of invocation, हे, or, रे  would be added. An exclamation mark added when translated in English.

Let us understand how to call out the names for the shabda-s that we have been working with so far, along with iikaaranta strIlinga shabda:

Hey Rama!  हे राम |
Hey SitA!  हे सीते |
Oh flower! हे पुष्प |
Hey Saraswati!  हे सरस्वति | Please note that the long I has been changed to short i

We then analyzed a shloka that we are quite familiar with, for examples of vocative case.

सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम्  वरदे कामरूपिणि |
विद्यारम्भम् करिष्यामि सिद्धिर्भवतु मे सदा |
Hey Saraswati! (सरस्वति) Giver of boons! (वरदे) Fulfiller of desires! (कामरूपिणि)
Salutations to you. (नमः तुभ्यम् )
I am going to commence my studies. (विद्यारम्भं  करिष्यामि  - implied अहम् )
May success be mine (मम सिद्धिः भवतु ), always! (सदा)

We also discussed few other shloka-s from Gita and Mukunda maalaa for applications of vocative case.

Here are few more examples:

Respected madam! आर्ये
Respected sir! आर्य
Hey mighty armed! महाबाहो
Hey, Conqueror of wealth!  धनञ्जय
Hey Lord of Parvati! हे पार्वतीपते
Hey Guru! हे गुरो
Hey Mom! हे अम्ब

We reviewed the examples given in Abhyaasapustakam for sambodhana prathama usage.

With that we concluded our session.
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः |

May 4, 2014

हरिः ॐ  Hari OM.
Today we ventured in to panchamI vibhakti or ablative case. Ablative case is typically used when there is a separation between two objects or entities; the primary entity or object from which the second entity or object is separated or removed, is expressed using panchamI vibhakti.

Ex: वृक्षात्  फलं पतति |  [ A fruit falls from the tree. ]

Here the primary entity from which something is separated or removed is the tree, वृक्षः Hence this entity when declined in panchamI vibhakti takes the form वृक्षात्. The second entity in this example is the fruit, which is the subject, hence is declined in prathamA vibhakti.

We then looked at the declension patterns for the various noun endings.

Nominative Case	पञ्चमी विभक्तिः  Ablative Case	English Translation
रामः	रामात्	from Rama
कृष्णः	कृष्णात्	from Krishna
सीता	सीतायाः	from Sita
वनम्	वनात्	from a forest

We practiced forming few more sentences using ablative case to reinforce this declension.

भरतः रामात् पादुकां स्वीकरोति  | [Bharata accepts a slipper from Rama.]

वानराः वनात् ग्रामम् आगच्छन्ति | [Monkeys come from a forest to the village.]

नदी शिखायाः प्रवहति | [ River flows from the crest/peak of the mountain.]

कन्दुकः हस्तात् पतति | [ Ball drops from the hand.]

सत्त्वात् सञ्जायते ज्ञानम् | [ From sattva arises knowledge.]

अङ्कुरः बीजात् उद्भवति | [ Sprout is produced from the seed.]

That led us to the last question word in the sapta kakaaraaH - कुतः  [kutaH] = from where?

Based on a boy's daily routine illustrated in the following picture, we formed questions, asking from where the boy came from, and then answered using panchamI vibhakti.

Q: From where does the boy come to the school?

प्र : बालकः कुतः विद्यालयम् आगच्छति ?

A: The boy goes to the school from the house.

उ : बालकः गृहात् विद्यालयं  गच्छति  |

Q: From where does the boy come to the library?

प्र : बालकः कुतः ग्रन्थालयम्  आगच्छति ?

A: The boy comes to the library from the school.

उ : बालकः विद्यालयात् ग्रन्थालयम्  आगच्छति |

So on, until he returns back home.

Q: From where does the boy return home?

प्र : बालकः कुतः  गृहं  प्रत्यागच्छति?

A: The boy returns home from the restaurant.

उ : बालकः भोजनशालायाः गृहं  प्रत्यागच्छति |

We also discussed another short-cut that we could use instead of declining in panchamI vibhakti. By appending or adding the suffix taH / तः to the root word, a similar effect can be achieved. The resultant word is an indeclinable or avyaya, hence does not vary by number, or, gender.

Ex: बालकः  विद्यालयतः  ग्रन्थालयं गच्छति| [ The boy goes to the library from the school.]

Some of the indeclinables to add to our vocabulary are:

इतः [itaH] = from here / from now / hence

ततः  [tataH] = from there / from then / therefore

That was quite a new concept to learn and reflect upon :) Keep looking for panchamI vibhakti usage in the articles and shloka-s you read until the next session.

We discussed a verse from Geeta with panchamI vibhakti usage.
अन्नाद्  भवन्ति  भूतानि  पर्जन्याद्  अन्नसम्भवः |
यज्ञाद्  भवति पर्जन्यः     यज्ञः  कर्मसमुद्भवः ||

annad bhavanti bhutani      parjanyad anna-sambhavah 
yajnad bhavati parjanyah   yajnah karma-samudbhavah - Chapter 3 Verse #14

Assignment:
Kids: Please work on the exercise 9.1 in Abhyaasa pustakam. Page: 33

Adults: Please work on exercises 9.1 and 9.2 in Abhyaasa pustakam. Answer 9.2 with panchamI vibhakti declensions and not using the taH short-cut, to challenge yourself. Pages: 33-34

We will meet again on May 18, 2014.

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः |

April 6, 2014

हरिः ॐ  Hari OM.
After prayers, we quickly reviewed the topic: caturthI vibhakti; how and where it is commonly used.

We then moved on to the next (sixth) question word in conversations: किमर्थम् , which means, Why, or, "For What purpose?"

Q: सः किमर्थं देवालयम् गच्छति ?  Why does he go to the temple?
We looked at a couple of ways of answering this question.

A1: सः देवस्य अर्चनार्थं  देवालयं गच्छति | (The reason word combined with the word artham)
A2: सः देवस्य अर्चनाय  देवालयं  गच्छति  |  (Declining the reason word in caturthI vibhakti)
The translation in English would be: He goes to the temple: for the purpose of worshipping God, or to worship God, respectively.

We analyzed this sentence and identified the subject, verb, object and the other cases/declensions.

The class then practiced changing the subject of this sentence, to be uttama puruShaH - I.

I go to the temple to worship God.
अहं  देवस्य  अर्चनाय   देवालयं गच्छामि |
We noticed that only the subject and the verb change in this transformation. Every other word stays the same.

We referred to page 37 in Abhyaasa pustakam, and practiced few conversations with किमर्थम्.
The children practiced reading the big words, as the adults formed the questions and answers.

सः  किमर्थं  विद्यालयं गच्छति  ? Why does he go to the school?
सः पठनार्थम् / पठनाय विद्यालयं  गच्छति | He goes to the school to study.

सः  किमर्थं योगासनं करोति ?  Why does he do Yoga?
सः  आरोग्यार्थं  योगासनं  करोति |  He does Yoga for his good health.

सः  किमर्थं  ग्रन्थालयं  गच्छति ?  Why does he go to the library?
सः  पठनार्थं ग्रन्थालयं  गच्छति |  He goes to the library to read.

सः किमर्थं  चिकित्सालयं  गच्छति ?  Why does he go to the hospital?
सः  औषधार्थम्  चिकित्सालयं  गच्छति |  He goes to the hospital to get medicines.
(Well, we no longer go to the hospital to get cured. We go to get medicines. Interesting !!)

सः किमर्थं  विदेशं  गतवान् ?  Why did he go abroad / to a foreign country?
सः  प्रवासार्थं  विदेशं  गतवान् |  He went to a foreign country to live, or, reside there.

We have not learned past tense yet! We ran in to this word "gatavaan" today, which implies the action happened in the past. More details in the future. Here are the new words to add to your vocabulary.

The group had an interesting discussion on the word - pravaasa. It was good to observe that few members in the class could identify the root word "vas" - which means live, dwell or reside.  They identified the prefixes: vi and pra. Few recalled that the word was used in the context of emigration, or residents in a foreign country! Well, we are progressing slowly and steadily in our grasp of the sanskrit language!

Assignment:

Kids: Please practice reading and answering the questions in the exercise 4.5 in Abhyaasa pustakam. Page: 23

Adults: Please practice the exercises 5.2 & 5.3 in Abhyaasa pustakam. Pages: 24, 25

We will meet again on April 27, 2014.

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः |

March 9, 2014

नमो  नमः |
We started the class reviewing the declensions of nouns that we have discussed until now: nominative, accusative, genitive and locative cases.

We then recalled how we call out to our Gods and offer our salutations:

ॐ नमः शिवाय | Salutations to Shiva.
ॐ नमो नारायणाय | Salutations to Narayana.
ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय | Salutations to Bhagavan vaasudeva.
सरस्वति  नमस्तुभ्यं ( नमः + तुभ्यं ) | Hey Saraswati, salutations to you.
तस्मै श्री गुरवे नमः | Salutations to that Sri Guru.
ॐ श्री परात्मने नमः | Salutations to the Revered Supreme Soul.
नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः | Salutations to Her, Salutations to Her, Salutations, Salutations.

Hey, the good news is all of us are already familiar with chaturthi vibhakti, also known as the dative case.

Thus, when we salute someone, we use the dative case. There are other instances when dative case is used in sanskrit. We will learn them as we go.

Let us now understand, the pattern used to decline a noun in chaturthI vibhakti in all three genders in singular number.

Nominative Case	Dative Case	Dative Case description
रामः	रामाय	to Rama
कृष्णः	कृष्णाय	to Krishna
सीता	सीतायै	to Sita
देवी	देव्यै	to Devi
मित्रम्	मित्राय	to a friend

Well, for this vibhakti, we know the declensions for more than just the akaaranta pullinga shabda, aakaaranta striilinga shabda, iikaaraanta striilinga shabda and akaaraanta napumsakalinga shabda. But we will focus on these endings for now, until we explore all the vibhaktis.

In the previous session, we had discussed that the declension patterns are different in the case of pronouns. So let us look at chaturthii vibhakti for the pronouns that we know.

Nominative Case	Dative Case	Dative Case description
सः	तस्मै	to Him
सा	तस्यै	to Her
तत्	तस्मै	to that
त्वं	तुभ्यं	to you
अहं	मह्यं	to me

We chanted the first 5 verses from Chapter 14 of Bhagavad Gita, and concluded our class with that.

Assignment:

Please identify and write down a shloka or prayer that you know, in sanskrit, that has chaturthi vibhakti usage. 

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः |

March 2, 2014

नमो  नमः |
We reviewed the present tense verbs we had learned in the previous sessions, for the following subject/person: प्रथम पुरुषः  and उत्तम पुरुषः

We then discussed the verbs that the class had identified in Chapter 14 of Bhagavad Gita, matching the ending pattern ति, अन्ति, मि, मः
                                               प्रवक्ष्यामि, भवति, संभवन्ति, अनुपश्यति, अधिगच्छति
The exercise was to get us to start looking out for verbs in the sentences we come across. We reviewed what tense and person each one of these verbs are and discussed their meaning.

Homework review took us to the concept of verb prefixes:  उपसर्गः - upasargaH
Sanskrit language has 22 verb prefixes, those when prefixed to the verb, do one of the following:

• intensify the meaning of the verb
• modify the meaning of the verb, or,
• in some cases, imply the opposite meaning of the verb.

Click here for the list of the common upasargas.

We realized that by prefixing upasarga to the verb roots we have already learned, we can quickly increase our verb vocabulary:

आगच्छति  - to come

अनुगच्छति  - to follow, go along

अवगच्छति - to understand

प्रत्यागच्छति - to return, come back

Two or more upasargas can be prefixed to the dhatu as well. In the last example, prati and aa are added to the verb root / dhatu: gam.

Assignment: (Kids)
1. Write the pronouns I, We, He, She & It in singular and plural, in sanskrit, five times.
2. Form one sentence with each pronoun and the correct form of the verb that you have learned so far.

Assignment: (Adults)
Look out for verbs with upasargas in Gita or Proverbs or shlokas that you already know, and identify at least a couple of verbs with verb prefixes.


ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः |

Feb 23, 2014

नमो  नमः |
We revised what we had learned about verbs in the last session and continued to explore this topic further.

We looked at how verbs are formed when the subject is अहम् (I) or वयम्  (We). Hope you recall that the person doing the action in this scenario is referred to as uttama puruShaH.

For the verbs that we had learned in the last class, here are the present tense uttama puruShaH forms, for ekavacanam and bahuvacanam.

अहं गच्छामि |   (I go.)             वयं गच्छामः | (We go.)                           
अहं पठामि  |    (I read.)           वयं पठामः  | (We read.)
अहं लिखामि  |   (I write.)         वयं  लिखामः |  (We write.)

We discussed frequently heard expressions, to give us a hint or clue.

बुद्धं शरणं गच्छामि |   I go to Buddha for refuge. (Subject is I, अहम् )
पुनः मिलामः |          We will meet again!  ( Subject is We, वयम् )

We learned few more verbs to add to our vocabulary and then constructed sentences using them. Please refer to the Vocabulary List for the month.

We did an activity: Say what you see in the picture. The children named the objects they saw using the subject "I". The adults answered using the subject "We".

"भवान् चित्रे के पश्यति?"

Sample answers:

अहं तालं पश्यामि |

वयं कन्दुकं पश्यामः |

We then analyzed verse #18 of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14 in the class. This verse has been designated by our SwamiJi as the theme verse for this chapter. Usually the theme verse gives the core message of the chapter. Let us see if we can interpret it :)

ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्त्वस्था:
मध्ये  तिष्ठन्ति  राजसा: |
जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्था:
अधो गच्छन्ति तामसा: ||

In the first quarter, प्रथम पुरुषः बहुवचन रूपम्  of the root  गम् is the kriyaa padam: गच्छन्ति.  Hence it is implied that the subject is plural. By asking के गच्छन्ति? we find the subject to be, सत्त्वस्था:
कुत्र गच्छन्ति? Where do they go? The answer is ऊर्ध्वं, meaning, upwards.
In the second quarter, प्रथम पुरुषः बहुवचन रूपम्  of the root स्था, meaning to stay or exist,  is the kriyaa padam : तिष्ठन्ति. Subject is राजसा: Where do they stay? Answer is मध्ये, meaning, in the middle.
In the last quarter, the subject is तामसा: Where do they go? Answer is अधः, meaning, downwards.
The single compound word in the third quarter is an adjective qualifying the subject तामसा:

Here is the English meaning given by Swami Chinmayananda:
Those who are abiding in Sattva, go upwards; the Rajasic dwell in the middle; and the Tamasic abiding in the function of the lowest guna, go downwards.

Assignment: 

Analyze 2 - 4 verses of Geeta from Chapter 14. Identify all the kriyaa padaani, or, verbs, that you can recognize.

If you would like to challenge yourself a step further, identify the kartru padam that is associated with the kriya padam.

To understand what a verse means with your sanskrit knowledge and without an English interpretation is truly the reward of your sanskrit study. Hope you find this exercise rewarding.

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः |

Feb 9, 2014

हरिः ॐ | नमो नमः |
HariH OM| namo namaH|

We quickly reviewed the concepts that we had learned in the past: nouns & pronouns, three genders, three numbers, then followed by declensions of the nouns for nominative case, genitive case, and locative case.

We then proceeded to learn about accusative case, or, dvitiiya vibhakti.

द्वितीया विभक्तिः = Accusative Case

When a noun is used to denote the object of an action in a sentence, it is used in the accusative case. Object of the sentence goes hand in hand with the action verb of the sentence. By asking a question what or whom in conjuction with the verb, one can identify the object of the action.

In the case of most masculine and feminine nouns, in ekavachanam (singular), dvitiiya vibhakti is formed by adding anusvaaraH to the end of the root word. In the case of neuter-genders, the nominative and accusative case forms are identical.

Let us look at some examples:

Nominative Case Subject	Accusative Case Object	Root Word Ending - Gender, Number
रामः	रामं	akaaraanta pullinga, ekavachanam
वृक्षः	वृक्षं	akaaraanta pullinga, ekavachanam
सीता	सीताम्	aakaaraanta striilinga, ekavacanam
नदी	नदीम्	iikaaraanta striilinga, ekavacanam
गृहम्	गृहम्	akaaranta napumsaka linga, ekavacanam
वनम्	वनम्	akaaranta napumsaka linga, ekavacanam

Rama sees an elephant.
रामः  गजं  पश्यति |
The boy sees an ant.
बालकः पिपीलिकां पश्यति |

Though it requires memorization of one less form in the case of neuter gender, it requires additional analysis to identify if the word is used as the subject of the sentence or as the object of the sentence. The only way to tell is by the context in which the word is used. Here is an example:

The boy sees an egg in the nest.  (Sees what? Sees an egg. Here "an egg" is the object)
बालकः नीडे  अण्डं पश्यति |
An egg is in the nest. (What is the subject of this sentence? Well, an egg. Hence it is the subject!)
अण्डं नीडे अस्ति .

We finally reached where all action happens !!!

Verbs - क्रिया पदानि / तिङ्ग् अन्तः 

Verbs are interesting, action packed and bring life to any language. In sanskrit, verbs originate from root words, known as dhaatuH, धातुः . Verbs have tenses or moods. Verb tenses and moods vary based on Person and Number. Verbs have to agree with the subject in number. Verbs in any tense and mood can be of one of the three persons, based on who is doing the action. 

Now Person, in sanskrit is known as  पुरुषः (puruShaH).

 पुरुषः ( puruShaH) is of three categories. Conceptually it is different from the Person associated with verbs in English language.

1.  प्रथम पुरुषः    ( First Person) 

2.  मध्यम पुरुषः  (Middle / Intermediate Person)

3. उत्तम पुरुषः   (Chief / Principal Person) 

Person	Singular	Dual	Plural
प्रथम पुरुषः	सः     (He) सा     (She) तत्     (It) रामः   (Rama) भवान्	तौ ते ते रामौ भवन्तौ	ते  (They) ताः  (They) तानि (They) रामाः (Ramas) भवन्तः
मध्यम पुरुषः	त्वम्  (You)	युवाम्	यूयम
उत्तम पुरुषः	अहम्  (I)	आवाम्	वयम्  (We)

From the root or dhaatu, a verb stem known as anga, अङ्गः is formed. For each tense/mood, 9 different terminations are added to the stem, depending on the person and number (3 * 3).

Now let us look at the terminations for Present Tense - lat lakaaraH.

गम्  - to go

Person	Singular	Dual	Plural
प्रथम पुरुषः	गच्छति	गच्छतः	गच्छन्ति
मध्यम पुरुषः	गच्छसि	गच्छथः	गच्छथ
उत्तम पुरुषः	गच्छामि	गच्छावः	गच्छामः

We practiced forming sentences in present tense, for prathama puruShaH, eka vachanam and bahu vachanam combinations.

गजः  गच्छति |                       गजाः गच्छन्ति |
An elephant goes.              Elephants go.

सः गच्छति |                           ते गच्छन्ति |
He goes.                               They go.

बालिका विद्यालयम् गच्छति |    बालिकाः विद्यालयम्  गच्छन्ति |
A girl goes to school.           Girls go to school.

Please note that gender of the subject does not impact the tense formation. Verb conjugations vary only by person and number. Please refer to Vocabulary List for more verbs.

Assignment: 
Please form simple sentences with a subject, verb in present tense and an object.
Please vary the subject for singular and plural, in First Person.

ॐ  शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः|
With that we concluded the class. Please practice forming sentences until we meet on Feb 23, 2014.

Feb 2, 2014

हरिः ॐ | नमो नमः |
HariH OM| namo namaH|

We reviewed telling time, and reviewed the usage of locative case by describing when an action occurred. We analyzed a verse from Moha Mudgara, popularly known as Bhaja Govindam, that had saptamii vibhakti usage.

We learned the following अव्ययाः , or, indeclinables, to describe the day relative to the current point of time. The term अव्ययः in this context means that the word form remains the same, irrespective of the number, gender, or part of speech.

परह्यः     --->                   ह्यः   --->   अद्य  ---> श्वः    --->    परश्वः 
day-before-yesterday   yesterday     today    tomorrow   day-after-tomorrow

We then learned the seven days of the week, and frequently used synonyms.

Sunday       =    भानुवासरः   (रविवासरः)
Monday      =    इन्दुवासरः    (सोमवासरः )
Tuesday      =    भौमवासरः   (मङ्गलवासरः )
Wednesday =    सौम्यवासरः  (बुधवासरः )
Thursday    =     गुरुवासरः

Friday         =    भृगुवासरः     (शुक्रवासरः )
Saturday     =    स्थिरवासरः   (शनिवासरः )

We then practiced forming few sentences with locative case to describe where an action occurs.

Q: सिंहः  कुत्र वसति ?  (Where does a Lion live?)

A: सिंहः  वने वसति |  (Lion lives in the forest.)

Q: लेखनी  कुत्र अस्ति ? (Where is the pen?)

A: लेखनी  पेटिकायाम्  अस्ति |  ( Pen is in the box.)

Q: अण्डानि  कुत्र सन्ति ?  (Where are the eggs?)

A: अण्डानि  नीडे  सन्ति |  (Eggs are in the nest.)

We then practiced chanting the opening and the first verse from Bhagavad Geeta Chapter 14, with a sanskrit hand-out.

With that we concluded our session.

Assignment: Please find an article, prayer, or, quote that has saptamii vibhakti usage and bring it to share with the class next week.

ॐ  शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः|

Jan 26, 2014

हरिः ॐ | नमो नमः |
HariH OM| namo namaH|

We reviewed the concept of Vibhakti, or, Declensions in Sanskrit and revised the usage of genitive case, known as ShaShTI vibhakti in all three genders, and in singular number. 

समयः - Time

Having learned the cardinal numbers from 1 - 20, today we learned to apply these numbers in telling time. 

वादनम्  in sanskrit is equivalent to O'clock in English.

एकवादनम्  = 1 o'clock        सप्तवादनम्  = 7 o'clock

द्विवादनम् = 2 o'clock         अष्टवादनम्  = 8 o'clock

त्रिवादनम्  = 3 o'clock           नववादनम्  = 9 o'clock

चतुर्वादनम् = 4 o'clock          दशवादनम्  = 10 o'clock

पञ्चवादनम्  = 5 o'clock       एकादशवादनम्  = 11 o'clock

षड्वादनम्  = 6 o'clock          द्वादशवादनम्  = 12 o'clock

सार्ध ( स + अर्ध ) when prefixed to the hour, is equivalent to the usage "Half past" in English. Here are some examples:

सार्धनववादनम्  = Half past Nine, or, 9:30.

सार्धत्रिवादनम्  = Half past Three, or, 3:30.

सपाद ( स + पाद ) when prefixed to the hour, is equivalent to the English usage "Quarter past". Examples:

सपादसप्तवादनम्  = Quarter past Seven, or, 7:15.

सपादद्विवादनम्  = Quarter past Two, or, 2:15.

पादोन ( पाद + ऊन ) when prefixed to the next hour, is equivalent to "Quarter to" the next hour in English. Please note that the hour shall be the next approaching hour in this case. Examples:

पादोनषड् वादनम्   = Quarter to Six, or, 5:45.

पादोनत्रिवादनम्  = Quarter to Three, or, 2:45.

इदानीम् समयः कः ?
What is the time now?
Look at the clock images, and try telling the time in sanskrit.

द्वादशवादनम्
12 o'clock
(12:00)

सपादद्वादशवादनम्
Quarter past Twelve
(12:15)

सार्धद्वादशवादनम्
Half Past Twelve
(12:30)

पदोनएकवादनम्
Quarter to One
(12:45)

To tell time to the minute, one option is to add the the minute count to the required hour. The minute count should be combined with the word अधिक, meaning more, and then prefixed to the current hour. 

For example, 3:10 shall be दशाधिकत्रिवादनम् , ten past three, or ten after three.

When the minute is over thirty, another option, is to deduct the minutes from the next approaching hour. In this case, the minute count to be deducted should be combined with the word ऊन,  meaning less, and then prefixed to the next approaching hour.

For example, 6:50 in sanskrit shall be दशोनसप्तवादनम् , ten to seven. It can also be said as पञ्चाशतधिक षड् वादनम् , fifty past six, which is a less common usage.

After practicing to tell time in the clock, we moved on to the locative case, known as सप्तमी विभक्ति, or the seventh case.  Locative case is used to specify the time and place of the action, or specify the context of an action.

Nominative Case	Locative Case	Locative Case description
रामः	रामे	in Rama
प्रातः कालः	प्रातः काले	in the morning
निशा	निशायाम्	in the night
उत्पीटिका	उत्पीटिकायाम्	on the table
गृहम्	गृहे	in the house
सप्तवादनम्	सप्तवादने	at seven o'clock

We practiced forming few sentences with locative case. We discussed other nouns related to time, such as today, now, year, month, fortnight, week, etc. Please refer to the vocabulary list for these words.

In the beginning of yajnas and poojas, the place and time where the pooja/ritual is performed is specified in sanskrit, as part of the samkalpa. It is a good reference for saptamii vibhakti usage. One of our classmates recited the samkalpa and shared with the class. It is as follows:

मम उपात्त समस्त दुरितक्षयद्वारा श्री परमेश्वर प्रीत्यर्थम्:
Followed by astronomical description of time and place where the pooja is performed, all in locative case:
शुभे शोभने मुहूर्थे
आद्य ब्रह्मणः द्वितीयपरार्धे
श्री श्वेतवराह कल्पे
वैवस्वत मन्वन्तरे
अष्टाविंशतितमे कलियुगे
प्रथमे पादे
(Geographical location, that varies depending on where the pooja is performed)
जम्बू द्वीपे भारतवर्षे भरतखन्डे मेरोः दक्षिणे पार्श्वे  (Corresponding to India)
क्रौञ्चद्वीपे रमणकवर्षे इन्द्रखन्डे मेरोः पश्चिमे पार्श्वे (Corresponding to US)
(Time, varies depending on the year and date)
विजय नाम संवत्सरे  ( -- संवत्सरे )
उत्तरायणे ( -- अयणे )
-- ऋतौ   (saptamii vibhakti eka vacana roopam for ukaaraanta shabda - rtu, or season)
-- मासे
-- पक्षे
-- तिथौ  (saptamii vibhakti eka vacana roopam for ikaaraanta shabda - tithi or lunar day )
-- नक्षत्र युक्तायाम्
-- वासर युक्तायाम्
------- अस्याम् शुभतिथौ
(Followed by the desired intention of the pooja and the name of the pooja)
--- सिद्‍ध्यर्थम् --- पूजाम् करिष्ये।

With that we concluded our session. Please practice to tell time in sanskrit, and look for saptamii vibhakti usage in articles that you read or prayers that you chant.

ॐ  शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः|