Lesson 27 ----- Making life easy with the कृ धातु | | Lesson Index

Lesson 27. Making life easy with the कृ धातु |

( To be sung to the tune of the Beetles number!)
Listen,
do you want to know a secret..
Do you promise all to tell(!)
oh, ohhhh....
Closer, let me whisper in your ear..
the कृ धातु is always here,
To be used by you...uuuuuuu
( Here's hoping that i shall not be sued for plagiarism!)

Sometimes the sheer effort of having to remember which धातु conjugates in which manner, can get one's morale down. Right up to one's toes. You come across a new धातु and you wonder..."Which गण is it from? How is it conjugated? Which is the correct विकरण to add?" Well, wonder no further, dear one. Take a look at the following sentences.
    अहं नमामि | अहं नमनं करोमि |
    अहं कथयामि | अहं कथनं करोमि |
    अहं चिन्तयामि | अहं चिन्तनं करोमि |
    अहं पूजयामि | अहं पूजनं करोमि |

Is the horizon looking brighter? I just convert a root word, धातु , into a noun in the singular(एकवचन) object form (द्वितीया विभक्ति) , add करोमि (if the subject is "I") and VOILA! I am doing namaskara. I am doing talk. I am doing thought. I am doing worship. Sounds absolutely ridiculous translated in English, but in Sanskrit, it is the done thing. Acceptable too. Without a doubt. Trust me. So, अहं ध्यायामि , becomes अहं ध्यानं करोमि | Simple .

Your discovery today: धातु s can be converted into a noun and a verb as well!
Your question today: Can धातु s be converted into other thingamajiggees ?
My answer: Wait and watch!

There are millions of words we are already familiar with. We use them as nouns every single day . स्नान, अध्ययन, भजन, भोजन, श्रवण, मनन, चिन्तन, निदिध्यासन,शयन, लेखन, मनोरञ्जन.....so on and so forth. Just add the म् to your noun , add the करोमि ( only if you are using the कर्ता, अहं of course ) and your sentence is ready.

Why didn't i tell you this before? There's a very important reason..... Much as the कृ धातु simplifies sentence structures, it robs the language of its sweetness if used too generously. How often can one use करोमि and sound like a scholar at the same time?! Therefore it's best to revert to the कृ धातु only when you are unsure of a verb's conjugated forms.

This wonder धातु ( 8. U.P.) shall now be revealed to you in all its glory in the Supplement section . Just the लट् and लोट् today...the present tense and the imperative mood...... Please refer to Supplement 11 Is it right in front of you? Here goes......

• Present tense examples:
Let's take the word लेखनम् and use it with the कृ धातु. लेखनम् is the noun form meaning "to write." ...
    अहं लेखनं करोमि | I am writing.
    सः लेखनं करोति | He is writing.
    त्वं लेखनं करोषि | You are writing.
    युवां लेखनं कुरुथः | The two of you are writing.

And so on and so forth.

Do you see how when forming sentences, the form of the noun, as in whatever it is that one is doing, does not change? It remains the same whether I , you or he does the writing, or the cooking, or the eating, or the cleaning. Just make sure to match the कर्ता with its correct verb form.

• Imperative mood examples:
त्वं लेखनं कुरु | You write.
किं वयं लेखनं करवाम ? May all of us write?

Over to the Appetizer exercises in Lesson 27 A.

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Prev Lesson 26 B -- Appetizer Lesson --Answers to Lesson 26 A. (Answers to Lesson 26 A) Next Lesson 27 A -- Appetizer Lesson Exercises with the कृ धातु | (Exercises with the कृ धातु |)