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 ||