Learning Sanskrit - Numbers (3) (English)

How to decline numbers in Sanskrit

 Introduction

Gabriel Pradīpaka again. Time for declension now. If you do not know what declension is, go to Declension pages and find out. Anyway, let me tell you this much about declension:

In Numbers (1) (English) and Numbers (2) (English) I taught you Sanskrit numbers in their "crude form" or "prātipadika". The crude form of any noun, adjective, pronoun or numeral is that in which the noun, adjective, pronoun or numeral is devoid of gender and number, and, of course, it does not contain any of the eight cases (Nominative, Vocative, etc.). That is why it is a crude form and not a declined one. For example: "eka" (one). It is neither masculine nor feminine nor neuter nor singular nor dual nor plural... it is just... a prātipadika or crude form, got it? Well, when you search a noun, adjective, pronoun or numeral in a dictionary, you will mostly get prātipadika-s of those words, even though sometimes their inflected or declined forms for the Nominative, etc. cases may be added as further information. Still, you will not use prātipadika-s in real sentences, except in compounds, despite the Vocative case may often coincide with the prātipadika (e.g. the word "yoga" is the prātipadika as well as the declined form for the Vocative case). Regarding numbers, you will have to decline them accordingly by following simple "outlines" and "rules". As you know, "simple" in Sanskrit is tantamount to "complicated" for the average person, and "complicated" in Sanskrit is "the worst thing you will face in your short lifetime". Joking apart, the rules are really... simple... trust me, hehe.

In a sentence, a number will act as an adjective. Firstly, you will have to decline it properly, i.e. to give it gender, number and case, because the noun it qualifies has gender, number and case. For example, if you want to write "one man", you cannot write "eka naraḥ", because "eka" is a prātipadika while "naraḥ" is a masculine noun ending in "a" and correctly declined in Nominative singular. Thus, you have to change "eka" to "ekaḥ" (masculine and singular). So, the proper sentence is to be written "ekaḥ naraḥ". Now, you must polish it by using the 2^nd Rule of Visarga Sandhi: "eka+u naraḥ" (Note that Visarga ḥ has been transformed into "u"). Then, join "a" and "u" together to form "o" by the 2^nd Primary Rule of Vowel Sandhi. OK, I will not explain this double process anymore on the page. I will only say that the change is due to the 2^nd Rule of Visarga Sandhi, understood? Good.

You might also have written: "ekanaraḥ". This is a compound in which you do not need to decline the number "eka" (remember that in a compound the last term is "generally" declined... there are exceptions). This kind of compound including numerals is known as "Dvigu". But, since I am teaching you compounds in the Compounds documents, you know, not here, I will not keep talking about this topic for now. Enough, let us start declining numerals.

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 Declining Cardinals: 1-4

These four numerals are not "uniform", that is, they have special forms for every gender (masculine, feminine and neuter). Besides, they are not always declined in singular, dual and plural such as any other ordinary adjective, but they follow their own rules in that respect.

Eka (one)

"Eka" is declined in the singular when it means "one" (the numeral). Besides, it is also declined in dual and plural when it does not mean "one" (e.g. it also means "alone, the same, identical, etc."). I am taking for granted that you are proficient to a certain extent as far as declension is concerned... no, I am not joking. If not so, go read the Declension documents right now or you will not understand my teaching. Of course, "eka" will accept the three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter). Let us decline "eka" in singular now:

Dvi (two)

In turn, "dvi" (two) is declined only in dual number (neither singular nor plural). Naturally, it accepts the three genders too:

Trí (three)

On the other hand, "trí" (three) is declined only in plural (neither singular nor dual). Obviously, it also accepts the three genders:

Catur (four)

Also, "catur" (four) is declined only in plural (neither singular nor dual). Obviously, it accepts the three genders like the previous numbers:

Some examples with one, two, three and four

A few simple examples of all that you have just learnt. I have highlighted the final result in dark red color. Of course, you should consult the above tables when necessary. Besides, be warned that I will only use four nouns (nara - man, narī - woman, pustaka - book and sthāna - place) to be qualified by the respective numerals for the sake of simplicity. I need your intellect "fresh" for the upcoming bombing of knowledge.

See the Declension documents (in Sanskrit section) for more information on declension, please.

Examples with "eka" (one). The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in singular, of course:

1. One man: ekaḥ naraḥ »» eko naraḥ (by the 2^nd Rule of Visarga Sandhi). Note that "naraḥ" is the Nominative singular of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. One woman: ekā narī. Note that "narī" is the Nominative singular of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. One book: ekam pustakam »» ekaṁ pustakam (by the 10^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Note that "pustakam" is the Nominative singular of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With one man: ekena nareṇa. Note that "nareṇa" is the Instrumental singular of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In one place: ekasmin sthāne, or optionally, ekasmintsthāne (by the 15^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Or you might even join optionally the two words together without inserting any "t" in between: ekasminsthāne). Note that "sthāne" is the Locative singular of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Examples with "dvi" (two). The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in dual, of course:

1. Two men: dvau narau. Note that "narau" is the Nominative dual of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. Two women: dvau naryau. Note that "naryau" is the Nominative dual of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. Two books: dvau pustake. Note that "pustake" is the Nominative dual of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With two men: dvābhyām narābhyām »» dvābhyāṁ narābhyām (by the 10^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Note that "narābhyām" is the Instrumental dual of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In two places: dvayoḥ sthānayoḥ. Note that "sthānayoḥ" is the Locative dual of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Examples with "trí" (three). The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in plural, of course:

1. Three men: trayaḥ narāḥ »» trayo narāḥ (by the 2^nd Rule of Visarga Sandhi). Note that "narāḥ" is the Nominative plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. Three women: tisraḥ naryaḥ »» tisro naryaḥ (by the 2^nd Rule of Visarga Sandhi). Note that "naryaḥ" is the Nominative plural of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. Three books: trīṇi pustakāni. Note that "pustakāni" is the Nominative plural of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With three men: tribhiḥ naraiḥ »» tribhir naraiḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» tribhirnaraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In three places: triṣu sthāneṣu. Note that "sthāneṣu" is the Locative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Examples with "catur" (four). The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in plural, of course:

1. Four men: catvāraḥ narāḥ »» catvāro narāḥ (by the 2^nd Rule of Visarga Sandhi). Note that "narāḥ" is the Nominative plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. Four women: catasraḥ naryaḥ »» catasro naryaḥ (by the 2^nd Rule of Visarga Sandhi). Note that "naryaḥ" is the Nominative plural of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. Four books: catvāri pustakāni. Note that "pustakāni" is the Nominative plural of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With four men: caturbhiḥ naraiḥ »» caturbhir naraiḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» caturbhirnaraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In four places: caturṣu sthāneṣu. Note that "sthāneṣu" is the Locative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Let us study now the numbers 5 to 19 (navadaśan or navadaśan).

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 Declining Cardinals: 5-19 (19 as "navadaśAn or nAvadaśan")

These numerals are "uniform", that is, they do not have special forms for every gender (masculine, feminine and neuter), but all of them agree with each other. And they all are to be declined in plural number. We have been saved! Only five (pañcan), six (ṣaṣ) and eight (aṣṭan) present some particularities. But, seven (saptan), nine (navan), ten (daśan) up to nineteen (navadaśan or navadaśan) are declined like five (pañcan).

As I said before, seven, nine, ten up to nineteen (navadaśan or navadaśan) are declined like five. Anyway, as a mere example, I will show you how to decline seven (saptan), nine (navan) and nineteen (navadaśan or navadaśan).

Some examples with five, six, eight and nineteen

A few simple examples of all that you have just learnt. I have highlighted the final result in dark red color. Of course, you should consult the above tables when necessary. Besides, be warned that I will only use four nouns (nara - man, narī - woman, pustaka - book and sthāna - place) to be qualified by the respective numerals for the sake of simplicity. Likewise, I will be using the same cases (Nominative, Instrumental and Locative) as I used previously with one, two, three and four.

See the Declension documents (in Sanskrit section) for more information on declension, please.

Examples with "pañcan" (five). The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in plural, of course:

1. Five men: pañca narāḥ. Note that "narāḥ" is the Nominative plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. Five women: pañca naryaḥ. Note that "naryaḥ" is the Nominative plural of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. Five books: pañca pustakāni. Note that "pustakāni" is the Nominative plural of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With five men: pañcabhiḥ naraiḥ »» pañcabhir naraiḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» pañcabhirnaraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In five places: pañcasu sthāneṣu. Note that "sthāneṣu" is the Locative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Examples with "ṣaṣ" (six). The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in plural, of course:

1. Six men: ṣaṭ narāḥ »» ṣaḍ narāḥ (by the 3^rd sub-rule of the 2^nd Rule of Consonant Sandhi and the 7^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi) »» ṣaḍnarāḥ. Note that "narāḥ" is the Nominative plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. Six women: ṣaṭ naryaḥ »» ṣaḍ naryaḥ (by the 3^rd sub-rule of the 2^nd Rule of Consonant Sandhi and the 7^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi) »» ṣaḍnaryaḥ. Note that "naryaḥ" is the Nominative plural of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. Six books: ṣaṭ pustakāni. Note that "pustakāni" is the Nominative plural of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With six men: ṣaḍbhiḥ naraiḥ »» ṣaḍbhir naraiḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» ṣaḍbhirnaraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In six places: ṣaṭsu sthāneṣu. Note that "sthāneṣu" is the Locative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Examples with "aṣṭan" (eight). The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in plural, of course:

1. Eight men: aṣṭa/aṣṭau narāḥ. Note that "narāḥ" is the Nominative plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. Eight women: aṣṭa/aṣṭau naryaḥ. Note that "naryaḥ" is the Nominative plural of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. Eight books: aṣṭa/aṣṭau pustakāni. Note that "pustakāni" is the Nominative plural of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With eight men: astabhiḥ naraiḥ or astābhiḥ naraiḥ »» aṣṭabhir naraiḥ or aṣṭābhir naraiḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» aṣṭabhirnaraiḥ or aṣṭābhirnaraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In eight places: aṣṭasu/aṣṭāsu sthāneṣu. Note that "sthāneṣu" is the Locative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Examples with "navadaśan or navadaśan" (nineteen). The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in plural, of course:

1. Nineteen men: navadaśa narāḥ. Note that "narāḥ" is the Nominative plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. Nineteen women: navadaśa naryaḥ. Note that "naryaḥ" is the Nominative plural of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. Nineteen books: navadaśa pustakāni. Note that "pustakāni" is the Nominative plural of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With nineteen men: navadaśa naraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In nineteen places: navadaśasu sthāneṣu. Note that "sthāneṣu" is the Locative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Let us study now the numbers 19 (as ekonaviṁśati, ūnaviṁśati or ekānnaviṁśati) to 99 (navanavati).

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 Declining Cardinals: 19-99 (19 as "ekonaviṁśati, ūnaviṁśati or ekānnaviṁśati", and 99 as "navanavati")

These numerals are all feminine in gender (thank God!). And they all are to be declined in singular number while the nouns being qualified by them must be in plural, of course. But the things get a little complicated because some of them end in "i" while the others end in "t". Thus, the declension of those ending in "i" follows the rules followed by nouns and adjectives ending in "i" (feminine), while the declension of those ending in "t" follows the rules followed by nouns and adjectives ending in "t" (feminine). At the moment of writing this page (01/24/2004), I have not taught you how to decline nouns and adjectives ending in "i" (feminine) and "t" (feminine) yet. Therefore, since I cannot explain that topic in detail here (I will explain it to you in Declension subsection later), you will merely have to accept my words. Trust me!, hehe.

Here you are a table showing numerals from 19 to 99 ending in "i" and "t" respectively:

For the sake of exemplification, let us study now a group of six typical numerals: 19 (as ekonaviṁśati), 30 (triṁśat), 59 (as navapañcāśat), 59 (as ekonaṣaṣṭi), 80 (aśīti) and 99 (as navanavati). Also remember that all of them are to be declined in singular despite the nouns to which they qualify are declined in plural:

Some examples with thirty, fifty-nine, eighty and ninety-nine

A few simple examples of all that you have just learnt. I have highlighted the final result in dark red color. Of course, you should consult the above tables when necessary. Besides, be warned that I will only use four nouns (nara - man, narī - woman, pustaka - book and sthāna - place) to be qualified by the respective numerals for the sake of simplicity. Likewise, I will be using the same cases (Nominative, Instrumental and Locative) as I used previously with one, two, three and four.

See the Declension documents (in Sanskrit section) for more information on declension, please.

Examples with "triṁśat" (thirty). The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in plural, of course:

1. Thirty men: triṁśat narāḥ »» triṁśan narāḥ (by the 6^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi) »» triṁśannarāḥ. Note that "narāḥ" is the Nominative plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. Thirty women: triṁśat naryaḥ »» triṁśan naryaḥ (by the 6^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi) »» triṁśannaryaḥ. Note that "naryaḥ" is the Nominative plural of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. Thirty books: triṁśat pustakāni »» triṁśatpustakāni. Note that "pustakāni" is the Nominative plural of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With thirty men: triṁśatā naraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In thirty places: triṁśati sthāneṣu. Note that "sthāneṣu" is the Locative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Examples with "navapañcāśat/ekonaṣaṣṭi" (fifty-nine). The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in plural, of course:

1. Fifty-nine men: navapañcāśat narāḥ »» navapañcāśan narāḥ (by the 6^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi) »» navapañcāśannarāḥ. Or else, if you use "ekonaṣaṣṭi" instead of "navapañcāśat", then: ekonaṣaṣṭiḥ narāḥ »» ekonaṣaṣṭir narāḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» ekonaṣaṣṭirnarāḥ. Note that "narāḥ" is the Nominative plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. Fifty-nine women: navapañcāśat naryaḥ »» navapañcāśan naryaḥ (by the 6^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi) »» navapañcāśannaryaḥ. Or else, if you use "ekonaṣaṣṭi" instead of "navapañcāśat", then: ekonaṣaṣṭiḥ naryaḥ »» ekonaṣaṣṭir naryaḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» ekonaṣaṣṭirnaryaḥ. Note that "naryaḥ" is the Nominative plural of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. Fifty-nine books: navapañcāśat pustakāni »» navapañcāśatpustakāni. Or else, if you use "ekonaṣaṣṭi" instead of "navapañcāśat", then: ekonaṣaṣṭiḥ pustakāni. Note that "pustakāni" is the Nominative plural of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With fifty-nine men: navapañcāśatā naraiḥ. Or else, if you use "ekonaṣaṣṭi" instead of "navapañcāśat", then: ekonaṣaṣṭyā naraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In fifty-nine places: navapañcāśati sthāneṣu. Or else, if you use "ekonaṣaṣṭi" instead of "navapañcāśat", then there are two options: ekonaṣaṣṭau sthāneṣu or ekonaṣaṣṭyām sthāneṣu »» ekonaṣaṣṭyāṁ sthāneṣu (by the 10^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Note that "sthāneṣu" is the Locative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Examples with "aśīti" (eighty). The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in plural, of course:

1. Eighty men: aśītiḥ narāḥ »» aśītir narāḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» aśītirnarāḥ. Note that "narāḥ" is the Nominative plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. Eighty women: aśītiḥ naryaḥ »» aśītir naryaḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» aśītirnaryaḥ. Note that "naryaḥ" is the Nominative plural of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. Eighty books: aśītiḥ pustakāni. Note that "pustakāni" is the Nominative plural of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With eighty men: aśītyā naraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In eighty places: aśitau sthāneṣu or else, aśītyām sthāneṣu »» aśītyāṁ sthāneṣu (by the 10^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Note that "sthāneṣu" is the Locative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Examples with "navanavati" (ninety-nine). The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in plural, of course:

1. Ninety-nine men: navanavatiḥ narāḥ »» navanavatir narāḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» navanavatirnarāḥ. Note that "narāḥ" is the Nominative plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. Ninety-nine women: navanavatiḥ naryaḥ »» navanavatir naryaḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» navanavatirnaryaḥ. Note that "naryaḥ" is the Nominative plural of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. Ninety-nine books: navanavatiḥ pustakāni. Note that "pustakāni" is the Nominative plural of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With ninety-nine men: navanavatyā naraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In ninety-nine places: navanavatau sthāneṣu or else, navanavatyām sthāneṣu »» navanavatyāṁ sthāneṣu (by the 10^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Note that "sthāneṣu" is the Locative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Let us study now the numbers from 99 (as ekonaśata, ūnaśata or ekānnaśata) on.

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 Declining Cardinals: 99 + (99 as "ekonaśata", "ūnaśata" or "ekānnaśata")

These numerals are mostly neuter in gender (God's blessing is upon us all!). And they all are to be declined in singular number while the nouns being qualified by them must be in plural, as usual. In Numbers (1) (English) I taught you all those numbers in their crude form, do you remember? Well, if your memory is weak, here you are a table showing numerals from 99 (as ekonaśata, ūnaśata or ekānaśata) on:

As you can see, the vast majority of these "big" numerals ends in "a" (neuter). Thus, the following series of examples will contain only one of them (Sahasra - 1,000) and all those not ending in "a" (neuter) i.e. Laskṣa/Lakṣā (100,000 - masc. and fem., even though sometimes it may also assume neuter gender), Koṭi (10,000,000 - fem.), Kharva (10,000,000,000 - masc. and neuter), Nikharva (100,000,000,000 - masc. and neuter), Mahāpadma (1,000,000,000,000 - masc. and neuter), Śaṅku (10,000,000,000,000 - masc.) and Jaladhi (100,000,000,000,000 - masc.). I have taught you how to decline nouns and adjectives ending in "a" (neuter and masc.) and "ā" (fem.) in Declension (1). However, inasmuch as I have not taught you how to decline nouns and adjectives ending in "i" (fem.) and "u" (masc.) yet (01/24/2004), you will have to trust my words regarding the declension of "koṭi" and "śaṅku". Also remember that all of them are to be declined in singular despite the nouns to which they qualify are declined in plural:

Some examples with one thousand, one hundred thousand (lakṣa and Lakṣā),
ten millions and ten million millions

A few simple examples of all that you have just learnt. I have highlighted the final result in dark red color. Of course, you should consult the above tables when necessary. Besides, be warned that I will only use four nouns (nara - man, narī - woman, pustaka - book and sthāna - place) to be qualified by the respective numerals for the sake of simplicity. Likewise, I will be using the same cases (Nominative, Instrumental and Locative) as I used previously with one, two, three and four.

See the Declension documents (in Sanskrit section) for more information on declension, please.

Examples with "sahasra" (one thousand). The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in plural, of course:

1. One thousand men: sahasram narāḥ »» sahasraṁ narāḥ (by the 10^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Note that "narāḥ" is the Nominative plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. One thousand women: sahasram naryaḥ »» sahasraṁ naryaḥ (by the 10^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Note that "naryaḥ" is the Nominative plural of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. One thousand books: sahasram pustakāni »» sahasraṁ pustakāni (by the 10^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Note that "pustakāni" is the Nominative plural of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With one thousand men: sahasreṇa naraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In one thousand places: sahasre sthāneṣu. Note that "sthāneṣu" is the Locative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Examples with "lakṣa" and "lakṣā" (one hundred thousand). When a number has the three genders, one should use every form (masc., fem or neuter) with nouns agreeing in gender. That is why, I will use the masculine form (lakṣa) with masculine nouns, neuter form (lakṣa) with neuter nouns, while the feminine form (lakṣā) will be reserved only for the feminine ones. The only difference between masculine and neuter forms lies in the Nominative case, as you can see on the above table. The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in plural, of course:

1. One hundred thousand men: lakṣaḥ narāḥ »» lakṣo narāḥ (by the 2^nd Rule of Visarga Sandhi). Note that "narāḥ" is the Nominative plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. One hundred thousand women: lakṣā naryaḥ. Note that "naryaḥ" is the Nominative plural of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. One hundred thousand books: lakṣaṁ pustakāni »» lakṣaṁ pustakāni (by the 10^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Note that "pustakāni" is the Nominative plural of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With one hundred thousand men: lakṣeṇa naraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In one hundred thousand places: lakṣe sthāneṣu. Note that "sthāneṣu" is the Locative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Examples with "koṭi" (ten millions). The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in plural, of course:

1. Ten millions men: koṭiḥ narāḥ »» koṭīr narāḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» koṭirnarāḥ. Note that "narāḥ" is the Nominative plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. Ten millions women: koṭiḥ naryaḥ »» koṭir naryaḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» koṭirnaryaḥ. Note that "naryaḥ" is the Nominative plural of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. Ten millions books: koṭiḥ pustakāni. Note that "pustakāni" is the Nominative plural of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With ten millions men: koṭyā naraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In ten millions places: koṭau sthāneṣu or else, koṭyām sthāneṣu »» koṭyāṁ sthāneṣu (by the 10^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Note that "sthāneṣu" is the Locative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Examples with "śaṅku" (ten million millions). The nouns (nara, narī, etc.) are declined in plural, of course. Yes, the amount of men, women, books and places will be too large. Just take it for an example, and not for something real, please:

1. Ten million millions men: śaṅkuḥ narāḥ »» śaṅkur narāḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» śaṅkurnarāḥ. Note that "narāḥ" is the Nominative plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. Ten million millions women: śaṅkuḥ naryaḥ »» śaṅkur naryaḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» śaṅkurnaryaḥ. Note that "naryaḥ" is the Nominative plural of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. Ten million millions books: śaṅkuḥ pustakāni. Note that "pustakāni" is the Nominative plural of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. With ten million millions men: śaṅkunā naraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. In ten million millions places: śaṅkau sthāneṣu. Note that "sthāneṣu" is the Locative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place).

Oh my God, let us run away from Cardinals once and for all and go to the Ordinals.

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 Declining Ordinals

Good news! We have been showered with divine Grace by Supreme Śiva. Why? If compared to that of Cardinals, Ordinals' declension will be a piece of cake! Of course, since I am not going to write all Ordinals again now, have Numbers (2) (English) at hand, please.

All Ordinals accept the three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter). When masculine or neuter, the Ordinal ends in "a" always, while almost all Ordinals end in "ī" if feminine, except "first, second and third" which end in "ā". Granted, since all Ordinals assume the three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter) and numbers (singular, dual and plural), they are to be agree in gender and number with the nouns they qualify. Here you are a simple table showing what I have just stated:

So, to decline these Ordinals ending in "a" (masc./neuter) and "ā" (fem.), you have to follow the instructions I show you in Declension (1). Anyway, I will decline prathama/prathamā (1^st) as an example. Besides, inasmuch as I have not taught you how to decline nouns and adjectives ending in "ī" (fem.) yet (01/24/2004), I will have to teach you now how to decline them. I am only going to decline one Ordinal ending in "ī" as a sample, obviously... say, viṁśī (20^th).

Prathama (1^st) - masc./neuter

Prathamā (1^st) - fem.

Viṁśī (20^th) - fem.

Some examples with first (all genders), second (all genders),
third (all genders) and twentieth

A few simple examples of all that you have just learnt. I have highlighted the final result in dark red color. Of course, you should consult the above tables when necessary. Besides, be warned that I will only use four nouns (nara - man, narī - woman, pustaka - book and sthāna - place) to be qualified by the respective numerals for the sake of simplicity.

Obviously, when an Ordinal assumes all genders, one must make the Ordinal agree in gender with the noun to be qualified. For example, if the noun is in neuter gender, you are to use the Ordinal declined in neuter gender too. Again, if the Ordinal is only masculine, feminine or neuter, you are bound to decline it in that gender with all nouns. Got it? Good!

See the Declension documents (in Sanskrit section) for more information on declension, please.

Examples with "prathama" (first):

1. The first man: prathamaḥ naraḥ »» prathamo naraḥ (by the 2^nd Rule of Visarga Sandhi). Note that "naraḥ" is the Nominative singular of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. The first woman: prathamā narī. Note that "narī" is the Nominative singular of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. From the first two books: prathamābhyām pustakābhyām »» prathamābhyāṁ pustakābhyām (by the 10^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Note that "pustakābhyām" is the Ablative dual of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. By the first men (three or more): prathamaiḥ naraiḥ »» prathamair naraiḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» prathamairnaraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. To the first places (three or more): prathamāni sthānāni. Note that "sthānāni" is the Accusative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place). Yes, the phrase can also be translated as "the first places (three or more)" in Nominative plural, or even as a Vocative plural "oh, the first places (three or more)". However, in a real text there will be more words so that you may infer if it is an Accusative plural, a Nominative plural or even a Vocative plural, do not worry then. Granted, I added "three or more" to indicate that the declension is in plural (not dual), but you will surely drop that when translating a particular text.

Examples with "dvitīya" (second):

1. The second man: dvitīyaḥ naraḥ »» dvitīyo naraḥ (by the 2^nd Rule of Visarga Sandhi). Note that "naraḥ" is the Nominative singular of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. The second woman: dvitīyā narī. Note that "narī" is the Nominative singular of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. From the second two books: dvitīyābhyām pustakābhyām »» dvitīyābhyāṁ pustakābhyām (by the 10^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Note that "pustakābhyām" is the Ablative dual of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. By the second men (three or more): dvitīyaiḥ naraiḥ »» dvitīyair naraiḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» dvitīyairnaraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. To the second places (three or more): dvitīyāni sthānāni. Note that "sthānāni" is the Accusative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place). Yes, the phrase can also be translated as "the second places (three or more)" in Nominative plural, or even as a Vocative plural "oh, the second places (three or more)". However, in a real text there will be more words so that you may infer if it is an Accusative plural, a Nominative plural or even a Vocative plural, do not worry then. Granted, I added "three or more" to indicate that the declension is in plural (not dual), but you will surely drop that when translating a particular text.

Examples with "tṛtīya" (third):

1. The third man: tṛtīyaḥ naraḥ »» tṛtīyo naraḥ (by the 2^nd Rule of Visarga Sandhi). Note that "naraḥ" is the Nominative singular of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. The third woman: tṛtīyā narī. Note that "narī" is the Nominative singular of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. From the third two books: tṛtīyābhyām pustakābhyām »» tṛtīyābhyāṁ pustakābhyām (by the 10^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Note that "pustakābhyām" is the Ablative dual of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. By the third men (three or more): tṛtīyaiḥ naraiḥ »» tṛtīyair naraiḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» tṛtīyairnaraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. To the third places (three or more): tṛtīyāni sthānāni. Note that "sthānāni" is the Accusative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place). Yes, the phrase can also be translated as "the third places (three or more)" in Nominative plural, or even as a Vocative plural "oh, the third places (three or more)". However, in a real text there will be more words so that you may infer if it is an Accusative plural, a Nominative plural or even a Vocative plural, do not worry then. Granted, I added "three or more" to indicate that the declension is in plural (not dual), but you will surely drop that when translating a particular text.

Examples with "viṁśī" (twentieth):

1. The twentieth man: viṁśī naraḥ. Note that "naraḥ" is the Nominative singular of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
2. The twentieth woman: viṁśī narī. Note that "narī" is the Nominative singular of the feminine noun "narī" (woman).
3. From the two twentieth books: viṁśībhyām pustakābhyām »» viṁśībhyāṁ pustakābhyām (by the 10^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Note that "pustakābhyām" is the Ablative dual of the neuter noun "pustaka" (book).
4. By the twentieth men (three or more): viṁśībhiḥ naraiḥ »» viṁśībhir naraiḥ (by the 7^th Rule of Visarga Sandhi) »» viṁśībhirnaraiḥ. Note that "naraiḥ" is the Instrumental plural of the masculine noun "nara" (man).
5. To the twentieth places (three or more): viṁśīm sthānāni »» viṁśīṁ sthānāni (by the 10^th Rule of Consonant Sandhi). Note that "sthānāni" is the Accusative plural of the neuter noun "sthāna" (place). Yes, the phrase can also be translated as "the twentieth places (three or more)" in Nominative plural, or even as a Vocative plural "oh, the twentieth places (three or more)". However, in a real text there will be more words so that you may infer if it is an Accusative plural, a Nominative plural or even a Vocative plural, do not worry then. Granted, I added "three or more" to indicate that the declension is in plural (not dual), but you will surely drop that when translating a particular text.

Declension of Ordinals has been a piece of cake, no doubt. Let us learn now how to count in Sanskrit.

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 How to count in Sanskrit

People ask me sometimes: "How should one count in Sanskrit?". The existence of several genders makes them confused. They ignore which one should be chosen. The rule is very simple. There is an order of priority here you must follow at any cost to be successful: 1) neuter, 2) masculine and 3) feminine (sorry, ladies). Thus, if a numeral assumes just one form for all genders (e.g. pañca - five) or only one gender (e.g. koṭi - ten millions), what the heck!, you are bound to use that. However, if it has two or all genders (e.g. eka - one), you are to follow the order I specified above. Let us start... hmmm... I will put all within a table for the sake of convenience:

Therefore, use the last column to count in Sanskrit properly: (1) ekam, (2) dve, (3) trīṇi, (4) catvāri, (5) pañca, (6) ṣaṭ, (7) sapta, (8) aṣṭa or aṣṭau, (9) nava, (10) daśa, etc. and be happy.

Let us go on!

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 And zero?

Well, zero can be written in three different ways: śūnya (commonly used), bindu (rarely used) and vaṭa (rarely used). All of them, except "śūnya" which is neuter, are masculine in gender. By far, the term "śūnya" is the most used one to designate zero. This word is to be declined like any other adjective ending in "a" (neuter). For the most part, it is used isolatedly, that is, without qualifying any nouns. Theoretically, it might qualify a noun (e.g. zero men - śūnyāni narāḥ), but I have not seen it to occur in practice in my entire lifetime. Maybe there are some rare examples, I do not know, but you will not probably come across that situation, be sure.

Well, nothing else for now. Maybe it was funny for you to read it and learn something new, but for me it was funny only for the first ten hours (no kidding!). I am finishing it now, after more than twenty hours of hard work... and I am really tired. Now, I will take a rest to allow my exhausted intellect to regain its lost vigor. See you!

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 Further Information

This document was conceived by Gabriel Pradīpaka, one of the two founders of this site, and spiritual guru conversant with Sanskrit language and Trika philosophy.

For further information about Sanskrit, Yoga and Indian Philosophy; or if you simply want to comment, ask a question or correct a mistake, feel free to contact us: This is our e-mail address.