Today we will look at the form राक्षसैः mIp from श्रीमद्वाल्मीकि-रामायणम् 6.94.3.

सन्दश्य दशनैरोष्ठं क्रोधसंरक्तलोचनः । राक्षसैरपि दुर्दर्शः कालाग्निरिव मूर्तिमान् ।। ६-९५-३ ।।
उवाच च समीपस्थान्राक्षसान्राक्षसेश्वरः । क्रोधाव्यक्तकथस्तत्र निर्दहन्निव चक्षुषा ।। ६-९५-४ ।।
महोदरं महापार्श्वं विरूपाक्षं च राक्षसम् । शीघ्रं वदत सैन्यानि निर्यातेति ममाज्ञया ।। ६-९५-५ ।।

Gita Press translation – Nipping his lips with his teeth, his eyes crimson with wrath, the king of ogres, who looked like the fire of dissolution incarnate, and whose sight was difficult to endure even for the ogres, commanded the ogres standing near on that spot, viz., Mahodara, Mahāpārśwa and the ogre Virūpākṣa (as follows), in words indistinct through anger, as though consuming them with his glance – “Speedily instruct the troops at my command, as follows :- ‘March out (to the battlefield)!'” (3-5)

राक्षसैः is तृतीया-बहुवचनम् of the compound पुंलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिकम् ‘राक्षस’।

(1) राक्षस + भिस् । By 4-1-2 स्वौजसमौट्छष्टाभ्याम्भिस्ङेभ्याम्भ्यस्ङसिभ्याम्भ्यस्ङसोसाम्ङ्योस्सुप्‌। As per 2-3-69 न लोकाव्ययनिष्ठाखलर्थतृनाम्‌ – A sixth case affix (‘ङस्’, ‘ओस्’, ‘आम्’) is not used (to denote कर्ता (the doer) or कर्म (the object)) of an action denoted by any one of the following –
(i) (a word ending in a substitute in place of) the affix ‘ल्’ (लँट्, लिँट् etc.)
(ii) (a word ending in) the affix ‘उ’ or an affix ending in ‘उ’
(iii) (a word ending in) the affix ‘उक’
(iv) an indeclinable
(v) (a word ending in) a निष्ठा affix (ref. 1-1-26 क्तक्तवतू निष्ठा।)
(vi) (a word ending in) the affix ‘खल्’ or any affix having the same meaning as that of ‘खल्’
(vii) (a word ending in) an affix from the प्रत्याहार: ‘तृन्’ which is formed starting from ‘तृ’ in 3-2-124 लटः शतृशानचावप्रथमासमानाधिकरणे down to 3-2-135 तृन्।
राक्षसैर्दुर्दर्शः (whose sight was difficult to endure for the ogres). ‘दुर्दर्श’ ends in the affix ‘खल्’ (prescribed by 3-3-126 ईषद्दुःसुषु कृच्छ्राकृच्छ्रार्थेषु खल्।) Therefore the agent ‘राक्षस’ of the action (of seeing) takes the third case affix ‘भिस्’ (prescribed by the सूत्रम् 2-3-18 कर्तृकरणयोस्तृतीया) and not the sixth case affix ‘आम्’ (which would have been prescribed by the सूत्रम् 2-3-65 कर्तृकर्मणोः कृति)।

(2) राक्षस + ऐस् । By 7-1-9 अतो भिस ऐस् – Following a अङ्गम् ending in the letter ‘अ’, the affix ‘भिस्’ is replaced by ‘ऐस्’। As per the परिभाषा-सूत्रम् 1-1-55 अनेकाल्शित्सर्वस्य the entire affix ‘भिस्’ is replaced by ‘ऐस्’। 1-3-4 न विभक्तौ तुस्माः prevents the ending letter ‘स्’ of ‘ऐस्’ from getting the इत्-सञ्ज्ञा।

(3) राक्षसैस् । By 6-1-88 वृद्धिरेचि।

(4) राक्षसैः । रुँत्व-विसर्गौ by 8-2-66 ससजुषो रुः and 8-3-15 खरवसानयोर्विसर्जनीयः।

Questions:

1. In Chapter Six of the गीता can you find a situation where (as in the present example) the सूत्रम् 2-3-69 न लोकाव्ययनिष्ठाखलर्थतृनाम्‌ has prevented a sixth case affix from applying to denote the agent of an action denoted by a word ending in the affix ‘खल्’?

2. Which सूत्रम् is used to perform the elision of the letter ‘न्’ in the form सन्दश्य?

3. In which sense has the third case affix been used in the form दशनै:?
i) कर्तरि
ii) करणे
iii) हेतौ
iv) none of the above.

4. In the verses can you spot a word in which the substitution ‘शतृँ’ (in place of ‘लँट्’) has been used?

5. Which कृत् affix is used to derive the feminine प्रातिपदिकम् ‘आज्ञा’ (used in the form आज्ञया (तृतीया-एकवचनम्) in the verses?)

6. How would you say this in Sanskrit?
“Even the sages find it difficult to restrain the mind.” Paraphrase to “The mind is difficult to be restrained even by the sages.” Use the verbal root √ग्रह् (ग्रहँ उपादाने ९.७१) preceded by the उपसर्ग: ‘नि’ for ‘to restrain.’

Easy questions:

1. Which सूत्रम् prescribes the substitution ‘त’ in the form वदत?

2. In the verses can you spot a word in which the affix शप् has taken the लुक् elision?