special wordsmmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 1249

All of these are hangers.

api "even, too"

ca "and, too"

vA "or"

iva "like"

eva "indeed, specially; only"

iti "unquote"

cet "if"

cid "some / any"

sma

ignore verse fillers.mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 1251

Many verses have small words that are not really necessary for the meaning, but help make the verse fit.

For instance, suppose you want to put the verb zRNoti near the end of a zloka line. This word cannot fit at the very end, but it will fit if we add yas, like here --

bruvatAm apriyamM pathyaM suhRdAnM na zRNoti yaH

"who doesn't listen to friends that say unpleasant beneficial things..."

Here yas makes sense. But sometimes poets get lazy, and cheat by adding a word that can be inserted almost anywhere and can be dispensed with. Such as those meaning "and", "then", "but", "oh!", "he", "this", "that", "so", "as", "too", "ahem", "I tell ya", and so on --

zRNoti ca

zRNoti hi

zRNoti vai

zRNoti saH

zRNoty ayam

zRNoti sA

zRNoti tat

zRNoty api

zRNomy aham

In the epics this is done quite often.

Translators must be warned that sometimes these words are used in their proper meaning, and other times we just should ignore them. A particularly treacherous one is tu, that sometimes means "but", sometimes "changing subject", "on the other hand", and sometimes should be just ignored.

iva "like"mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 1253

iva means "like" or "is like" --

Acarati kAkazH zyena:: iva "the crow behaves like a hawk"

kAkazH zyena:: iva "the crow is like a hawk"

When iva appears after a word that expresses a feeling, just ignore it. Example --

senApatyam anuprApya bhISmazH zAnMtanavo nRpa | duryodhanam uvAcedaM vacanaM harSayann iva ||

This harSayann iva does not mean "as if he were in high spirits"; it means that bhISma was actually in high spirits. Similarly prahasanniva does not mean "as if he were smiling", it just means smiling.

api starts a question or means "too, even".mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 1255

When api is at the start of a sentence, it means that the sentence is a question. Same as Polish "czu", Esperanto "cxu". Like in this dialogue --

apy asti garbhaH "is she pregnant?"

asti "indeed she is"

In this sense, you may also use kim --

kim asti garbhaH "is she pregnant?"

When api does not start a question, it is a hanger.

Sometimes it is just a replacement for cid --

AgataH kaz cit "someone came"

AgataH ko 'pi "someone came"

Elsewhere, it means "too, even", and comes right after the word it includes --

dadarza sA 'pi bhUtAni "she too saw the ghosts (like I did)"

bhUtAny api dadarza sA "she saw the ghosts too (not just the demons)"

gurU cetati kAko 'pi "even a crow will care for his parents"

zvA 'znAti tu gurU: api "but a dog will eat even his parents"

In this sentence, the first api starts a question, and the one after vayam means "too" --

api taisH saGMgatamM mArgaM vayam apy Aruhemahi "Will we too ascend the path that was trod by them?"

There is also another api, that is a rarely used preverb and sometimes shrinks to pi.

"Turtle ca" means "and a turtle".mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 1256

The word ca means "and" and, unlike in English, it is placed AFTER the word it joins, never before it --

hayaH "a horse"

siMhaH "a lion"

siMhazca "and a lion"

hayasH siMhazca "a horse and a lion"

hayaM siMhaJMca pazyAmi "I see a horse and a lion"

When making lists of many things, you can add ca to every thing in the list,

kharazca gajazcoSTrazca vyAghrazca siMhazca tiSThanti "and a donkey and an elephant and a camel and a tiger and a lion wait"

or only to the last thing --

kharo gaja:: uSTro vyAghras siMhazca tiSThanti "a donkey, an elephant, a camel, a tiger, and a lion wait"

or, if you are making verses, wherever you feel like.

"Turtle vA" means "or a turtle".mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 1257

vA means "or", and is a hanger, like ca.

Examples --

kacchapovA "or a turtle"

bakaH kacchapovA "a crane or a turtle"

prapuSpitaH kiMzuko 'zokovA "a kiMzuka or an azoka tree is in blossom"

prapuSpitaGM kiMzukam azokaMvA pazyAmi "I see a kiMzuka or an azoka tree in blossom"

The expressions vA and athavA, at the start of a sentence, may mean also "maybe", "rather", or "thinking again".

Two vA may mean "either... or" --

bakovA kacchapovA "either a crane or a turtle"

As in --

sukhaM vA yadi vA duHkhamM priyaM vA yadi vApriyam | prAptamM prAptam upAsIta hRdayenAparAjitaH "Be it happiness or sorrow, be it agreeable or disagreeable, whatever comes should be borne with an unaffected heart."

In grammar rules, vA is not a hanger -- as in vAmi, vAzari, vAmzasoH, vAvasAne. It means " optionally" rather than just "or".

eva means only or indeedmmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 1258

The hanger eva gives emphasis to the previous word. It may translate into "only", "indeed", "for sure", "it is him who". Examples --

mUSikair grastamM phalam "mice ate the fruit"

mUSikair eva grastamM phalam "it was mice who ate the fruit, only mice ate the fruit"

mUSikair grastamM phalam eva "it was the fruit that mice ate, mice ate the fruit only"

mama bhAryAyAm eva bhASase "it's my wife you're talking about"

iti closes a quotationmmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 1259

When literal words are quoted, iti is added after the last word.

Examples --

hatAv etAv iti prAha surAn asurasUdanaH

asurasUdana told the gods "hatAv etau"

asurasUdana told the gods "these two are dead"

evam astv iti taJM cAha kazyapaM vinatA tadA

and vinatA told kazyapa, "evam astu"

and vinatA told kazyapa, "okay"

tiSTha tiSTheti bhISmam Aha

he said "tiSTha tiSTha" to bhISma

Sometimes the quoted words are not literal. For instance, suppose the queen tells a servant rAjJo lekho dIyatAm "give this letter to the king". The servant might then report the exact words of the queen, this way --

rajJo lekhanM dIyatAm iti devy uvAca deva

Your majesty, the queen said "give this letter to the king".

but saying "to you" instead of "to the king" is fine too--

tava lekhanM dIyatAm iti devy uvAca deva

Your majesty, the queen told me to give this letter to you.

Sometimes iti is used without a verb of saying, and then it may translate as "saying" or "thinking" --

mAM haniSyanty eta iti dhAvitaH "thinking 'these are going to kill me', he ran away"