Lesson 60 ---- Discovering Numbers. | Lesson Index

                                                                 Lesson 60. Discovering Numbers.

Take a deep breath my dears, our Number Lesson will encompass quite a huge area. We need to learn:
 
1. The names of numbers : as in one, two, three etc. also known as Cardinals or सङ्ख्यावाचक|
2. The Ordinal form of numbers: as in first, second, third etc. They are called  क्रमवाचक|
3. How to say once, twice thrice etc.
4. How to say double, triple, four times
5. How to say " one way of doing something " "two ways ...", " three ways..." etc.
6. How to say "one kind of ..., " "two kinds of..."  etc.
7. How to read dates
8. How to read page numbers.
9. How to say how old you are,( though it is impolite to ask that of a lady.)
10. How to talk "fractions,"
     And,
11. How to read time.

 

But as is the most sensible thing to do when faced with a " How to.." list as long as this, we will begin at the very beginning.

New Concept: Numbers in Sanskrit, are adjectives. They will follow our noun as faithfully as they know how. The first four numbers: 1, 2, 3 and 4 have different names for the three genders. All the rest have a single name for the three genders.

 

Inference that you will make: So the 1 in 1 boy, 1 girl and 1 fruit will be written differently?              ( Yup!) Ditto for the 2, 3 and 4 in  two, three and four boys, girls and fruits? ( Yup!) Five onwards,  the number name for the boys, girls and fruits as in the " 5 " in 5 boys, 5 girls and 5 fruits remains the same?    ( Yup!)   If numbers are adjectives, would it mean that in a sentence like... Rain fell on the seven boys' head.... since the boys' would be taken from the ष. वि, so would the number seven? That numbers ALSO  have  विभक्ति s ?????              ( Yup!)

 

Good news: It's not as bad as it looks. In fact, it's fairly simple. All we have to do is go forward step by step.

 

 

 

Naturally even if the '1' does have three gender names AND it does have विभक्ति s, since it is singular, we can have only the  एकवचनम्  forms.

Naturally, even if  the '2' does have three gender names AND it does have विभक्ति s, since it is dual, we can have only the  द्विवचनम्  forms.
Naturally the rest ( upto number 18 ) even if they do have विभक्ति s, since they are plural,  we can have only the  बहुवचनम्  forms.                                     

 

Step 2.
• Place the विभक्ति tables of all the three "1 's" in front of you.
Read the following sentences to see how the विभक्ति table is used. (To make things easy, let's work on each विभक्ति table gender wise.)
• एकः बालकः तत्र अस्ति |
• अहम् एकं बालकं पश्यामि  |
• एकेन बालकेन सह अहं विद्यालयं गच्छामि|
• एकस्मै बालकाय सः पुस्तकं यच्छति |
• एकस्मात् बालकात् सा भयम् अनुभवति |
• एकस्य बालकस्य स्यूतः अत्र अस्ति |
• एकस्मिन् बालके विश्वासः अस्ति

 

 

 

Use the same principle to form sentences for the  नपुंसकलिङ्ग and the स्त्रीलिङ्ग.
Step 4.
• Use the given विभक्ति tables for the numbers 2, 3 and 4 in exactly the same manner.

Step 5. 
• Numbers 5 to 18  have only बहुवचनम् forms. The numbers 10- 18 are all declined like the number 10.

 

Step 6.
• Numbers 19- 99 are feminine: If you notice all the numbers that end in the तिः for example  विंशतिः or अशीतिः will naturally be declined like मतिः  BUT the declensions 19 onwards are all in the SINGULAR form because the word मतिः is singular. Gottitt?
 Example: I see 83 birds =  अहं त्र्यशीतिं खगान् पश्यामि|
She goes with 24 girls to the cinema. =  सा चतुर्विंशत्या बालिकाभिः सह चित्रपटगृहं  गच्छति  | Though the numbers themselves are feminine, the same form is used for all three genders:  द्वाविंशतिः बालकाः ,द्वाविंशतिः फलानि , द्वाविंशतिः बालिकाः, are all correct.

 

 

 

Step 7.
• The त्  कारान्त number groups,  त्रिंशत् , चत्वारिंशत् , पञ्चाशत्  are all declined like the feminine word सरित् |

 

 

 

Step 8. ( Doesn't it sound very much like Stop it?)
• The words शतम्, सहस्रम्,अयुतम्, लक्षम्, नियुतम्, प्रयुतम्, etc are all  नपुंसकलिङ्गम्  words and are declined like  वनम्  in the एकवचनम्  forms.
• कोटिः is declined like मतिः |

 

 

 

Step 9.
• New concept: Numbers are read and spoken about BACKWARDS.
• The numbers 101 onwards upto 200 are created by adding the word‚ अधिक to the  root number. For example:
101 = एकाधिकं शतम्  ,  102=द्वयाधिकं शतम् ,
103 = त्रयाधिकं शतम्
OR
The word  उत्तर is added ....
101 =एकोत्तरशतम् ,  102= द्वयोत्तरशतम् ,  103 = त्रयोत्तरशतम् |
OR
Simply say
101 =  एकशून्यएक     102= द्विशून्यएक       103 =  त्रिशून्यएक |

 

 

( naturally since the first four numbers have genders, I have left the एक without a visarga ( : ) or a म्  or its feminine forms.....Gottitt??)

The third option makes reading of dates quite simple.

• The numbers 200 to 900 can be written by either first writing the root number and then the word  शती    OR by first writing  शत   and then adding   द्वयम्  , त्रयम् etc.
 For example: 200 = द्विशती or शतद्वयम्  | 300 = त्रिशती or शतत्रयम् |
Naturally the first द्विशती, or त्रिशती  is declined like नदी and the शतद्वयम् or शतत्रयम्, like  वनम् 

 

 

 

Here is a lovely verse that lists the numerals to the power of ten....

एकं दश शतं चैव सहस्रमयुतं तथा   |
लक्षं च नियुतं चैव कोटिरर्बुदमेव  च  |
वृन्दं खर्वो निखर्वश्च शङ्खः पद्मश्च सागरः |
अन्त्यं मध्यं परार्धं  च  दशवृद्ध्या  यथाक्रमम् ||

 

                           

 

  And here it is.

 

एकम्	1
दशम्	10
शतम्	100
सहस्रम्	1000
अयुतम्	10000
लक्षम्	100000
नियुतम्	1000000
कोटिः	10000000
अर्बुदम्	100000000
वृन्दम्	1000000000
खर्वः	10000000000
निखर्वः	100000000000
शङ्खः	1000000000000
पद्मः	10000000000000
सागरः	100000000000000
अन्त्यम्	1000000000000000
मध्यम्	10000000000000000
परार्धम्	100000000000000000

Fractions

Again, just the list....
1/4  पादः    1/2  अर्धः     3/4  पादोनः   1¼   सपादः   1½  सार्धैकः
150  सार्धैकशतम्  ( Gottitt?)

 

 

The Ordinals. क्रमवाचक forms.

 When you express numbers in the forms  first, second, third , fourth, hundredth etc, you are using the ordinal forms of numbers.
 In Sanskrit, they are called क्रमवाचक forms.
Since numerals are adjectives, each number has its own gender, number and vibhakti that you will have to use when using them with nouns.

 

Let me first give you the list from 1 to 10 in all its three genders. THEN, let's set about trying to figure out HOW to use them.

 

Ordinals.	पुंल्लिङ्गम्	स्त्रीलिङ्गम्	नपुंसकलिङ्गम्
First	प्रथमः	प्रथमा	प्रथमम्
Second	द्वितीयः	द्वितीया	द्वितीयम्
Third	तृतीयः	तृतीया	तृतीयम्
Fourth	चतुर्थः	चतुर्थी 	चतुर्थम्
Fifth	पञ्चमः	पञ्चमी	पञ्चमम्
Sixth	षष्ठः	षष्ठी	षष्ठम्
Seventh	सप्तमः	सप्तमी	सप्तमम्
Eighth	अष्टमः	अष्टमी	अष्टमम्
Ninth	नवमः	नवमी	नवमम्
Tenth	दशमः	दशमी	दशमम्

 

 

 

• Naturally the पुंल्लिङ्गी ordinals will be declined like  राम, the  स्त्रीलिङ्गी   like नदी ( except for the first three which go like माला ) and the नपुंसकलिङ्गी   like वनम्  |
Therefore we have a sentence like : I study in the ninth class . अहं  नवम्यां कक्षायां पठामि |
The eighth book's name is " Nala Damayanti": अष्टमस्य पुस्तकस्य नाम "नल दमयन्ती" |
I pray to the eighth avatara of Lord Vishnu  अहं विष्णोः अष्टमम्  अवतारं नमामि  |

 

• All these forms are declined in singular, dual and plural. How else would we be able to say,
" The first fruits of the season are sweet?"  ऋतोः प्रथमाणि फलानि मधुराणि |
The first two books are mine.  प्रथमे द्वे पुस्तके मम |

 

 

So on and so forth.
• The numbers 11- 18 are declined in the same manner..... पुल्लिङ्ग ordinals will be declined like राम  , the  स्त्रीलिङ्ग   like नदी  and the नपुंसकलिङ्ग like वनम्  |
• The numbers 19 onwards ..... to this group you need to add तमः,तमी ,or तमम्  to convert them into ordinals. For example:

Twentieth             विंशतितमः           विंशतितमी              विंशतितमम्
Thirtieth                त्रिंशत्तमः             त्रिंशत्तमी                  त्रिंशत्तमम्
Hundredth             शततमः             शततमी                    शततमम् |

 

 

 

• The numbers that are in the "twenty group" ....those with the word विंशति in them can also be written without the ति to convert them into Ordinals.
For example: ( and they become adjectives....)
Twentieth     विंश
Twenty-first    एकविंश
Twenty-second  द्वाविंश

Collective nouns in the Neuter Gender Singular form are formed as follows – Stick the root numeral as a suffix  to the noun and convert it into a SINGULAR NEUTER FORM  to convey a group.  For example:  पुस्तकत्रयम्   is a group of three books. चषकशतम्  is a group of 100 cups. You should be saying पुस्तकत्रयम्  अत्र अस्ति and not पुस्तकत्रयम्  अत्र सन्ति | Gottit??

 

 

 

Here is what we will learn in this lesson:
1. How to say once, twice, thrice etc.
2. How to say double, triple, four times
3. How to say " one way of doing something " "two ways ...", " three ways..." etc.
4. How to say "one kind of ..., " "two kinds of..."  etc.
5. How to ask " who or which of many" as in : By which road did Mohan go? To which girl did you give the book?
6. How to read dates .
7. How to say how old you are
And
8. How to read page numbers.

 

Group 1 and 3 are actually  avyayas. They have already been dealt with in our special lesson on avyayas. But I personally prefer to have all details of a particular concept  in one area.....never mind if a few ideas have to be dealt with more than once.

 

1. How to say once, twice, thrice etc. 
Add the word वारम्  to the root number and hey presto these avyayas  convey the  meaning once, twice, thrice etc.
एकवारम्,   द्विवारम्,  त्रिवारम्,  चतुर्वारम्,  बहुवारम् |
अहं प्रतिदिनं द्विवारं स्नानं करोमि |

 

 

 

2. How to say double, triple, four times. Adjective.
Add the word   गुणः, गुणा, गुणम्  | for M F and N respectively
द्विगुण,  त्रिगुण   चतुर्गुण |
द्विगुणं  भोजनं कृत्वा अहं केवलं निद्रां कर्तुम् इच्छामि |

 

 

 

 

3. How to say " one way of doing something " "two ways ...", " three ways..." etc. Add the word धा |
एकधा, द्विधा M / द्वेधा F / द्वैधम् N, त्रिधा M /त्रेधा F / त्रैधम् N, चतुर्धा, बहुधा  (many ways of doing something) अनेकधा( different ways....) कतिधा (how many different ways...)
छात्रेषु एकता अस्ति | सर्वे एकधा कार्यं कुर्वन्ति |

 

 

 

4. How to say "one kind of ..., " "two kinds of..."  etc. Add the word विध | This makes it into an adjective, following gender, number and vibhakti.
एकविधः, एकविधा, एकविधम्
द्विविधः, द्विविधा, द्विविधम्
त्रिविधः, त्रिविधा, त्रिविधम्
अष्टाविधानि पुष्पाणि तस्मिन् डलके सन्ति ( डलकम्  basket )

 

 

5. How to ask " who or which of many" as in : By which road did Mohan go? To which girl did you give the book? From which book did you get this picture?
Use the adjective:  कतमस्- कतमा  - कतमम्
कतमसा मार्गेण मोहनः गतवान् ?
कतमायै बालिकायै पुस्तकं भवती  अयच्छत् ?
कतमतः पुस्तकात् त्वम् एतं चित्रम् अलभः ?

 

 
6. How to read dates. (Adjectives)
 Numbers are read backwards in Sanskrit.    

1971 would be read as  एकसप्तनवएक  OR  एकसप्तत्त्युत्तरनवदशशतम्   (एकसप्तति उत्तर नवदशशतम् ) Much like reading 2050 as Two thousand and fifty OR Twenty fifty.... people read numbers in different ways.

 

 

The first option  एकसप्तनवैक is a far easier method of reading out the dates. So let's make life easy , shall we?

In 1971 I went to Nagpur.... एकसप्तनवैकतमे   or  एकसप्तनवप्रथम वर्षे अहं नागपुरम् आगच्छम्
 In 2003  त्रिशून्यशून्यद्वितमे or  त्रिशून्यशून्यद्वितीयवर्षे
On the 1st of January 2003. त्रिशून्यशून्यद्वितीयवर्षे जनवरीमासस्य प्रथमदिनाङ्के
On the 19th of January .... जनवरीमासस्य नवदशदिनाङ्के
On the 16th of March....     मार्चमासस्य षोडश दिनाङ्के

 

 

7. How to say how old you are.
Use the words वर्षीयः and वर्षीया  and make sentences like
अहं पञ्चाशत् वर्षीयः मनुष्यः|
अहं त्रिंशत् वर्षीया महिला |

 

 

 

8. How to read page numbers.
A page is पृष्ठम् |
Look at page twenty nine.... एकोनत्रिंशत्  पृष्ठं  पश्यतु |
The answer is on page twelve..... उत्तरं द्वादशे पृष्ठे अस्ति |
The answer is on the fortieth page..... उत्तरं चत्वारिंशत्तमे पृष्ठे अस्ति |

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                  ***********************