विभक्तयः (Case Endings)
In Sanskrit, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and numerals change their forms according to their role in a sentence. These different forms are called विभक्तयः (vibhaktayaḥ), or case endings. Note: विभक्तिः is singular, विभक्तयः is plural..
There are eight विभक्तयः, each indicating a different grammatical function such as the subject, object, instrument etc. Every noun, pronoun, adjective and numeral also decline according to its gender, number and ending. Thus every noun, pronoun, adjective and numeral has 24 forms.
The eight vibhaktis are
| 1 | प्रथमा | Nominative | Subject |
| 2 | द्वितीया | Accusative | Object |
| 3 | तृतीया | Instrumental | By, with |
| 4 | चतुर्थी | Dative | To, for |
| 5 | पञ्चमी | Ablative | From |
| 6 | षष्ठी | Genitive | Of, belonging to |
| 7 | सप्तमी | Locative | In, on, at |
| 8 | सम्बोधनम् | Vocative | addressing |
For example, the word रामः declines as follows for एकवचनम्, singular:
| विभक्तिः | Question | Main Meaning | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| प्रथमा | Who? | Subject | रामः | Rama (subject) |
| द्वितीया | Whom? What? | Object | रामम् | Rama (object) |
| तृतीया | By whom? With what? | Instrument | रामेण | by / with Rama |
| चतुर्थी | To whom? For whom? | Recipient | रामाय | to / for Rama |
| पञ्चमी | From whom? | Source | रामात् | from Rama |
| षष्ठी | Whose? | Possession | रामस्य | of Rama |
| सप्तमी | Where? | Location | रामे | in / on Rama |
| सम्बोधनम् | O...! | Address | हे राम! | O Rama! |
Learning the vibhakti tables is one of the most important steps in mastering Sanskrit. Once the patterns become familiar, it becomes easier to understand sentences, recognize the function of each word, and form grammatically correct expressions.
As an example, here is the vibhakti table for राम. As you can see, it has 24 forms
| विभक्तिः | एकवचनम् | द्विवचनम् | बहुवचनम् |
|---|---|---|---|
| प्रथमा | रामः | रामौ | रामाः |
| द्वितीया | रामम् | रामौ | रामान् |
| तृतीया | रामेण | रामाभ्याम् | रामैः |
| चतुर्थी | रामाय | रामाभ्याम् | रामेभ्यः |
| पञ्चमी | रामात् | रामाभ्याम् | रामेभ्यः |
| षष्ठी | रामस्य | रामयोः | रामाणाम् |
| सप्तमी | रामे | रामयोः | रामेषु |
| सम्बोधन | हे राम | हे रामौ | हे रामाः |
The following three tables give examples for एकवचनम्, द्विवचनम् and बहुवचनम् columns from the above table.
| विभक्तिः | एकवचनम् | Sanskrit | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| प्रथमा | रामः | रामः वनं गच्छति | Rama goes to the forest |
| द्वितीया | रामम् | सीता रामं पश्यति | Sita sees Rama |
| तृतीया | रामेण | मृगः रामेण सह क्रीडति | The deer plays with Rama |
| चतुर्थी | रामाय | सीता रामाय भोजनं ददाति | Sita give food to Rama |
| पञ्चमी | रामात् | सीता रामात् सहाय्यं प्राप्नोति | Sita gets help from Rama |
| षष्ठी | रामस्य | सीता रामस्य कुट्यां वसति | Sita lives in Rama's hut |
| सप्तमी | रामे | रामे बलम् अस्ति | There is strength in Rama |
| सम्बोधन | हे राम | हे राम! शीघ्रम् अत्र आगच्छ | O Rama! Come here quickly! |
| विभक्तिः | द्विवचनम् | Sanskrit | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| प्रथमा | रामौ | रामौ मित्रेण सह वनं गच्छतः | The two Ramas go to the forest with a friend |
| द्वितीया | रामौ | सीता रामौ पश्यति | Sita sees the two Ramas |
| तृतीया | रामाभ्याम् | बालकः रामाभ्यां सह क्रीडति | The boy plays with the two Ramas |
| चतुर्थी | रामाभ्याम् | बालकः रामाभ्यां फलानि ददाति | The boy gives fruits to the two Ramas |
| पञ्चमी | रामाभ्याम् | बालकः रामाभ्यां फलानि गृह्णाति | The boy takes fruits from the two Ramas |
| षष्ठी | रामयोः | रामयोः गृहम् सुन्दरम् अस्ति | The house of the two Ramas is beautiful |
| सप्तमी | रामयोः | रामयोः क्रोधः अस्ति | There is anger in the two Ramas |
| सम्बोधन | रामौ | हे रामौ! शीघ्रं आगच्छतम् | O two Ramas! Come quickly |
| विभक्तिः | बहुवचनम् | Sanskrit | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| प्रथमा | रामाः | रामाः पठन्ति | The Ramas study |
| द्वितीया | रामान् | कृष्णः रामान् मिलति | Krishna meets the Ramas |
| तृतीया | रामैः | गुरुः रामैः सह वदति | The teacher speaks with the Ramas |
| चतुर्थी | रामेभ्यः | बालकः रामेभ्यः फलानि ददाति | The boy gives fruits to the Ramas |
| पञ्चमी | रामेभ्यः | बालकः रामेभ्यः पुस्तकानि लभते | The boy receives books from the Ramas |
| षष्ठी | रामाणाम् | रामाणां गृहम् विशालम् अस्ति | The house of the Ramas is large |
| सप्तमी | रामेषु | रामेषु क्रोधः अस्ति | There is anger in the Ramas |
| सम्बोधन | हे रामाः | हे रामाः! वनं गच्छत | O Ramas! Go to the forest |
शब्दान्तः (Word Ending) and Vibhakti Forms
In Sanskrit, the way a word changes in different vibhaktis depends on the ending of the word stem (प्रातिपदिकम्) and its gender (लिङ्गम्). The ending of a word tells us which declension pattern it follows. Words with the same ending and gender generally follow the same vibhakti table.
For example, the word राम ends in the sound अ and is masculine, so it is called अकारान्त पुंलिङ्गः राम शब्दः and declines in a certain pattern, as shown in the table above. Most masculine words that end in the sound अ follow the same vibhakti pattern as राम. Examples are छात्र, पुत्र, बालक etc.
The same is true for neuter words that end in the sound अ (जलम्, पुस्तकम्, फलम्) and feminine words that end in the sound आ (लता, माया, कन्या).
Note that words that end in ई sound such as नदी, लेखनी, जननी and यामिनी are also considered feminine.
Once you memorize the vibhakti table for one word ending, the same table can be used for all words with the same ending.