A pratyaya (प्रत्यय) is a suffix in Sanskrit grammar. Pāṇini's system uses pratyayas everywhere: to form verbs from roots, to derive nouns from verbs, to derive secondary nouns from primary nouns, and to mark person, number, gender, and case. The system is the engine that generates almost every word in Sanskrit from a small set of roots.
Three Broad Families
Pāṇinian grammar groups pratyayas into several broad categories:
- Krit pratyaya (कृत्प्रत्यय) — primary suffixes added to verb roots (dhātu) to form nouns, adjectives, and participles.
- Taddhita pratyaya (तद्धितप्रत्यय) — secondary suffixes added to nominal stems to form new nouns and adjectives.
- Tiṅ pratyaya (तिङ्प्रत्यय) — verbal endings (the personal endings of conjugation).
- Sup pratyaya (सुप्प्रत्यय) — case endings of nouns and adjectives (the 21 nominal suffixes, three numbers times seven cases).
- Strī pratyaya (स्त्रीप्रत्यय) — feminine-forming suffixes such as -ī and -ā.
Suffixes — Verbs Becoming Nouns
pratyayas turn a verb root into a noun or adjective. They are the source of countless Sanskrit words.
- -tva, -tā — abstract noun: gurutva (गुरुत्व, "heaviness, weight"), mānavatā (मानवता, "humanity")
- -aka, -ka — agent noun: pācaka (पाचक, "cook"), kāraka (कारक, "doer, factor")
- -tum — infinitive: gantum (गन्तुम्, "to go"), kartum (कर्तुम्, "to do")
- -tvā — gerund / absolutive: kṛtvā (कृत्वा, "having done"), gatvā (गत्वा, "having gone")
- -ya — gerundive of obligation: kartavya (कर्तव्य, "to be done")
- -anīya — gerundive: paṭhanīya (पठनीय, "to be read")
- -ta, -na — past passive participle: kṛta (कृत, "done"), gata (गत, "gone")
- -tṛ — agent noun: kartṛ (कर्तृ, "doer"), dātṛ (दातृ, "giver")
- -mat, -vat — possessive: guṇavat (गुणवत्, "having qualities"), buddhimat (बुद्धिमत्, "having intellect")
Suffixes — Noun From Noun
pratyayas form new nominal stems from existing nominal stems.
- -iya, -ya — pertaining to: dharmiya (धर्मीय, "righteous, dharmic")
- -tā, -tva — quality of: brāhmaṇya (ब्राह्मण्य, "the state of being a Brahmin")
- -ika — derivation: dhārmika (धार्मिक, "righteous"), vedika (वैदिक, "Vedic")
- -mat, -vat — possessing: jñānavat (ज्ञानवत्, "knowledgeable")
- -tara, -tama — comparative and superlative: guṇavattara (गुणवत्तर, "more virtuous"), guṇavattama (गुणवत्तम, "most virtuous")
- -eya, -ī — descendant of, son of: kaunteya (कौन्तेय, "son of Kuntī," used of Arjuna)
Tin Suffixes — Verb Conjugation
The 18 tiṅ pratyayas are the personal endings of the verb, distributed across two voices (parasmaipada and ātmanepada), three persons, and three numbers. They attach to the present, perfect, aorist, or future stem of the root and yield the conjugated verb forms (tinanta, तिङन्त).
Sup Suffixes — Noun Declension
The 21 sup pratyayas are the nominal endings — seven cases times three numbers. Applied to a nominal stem (prātipadika) they yield the declined forms (subanta, सुबन्त).
Stri Pratyayas — Forming Feminines
Suffixes such as -ā (पुत्रिका), -ī (नदी), and -tā (देवता) form feminine nouns and adjectives from their masculine or neuter counterparts.
A Generative Lexicon
The system, together with the upasargas and the verbal roots, allows Sanskrit to be radically generative. From a single root and a handful of suffixes, an entire vocabulary unfolds. This is why Sanskrit dictionaries are organised by root rather than by surface word, and why analytical reading rewards the careful student so richly.