Vachmi
What is Avyay in Sanskrit
Those words in Sanskrit which remain the same in all cases, numbers, genders etc are called Avyay.
These are called Indeclinables in English.
They are defined very nicely in Sanskrit as below
सदृशं त्रिषु लिङ्गेषु, सर्वासु च विभक्तिषु ।
वचनेषु च सर्वेषु यन्न व्ययेति तदव्ययम् ॥
(That word which appears same in all the three genders, and in all cases, and in all numbers and which does not change is called an Avyay)
There are 4 types of Indeclinables
- उपसर्ग (Prepositions)
- क्रिया विशेषण (Adverbs)
- समुच्चयबोधक शब्द (Conjunctions)
- विस्मयादिबोधक शब्द (Interjections)
Let us look at some indeclinables below along with their usage.
| अव्यय | English Meaning | Usage | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| अचिरम् | promptly, quickly | अचिरं गृहम् आगच्छ । | Come home quickly. |
| अञ्जसा | quickly, at once, instantly | सर्वमेव अञ्जसा वद। | Tell everything at once. |
| अपि | also, as well | रमायाः पिता समाजस्य प्रतारणाम् अपि असहत । | Rama's father endured the torture from society as well. |
| अतः | Therefore, hence, so | जलं न आसीत् अतः अहं स्नानं न कृतवान् । | There was no water hence I did not take bath. |
| अथ | here, now | अथ श्री महाभारत कथा | Here is the story of Mahabharat |
| कथमपि | somehow | कथमपि मया विजयः प्राप्तव्यम् । | Somehow I must obtain victory. |
| कदापि | sometime | न कदापि त्यजेत् । | Never give in |
| कुतः | from where | आलसस्य कुतः विद्या ? | From where a lazy person acquire knowledge? (In other words, a lazy person can never acquire knowledge or a skill) |
| भूयः | again and again | अहं त्वाम् भूयोभूयः नमामि । | I salute you again and again. |
| च | and | बालका: बालिका: च ! सर्वे तूष्णीं तिष्ठन्तु । | Boys and girls! everybody sit quietly. |
| इदनीम् | Now | इदनीम् अहं संस्कृत पठामि । | Now I study Sanskrit. |
| एव | only, just, quite, exactly, itself | श्व: प्रात: एव तया सह वार्तां करिष्यामि । | Tomorrow morning itself, I will talk to you. |
| इतस्ततः | here and there | कुक्कुर: इतस्ततः भ्रमति । | The dog roams here and there. |
| खलु | indeed, certainly | शरीरमाद्यं खलु धर्म साधनम् । | Body is the main instrument of dharma. |
| झटिति | quickly, soon | झटिति स्नानं करोतु । | Take bath soon. |
| मा | No | हठं मा करोतु । | Don't be stubborn/arrogant. |
| मुहुर्मुहुः | again and again | त्वं मुहुर्मुहुः किं पश्यसि । | What are you seeing again and again? |
| प्रातः | in the morning | प्रातः सूर्य: उदेति । | The sun rises in the morning. |
| शनैः | slowly | कच्छप: शनैः शनैः चलति । | Tortoise walks slowly. |
| सम्प्रति | at this time | सम्प्रति सा अत्र नास्ति । | She is not here at this time. |
| स्त्राक् | quickly, speedily, instantly | स्त्राक् कर्म कुरुष्व । | Do the work quickly. |
| पुनः | again | पुनः अत्र आगमिष्यामि । | I shall come here again. |
| विना | without | भक्तिं विना न मोक्षः। | There is no moksha without bhakti. |
| श्वः | tomorrow | अहं श्वः भ्रमणाय गमिष्यामि। | Tomorrow I will go for travel/trip. |
| परश्वः | day after tomorrow | परश्वः बुधवासरः अस्ति। | Tomorrow I will go for travel/trip. |
| ह्यः | yesterday | ह्यः मम गृहे उत्सव: आसीत् । | Yesterday there was a festival at my house. |
| परह्यः | day before yesterday | परह्यः शनिवासरः आसीत् । | Yesterday there was a festival at my house. |
| यत्र-तत्र | (W)here-there | यत्र नार्यः पूज्यन्ते तत्र देवताः रमन्ते। | Where women are worshipped, Gods like to stay there. |
| यदा-कदा | When-then | यदा सूर्यः उदेति तदा प्रकाशः आनयति। | When the Sun rises, (then) it brings light. |
| यथा-तथा | As is-So is (are) | यथा राजा तथा प्रजा। | As is the king, so are the subjects. In other words, subjects (public) of a kingdom tend to resemble the king. |
| यावत्-तावत् | As-much as, As-many as | यावत् कुम्भकरणः स्थूलः तावत् भीमः न। | Bheem is not as much fat as Kumbhakarna. (Here, तावत् is translated to 'as much' and यावत् is translated to 'as') |