pratī vs. prati

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srkris
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 03:34

pratī vs. prati

Post by srkris »

Hi Sanskrit pundits on the forum,

Is anyone aware in which cases one has to use pratī (with long i) instead of prati?

Rsachi
Posts: 5039
Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 13:54

Re: pratī vs. prati

Post by Rsachi »

Kris,
The following answer clearly shows I am no pundit but a mere student of Sanskrit.

Apte's Dictionary states:

प्रति ind. 1 As a prefix to verbs it means (a) towards, in the direction of; (b) back, in return, again; तष्ठेदानीं न मे जीवन् प्रतियास्यसि दुर्मते Rām.7.18.13; (c) in opposition to, against, counter; (d) upon, down upon; (see the several roots with this preposition). -2 As a prefix to nouns not directly derived from verbs it means (a) likeness, resemblance, equality; (b) opposite, of the opposite side; प्रतिबल


प्रती pratī
प्रती (प्रति-इ) 2 P. 1 To go back to, return;

pratii= prati+i the add-on i is the root of the verb "to go/to reach".

From the many examples in any Sanskrit dictionary, you can see that prati and pratii are often interchangeable. Where pratii alone works, there is no prati (such words clearly define movement). And pratii won't work in some nouns where prati indicates "opposite of". Example is pratipaksha (opposition camp, opposite side).


Here is an interesting biographical detail!

Image

Prof. Vaman Shivram Apte is the foremost compiler of Sanskrit dictionaries. He was a great scholar, educationist and lexicographer, who accomplished much in a short life span 1858-1892 (a mere 34 years!?)

His works: -
The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1890).
The Students' English-Sanskrit Dictionary (1884).
The Students' Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
The Students' Guide to Sanskrit Composition (1881).
The Students' Hand-Book of Progressive Exercises, Part I and, II.
Kusuma-mala (1891).

Source: http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/a ... atter.html

srkris
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Re: pratī vs. prati

Post by srkris »

Thanks.

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: pratī vs. prati

Post by arasi »

Since I do not know sanskrit, here's something in tamizh (sachi, you could translate it into vaDa mozhi!).

முத்துதிர்த்தாற்போல் பேச்சு--அதுவும்
தத்துவம், அர்த்தம் நிறைந்திருக்கும்--
பத்துப் பேர் ஆயிரம் பேசினால், என்றோ அது
சத்துள்ளதாகப் பேசும்--அதுவும் சிறிதே பேசும்

எத்தனை பேர் அறிவர் அதை, ரசிகர்கள் தலைவரை :)

kvchellappa
Posts: 3597
Joined: 04 Aug 2011, 13:54

Re: pratī vs. prati

Post by kvchellappa »

अरसि, रसिकानां अधिपः कः?

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: pratī vs. prati

Post by arasi »

srKris enum Ramakrishnan, of course... :)

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