Today we will look at the form प्रपितामहः  mNs from श्रीमद्भागवतम् 9.24.36.

इति तस्यां स आधाय गर्भं सूर्यो दिवं गतः । सद्यः कुमारः सञ्जज्ञे द्वितीय इव भास्करः ।। ९-२४-३५ ।।
तं सात्यजन्नदीतोये कृच्छ्राल्लोकस्य बिभ्यती । प्रपितामहस्तामुवाह पाण्डुर्वै सत्यविक्रमः ।। ९-२४-३६ ।।

श्रीधर-स्वामि-टीका
No commentary on these verses.

Gita Press translation – So saying, the sun-god deposited his seed in her womb and returned to heaven. That very moment a male child – who was another sun as it were, was born of her without any travail. (35) Afraid of the world (however), she painfully consigned the child to the stream of a river. (Later on) your great grandfather, Pāṇḍu, of genuine valor duly married her (36).

(1) प्रगत: पितामह: = प्रपितामह: – advanced (‘gone ahead’) grandfather = great grandfather

अलौकिक-विग्रह: –
(2) प्र + पितामह सुँ । By सौनाग-वार्तिकम् (under 2-2-18) प्रादयो गताद्यर्थे प्रथमया – Terms like ‘प्र’ (from the प्रादि-गण:) when denoting a sense like ‘गत’ (‘gone’/’advanced’) invariably compound with a syntactically related पदम् ending in the nominative case and the resulting compound gets the designation तत्पुरुष:।

(3) By 1-2-43 प्रथमानिर्दिष्टं समास उपसर्जनम् – the term ‘प्र’ gets the designation उपसर्जनम् because in the सौनाग-वार्तिकम् ‘प्रादयो गताद्यर्थे प्रथमया’ (which prescribes the compounding) the term प्रादय: ends in the nominative case. Hence the term ‘प्र’ is placed in the prior position in the compound as per the सूत्रम् 2-2-30 उपसर्जनं पूर्वम्‌ – In a compound a term which has the designation ‘उपसर्जन’ should be placed in the prior position.

Note: ‘प्र + पितामह सुँ’ gets the designation प्रातिपदिकम्‌ by 1-2-46 कृत्तद्धितसमासाश्च। This allows 2-4-71 to apply in the next step.

(4) प्र + पितामह । By 2-4-71 सुपो धातुप्रातिपदिकयोः – A सुँप् affix takes a लुक् elision when it is a part of a धातुः or a प्रातिपदिकम्।

= प्रपितामह ।

As per the सूत्रम् 2-4-26 परवल्लिङ्गं द्वन्द्वतत्पुरुषयोः – The gender of a तत्पुरुष: compound as well as a द्वन्द्व: compound is the same as the gender of the latter member of the compound. For a प्रादि-समास: (which belongs to the तत्पुरुष: class of compounds) though, as per the वार्तिकम् (under 2-4-26 परवल्लिङ्गं द्वन्द्वतत्पुरुषयोः) द्विगुप्राप्तापन्नालम्पूर्वगतिसमासेषु प्रतिषेधो वाच्यः – The सूत्रम् 2-4-26 परवल्लिङ्गं द्वन्द्वतत्पुरुषयोः does not apply to the following compounds which instead take their gender to match the gender of the विशेष्यम् (the term being qualified by the compound) –
i) a द्विगु-समास: (composed तद्धितार्थे विषये – in the context where the sense of a तद्धित: affix is to be expressed)
ii) a तत्पुरुष-समास: compound which has either ‘प्राप्त’, ‘आपन्न’ or ‘अलम्’ as its prior member
iii) a प्रादि-समास: composed using the सूत्रम् 2-2-18 कुगतिप्रादयः।
Note: गतिसमासपदं गते: समासो येनेति बहुव्रीहिणा ‘कुगतिप्रादयः’ इति सूत्रपरम्। तच्चान्यत्र फलाभावात् प्रादिपरमेव। The mention of ‘गतिसमास’ in the above वार्तिकम् refers to those compounds constructed using the सूत्रम् 2-2-18 कुगतिप्रादयः (which prescribes गति-समासा:)। And since the वार्तिकम् is of no use in the case of those compounds which have ‘कु’ or a ‘गति’ term as the prior member, we have to conclude that the mention of ‘गतिसमास’ in the above वार्तिकम् refers to प्रादि-समास: only.

But in the present example this वार्तिकम् is not necessary because the compound ‘प्रपितामह’ is itself a noun. It is not qualifying any other noun. So the gender is the same as the gender of its latter member (‘पितामह’) which is masculine. The compound declines like राम-शब्द:।

The विवक्षा is प्रथमा-एकवचनम् ।

(5) प्रपितामह + सुँ । By 4-1-2 स्वौजसमौट्छष्टाभ्याम्भिस्ङेभ्याम्भ्यस्ङसिँभ्याम्भ्यस्ङसोसाम्ङ्योस्सुप्।

(6) प्रपितामह + स् । अनुबन्ध-लोपः by 1-3-2 उपदेशेऽजनुनासिक इत् and 1-3-9 तस्य लोपः।

(7) प्रपितामह: । रुँत्व-विसर्गौ by 8-2-66 ससजुषो रुः and 8-3-15 खरवसानयोर्विसर्जनीयः।

Questions:

1. Where has the सौनाग-वार्तिकम् (under 2-2-18) प्रादयो गताद्यर्थे प्रथमया (used in step 2) been used in verses 15-19 of Chapter Four of the गीता?

2. Commenting on the सौनाग-वार्तिकानि the तत्त्वबोधिनी commentary says – अव्यवस्थया समासप्रसक्तौ व्यवस्थार्थं वचनानि। Please explain.

3. Where has the कृत् affix ‘ट’ been used in the verses?

4. In which word in the verses does the सूत्रम् 3-4-72 गत्यर्थाकर्मकश्लिषशीङ्स्थासवसजनरुहजीर्यतिभ्यश्च find application?

5. Can you spot a गति-समास: in the verses?

6. How would you say this in Sanskrit?
“The sage Vyāsa was the great grandson of the sage Vasiṣṭha.”

Easy questions:

1. From which verbal root is the form सञ्जज्ञे derived?

2. Which सूत्रम् prescribes the सम्प्रसारणम् in the form उवाह?