Today we will look at the form व्यर्थया  fIs from श्रीमद्भागवतम् 11.23.25.

देवर्षिपितृभूतानि ज्ञातीन्बन्धूंश्च भागिनः । असंविभज्य चात्मानं यक्षवित्तः पतत्यधः ।। ११-२३-२४ ।।
व्यर्थयार्थेहया वित्तं प्रमत्तस्य वयो बलम् । कुशला येन सिध्यन्ति जरठः किं नु साधये ।। ११-२३-२५ ।।

श्रीधर-स्वामि-टीका
ऋषयो मनुष्ययज्ञब्रह्मयज्ञयोर्देवताः । देवपितृभूतानि इतरेषु । ज्ञातयः सगोत्राः । बन्धवो विवाहादिना संबद्धास्तान् । अन्यांश्च भागिनो भागार्हान् । आत्मानं चासंविभज्यान्नादिभिरसंतर्प्य ।। २४ ।। एवं विमृश्यानुतप्यमान आह – व्यर्थयार्थेहया प्रमत्तस्य मम वित्तादि गतमिति शेषः । येन वित्तादिना कुशला विवेकिनः सिध्यन्ति मुच्यन्ते । जरठो वृद्धः ।। २५ ।।

Gita Press translation – He who guards his wealth like a Yakṣa, neither propitiates (by means of it) the gods, the Ṛṣis, the manes and (other) living beings, kinsmen, relatives and other claimants nor himself and goes down (to perdition) (24). My fortune, lifetime and strength, through which men of understanding achieve perfection, have (all) been carelessly spent, occupied as I have been with my fruitless endeavors in the cause of (amassing) wealth. What can I possibly accomplish now, as I have grown old? (25)

(1) वियुक्तार्थेन (वियुक्ता अर्थेन) = व्यर्था – fruitless (disjoint from purpose.)
Note: व्यर्था may also be derived as a बहुव्रीहि: compound as – विगतोऽर्थो यस्या: सा = व्यर्था।

अलौकिक-विग्रह: –
(2) वि + अर्थ टा । By सौनाग-वार्तिकम् (under 2-2-18) अवादयः क्रुष्‍टाद्यर्थे तृतीयया – Terms like ‘अव’ (from the प्रादि-गण:) when denoting a sense like ‘क्रुष्‍ट’ (‘announced’/’sounded’) invariably compound with a syntactically related पदम् ending in the instrumental case and the resulting compound gets the designation तत्पुरुष:।

(3) By 1-2-43 प्रथमानिर्दिष्टं समास उपसर्जनम् – the term ‘वि’ gets the designation उपसर्जनम् because in the सौनाग-वार्तिकम् ‘अवादयः क्रुष्‍टाद्यर्थे तृतीयया’ (which prescribes the compounding) the term अवादयः ends in the nominative case. Hence the term ‘वि’ 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: ‘वि + अर्थ टा’ gets the designation प्रातिपदिकम्‌ by 1-2-46 कृत्तद्धितसमासाश्च। This allows 2-4-71 to apply in the next step.

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

(5) व्यर्थ । By 6-1-77 इको यणचि।

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.

In the present example, the compound प्रातिपदिकम् ‘व्यर्थ’ has to be used in the feminine since the विशेष्यम् (the term being qualified by the compound) is ‘अर्थेहा’ which is feminine.

Now we form the feminine प्रातिपदिकम् ‘व्यर्था’ by adding the appropriate affix.

(6) व्यर्थ + टाप् । By 4-1-4 अजाद्यतष्टाप्‌ – The प्रातिपदिकानि ‘अज’ etc. and प्रातिपदिकानि ending in the letter ‘अ’ get the टाप् affix in the feminine gender.

(7) व्यर्थ + आ । अनुबन्ध-लोपः by 1-3-3 हलन्त्यम्, 1-3-7 चुटू, 1-3-9 तस्य लोपः।

(8) व्यर्था । By 6-1-101 अकः सवर्णे दीर्घः।

The विवक्षा is तृतीया-एकवचनम् ।

(7) व्यर्था + टा । By 4-1-2 स्वौजसमौट्छष्टाभ्याम्भिस्ङेभ्याम्भ्यस्ङसिँभ्याम्भ्यस्ङसोसाम्ङ्योस्सुप् ।

(8) व्यर्था + आ । अनुबन्ध-लोपः by 1-3-7 चुटू, 1-3-9 तस्य लोपः।

(9) व्यर्थे + आ । By 7-3-105 आङि चापः – ‘आप्’ ending bases get the letter ‘ए’ as the substitute when followed by the affix ‘आङ्’ (‘टा’) or ‘ओस्’। Note: As per the परिभाषा-सूत्रम् 1-1-52 अलोऽन्त्यस्य only the ending letter ‘आ’ of the base ‘व्यर्था’ is replaced by ‘ए’।

(10) व्यर्थया । By 6-1-78 एचोऽयवायावः।

Questions:

1. Can you spot a नञ्-तत्पुरुष: compound in the verses?

2. Which कृत् affix is used to form the feminine प्रातिपदिकम् ‘ईहा’ (used in the compound अर्थेहया (तृतीया-एकवचनम्) in the verses)?

3. Why doesn’t the सूत्रम् 8-2-42 रदाभ्यां निष्ठातो नः पूर्वस्य च दः apply in the form प्रमत्तस्य (प्रातिपदिकम् ‘प्रमत्त’, पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी-एकवचनम्) used in the verses?

4. Where has the सूत्रम् 3-2-12 अर्हः been used in the commentary?

5. In the commentary can you find a word in which the affix ‘णिच्’ has been elided?

6. How would you say this in Sanskrit?
“In the Aṣṭādhyāyī not even a single letter is useless (disjoint from purpose.)”

Easy questions:

1. Can you spot the affix ‘श्यन्’ in the verses?

2. Which सूत्रम् prescribes the affix ‘यक्’ in the form मुच्यन्ते used in the commentary?