Today we will look at the form विधवा fNs from श्रीमद्भागवतम् 9.10.28.

नैवं वेद महाभाग भवान्कामवशं गतः । तेजोऽनुभावं सीताया येन नीतो दशामिमाम् ।। ९-१०-२७ ।।
कृतैषा विधवा लङ्का वयं च कुलनन्दन । देहः कृतोऽन्नं गृध्राणामात्मा नरकहेतवे ।। ९-१०-२८ ।।

श्रीधर-स्वामि-टीका
गृध्राणामन्नं भक्ष्यः । नरकहेतवे नरकभोगाय ।। २८ ।।

Gita Press translation – Swayed by passion, you did not realize, O highly blessed one, such (extraordinary) power of Sītā’s glory, by which you have been reduced to this (miserable) plight! (27) Widowed is this Lañkā as well as we, O delight of your race! (Nay,) your body has been made the food of vultures and your soul rendered fit for hell (28).

(1) विगतो धवो यस्या: सा = विधवा (नारी) – She (a woman) whose husband has passed away.

Note: The compound ‘विगत’ is a गति-समास: formed using the सूत्रम् 2-2-18 कुगतिप्रादयः – The indeclinable ‘कु’, terms having the designation ‘गति’ (ref. 1-4-60 गतिश्च etc) as well as the terms ‘प्र’ etc. (ref. 1-4-58 प्रादयः) invariably compound with a syntactically related term and the resulting compound gets the designation तत्पुरुष:।

(2) विगत सुँ + धव सुँ । By 2-2-24 अनेकमन्यपदार्थे – Two or more terms having the designation पदम् and ending in the nominative case may optionally compound to yield a बहुव्रीहि: compound provided the terms are employed to denote the sense of another पदम् (which is not part of the compound.)

(3) By 1-2-43 प्रथमानिर्दिष्टं समास उपसर्जनम् – the term ‘विगत सुँ’ as well as ‘धव सुँ’ gets the designation उपसर्जनम् because in the सूत्रम् 2-2-24 अनेकमन्यपदार्थे (which prescribes the compounding) the term अनेकम् ends in the nominative case. And hence 2-2-30 cannot help us in deciding which term to place in the prior position in the compound.

The adjective ‘विगत सुँ’ is placed in the prior position in the compound as per the सूत्रम् 2-2-35 सप्तमीविशेषणे बहुव्रीहौ – In a बहुव्रीहि: compound the पदम् which ends in a seventh case affix or is an adjective takes the prior position.
Note: ‘विगत सुँ + धव सुँ’ gets the designation प्रातिपदिकम्‌ by 1-2-46 कृत्तद्धितसमासाश्च। This allows 2-4-71 to apply in the next step.

(4) विगत + धव । 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) विधव । By वार्तिकम् (under 2-2-24 अनेकमन्यपदार्थे) प्रादिभ्यो धातुजस्य वाच्यो वा चोत्तरपदलोपः – A compound पदम् in which a ‘प्र’ etc term (ref. 1-4-58 प्रादयः) is followed by a उत्तर-पदम् (final member) that is a कृदन्तम् (a participle formed by adding a कृत् affix to a verbal root) optionally drops this उत्तर-पदम् when it combines with another पदम् to yield a बहुव्रीहि: compound.
Note: Compounding is already prescribed by the सूत्रम् 2-2-24 itself. It is only for the elision of the उत्तरपदम् (of the compound पूर्वपदम्) that this वार्तिकम् is necessary.

The gender of a बहुव्रीहि: compound matches that of which it qualifies. In the present example ‘लङ्का’ is being qualified. Hence we form the feminine प्रातिपदिकम् ‘विधवा’ by adding the feminine affix टाप्।

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

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

See question 2.

The विवक्षा is प्रथमा-एकवचनम्।

(9) विधवा + सुँ । By 4-1-2 स्वौजसमौट्छष्टाभ्याम्भिस्ङेभ्याम्भ्यस्ङसिँभ्याम्भ्यस्ङसोसाम्ङ्योस्सुप्।

(10) विधवा + स् । अनुबन्ध-लोपः by 1-3-2 उपदेशेऽजनुनासिक इत्, 1-3-9 तस्य लोपः।

(11) विधवा । By 6-1-68 हल्ङ्याब्भ्यो दीर्घात्‌ सुतिस्यपृक्तं हल् – A single letter affix ‘सुँ’, ‘ति’ or ‘सि’ is dropped following a base ending in a consonant or in the long feminine affix ‘ङी’ or ‘आप्’।

Questions:

1. Where has the वार्तिकम् (under 2-2-24 अनेकमन्यपदार्थे) प्रादिभ्यो धातुजस्य वाच्यो वा चोत्तरपदलोपः (used in step 5) been used in verses 12-17 of Chapter 14 of the गीता?

2. What is the alternate form for विधवा?

3. Which कृत् affix is used to form the प्रातिपदिकम् ‘नन्दन’ (used as part of the compound ‘कुलनन्दन’ in the verses)?

4. Which सूत्रम् justifies the use of the affix ‘क्त’ in the active voice (कर्तरि) in the form गतः used in the verses?

5. In which word used in the verses does the सूत्रम् 1-4-51 अकथितं च find application?

6. How would you say this in Sanskrit?
“I don’t want to live in this lonely place.” Paraphrase to “I don’t want to live in this place from which people have departed.” Construct a बहुव्रीहि: compound for ‘that (place) from which people have departed’ = निर्गता जना यस्मात् स: (देश:)।

Easy questions:

1. What is the alternate form for वेद (लँट्, प्रथम-पुरुष:, एकवचनम्) derived from the verbal root √विद् (विदँ ज्ञाने २. ५९)?

2. Where has the सूत्रम् 7-2-109 दश्च been used in the verses?