Upasarga is a term used in Sanskrit grammar for a special class of twenty prepositional particles prefixed to verbs or to action nouns.[1] In Vedic, these prepositions are separable from verbs; in classical Sanskrit the prefixing is obligatory.

The twenty prefixes (in Indic alphabetical order) are recognized in Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī at 1.4.58-59,[2] and are enumerated in the gaṇapāṭha (#154):[3]

  1. ati- "beyond"
  2. adhi- "over"
  3. apa- "away"
  4. api- "proximate"
  5. abhi- "to, towards"
  6. anu- "after"
  7. ava- "off, down"
  8. āṅ- "near"
  9. ut-/ud- "up(wards)"
  10. upa- "towards, near"
  11. dus-/dur- "bad, difficult, hard"
  12. ni- "down"
  13. nis-/nir- "away"
  14. parā- "away"
  15. pari- "round, around"
  16. pra- "forth"
  17. prati- "against"
  18. vi- "apart, asunder"
  19. sam-/saṃ- "with"
  20. su- "good, excellent"

By the usual rules of euphonic combination the two prepositions ending in visarga, niḥ and duḥ, have the alternative forms nis-/nir- and dus-/dur- respectively. The gaṇapāṭha listing has these variants, not the forms in pausa, and thus has twenty-two items in all.

A versified form of this list may be found in modern primers or textbooks:

praparāpasamanvavanirdurabhivyadhisūdatinipratiparyapayaḥ
upa āṅiti viṃśatireṣa sakhe upasargavidhiḥ kathitaḥ kavinā pra_parā_apa_sam_anu_ava_nir_dur_abhi_vi_adhi_su_ud_ati_ni_prati_pari_apayaḥ(api)
upaḥ āṅ iti viṃśatiḥ eṣa sakhe upasarga_vidhiḥ kathitaḥ kavinā

Notes

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  1. ^ Monier-Williams, p.210
  2. ^ Katre, p.91
  3. ^ Katre, p.1301

References

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  • Monier-Williams, M., A Sanskrit English Dictionary, (reprint) New Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass 2005 ISBN 81-208-3105-5
  • Katre, Sumitra M., Aṣṭādhyāyī of Pānini, New Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass 1989