Upasarga is a term used in Sanskrit grammar for a special class of twenty prepositional particles prefixed to verbs or to action nouns. 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, and are enumerated in the gaṇapāṭha (#154):
- ati- "beyond"
- adhi- "over"
- apa- "away"
- api- "proximate"
- abhi- "to, towards"
- anu- "after"
- ava- "off, down"
- āṅ- "near"
- ut-/ud- "up(wards)"
- upa- "towards, near"
- dus-/dur- "bad, difficult, hard"
- ni- "down"
- nis-/nir- "away"
- parā- "away"
- pari- "round, around"
- pra- "forth"
- prati- "against"
- vi- "apart, asunder"
- sam-/saṃ- "with"
- 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
- Monier-Williams, p.210
- Katre, p.91
- Katre, p.1301
References
- 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