Sanskrit शेरते

[Kobzar]

Hello, I am translating महाभारतम् । ३ । १८८, and in the second verse of the śloka no. 80, I find the word शेरते, which I cannot find it in the dictionaries that I usually consult (Monier-Williams and Böhtlingk-Roth). The śloka no. 80 reads (I follow the text of https://bombay.indology.info/mahabharata/text/UD/MBh03.txt):
पानीयं भोजनं चैव याचमानास्तदाध्वगाः
न लप्स्यन्ते निवासं च निरस्ताः पथि शेरते
My tentative translation is:
Then, travelers will not obtain drink or food when they ask for them, and banished people… habitation on the road…
I guess that शेरते might be the singular masculine locative of an adjective *शेरत (which I cannot find), qualifying पथि, or the third person plural of the middle present of an athematic verb *शेर्, which I also cannot find. Thank you very much in advance for whatever answer.

 

[Au101]

Hello, I am translating महाभारतम् । ३ । १८८, and in the second verse of the śloka no. 80, I find the word शेरते, which I cannot find it in the dictionaries that I usually consult (Monier-Williams and Böhtlingk-Roth). The śloka no. 80 reads (I follow the text of https://bombay.indology.info/mahabharata/text/UD/MBh03.txt):
पानीयं भोजनं चैव याचमानास्तदाध्वगाः
न लप्स्यन्ते निवासं च निरस्ताः पथि शेरते
My tentative translation is:
Then, travelers will not obtain drink or food when they ask for them, and banished people… habitation on the road…
I guess that शेरते might be the singular masculine locative of an adjective *शेरत (which I cannot find), qualifying पथि, or the third person plural of the middle present of an athematic verb *शेर्, which I also cannot find. Thank you very much in advance for whatever answer.

Try the root śī

 

[Dib]

Yeah, as Au101 hinted, it is an irregular (and unintuitive) verb form.

 

[Au101]

Yeah, as Au101 hinted, it is an irregular (and unintuitive) verb form.

Yes indeed. The explanation is that the root √śī- always appears in the guṇa grade throughout the present stem. That's just an irregularity of that particular root. Secondly, this root inserts r before the 3rd person plural present, imperfect and imperative endings (the three endings in the ātmanepada that begin with short -a). This is not completely unique to √śī- and it seems apparent that it is to break/avoid internal saṃdhi between the stem and the ending.

 

[Dib]

Yes indeed. The explanation is that the root √śī- always appears in the guṇa grade throughout the present stem. That's just an irregularity of that particular root. Secondly, this root inserts r before the 3rd person plural present, imperfect and imperative endings (the three endings in the ātmanepada that begin with short -a). This is not completely unique to √śī- and it seems apparent that it is to break/avoid internal saṃdhi between the stem and the ending.

Ah, really? I didn't know (at least, can't remember off the top of my head), there are other roots that insert an r! Could you give some examples?

 

[Au101]

Ah, really? I didn't know (at least, can't remember off the top of my head), there are other roots that insert an r! Could you give some examples?

Certainly, permit me to quote from Whitney:

613. Examples of the 3d sing. mid. coincident in form with the 1st sing. are not rare in the older language (both V. and B.): the most frequent examples are ī́çe, duhé, vidé, çáye; more sporadic are cité, bruve, huvé. To tha of the 2d pl. is added na in sthána, pāthánā, yāthána. The irregular accent of the 3d pl. mid. is found in RV. in rihaté, duhaté. Examples of the same person in re and rate also occur: thus (besides those mentioned below, 629–30, 635), vidré, and, with auxiliary vowel, arhire (unless these are to be ranked, rather, as perfect forms without reduplication: 790 b).

618. The 2d sing. act. ending tāt is found in the older language in a few verbs of this class: namely, vittā́t, vītāt, brūtā́t, hatāt, yātāt, stutāt. In 3d sing. mid., two or three verbs have in the older language the ending ām: thus, duhā́m (only RV. case), vidām, çayām; and in 3d pl. mid. AV. has duhrā́m and duhratām. The use of tana for ta in 2d pl. act. is quite frequent in the Veda: thus, itana, yātána, attana, etc. And in stota, éta étana, bravītana, çāstána, hantana, we have examples in the same person of a strong (and accented) stem.

635. The irregularities of √duh in the older language have been already in part noted: the 3d pl. indic. mid. duhaté, duhré, and duhráte; 3d sing. impv. duhā́m, pl. duhrā́m and duhratām; impf. act. 3d sing. áduhat (which is found also in the later language), 3d pl. aduhran (beside áduhan and duhús); the mid. pple dúghāna; and (quite unexampled elsewhere) the opt. forms duhīyát and duhīyán (RV. only). The MS. has aduha 3d sing. and aduhra 3d pl. impf. mid., apparently formed to correspond to the pres. duhe (613) and duhre as adugdha and aduhata correspond to dugdhe and duhate: compare āiça (630), related in like manner to the 3d sing. īçe.

 

[Au101]

Of course, as is apparent, it is by no means common, and in the Classical language at least, it may well be unique to √śī- although it remains worth noting that rs find their way into the conjugations in other places, such as the third plural optative ātmanepada ending.

 

[Dib]

Awesome! Excellent information! Thanks a lot!

 

[Kobzar]

Thanks a lot for all your answers and explanations! Thumb-Hauschild, Handbuch des Sanskrit, 2. Band, § 435, say that the –r– was not limited to the 3rd person plural of the middle perfect (for example, चक्रिरे), but was occasionally extended to other forms.

 

[Au101]

Awesome! Excellent information! Thanks a lot!

Thanks a lot for all your answers and explanations! Thumb-Hauschild, Handbuch des Sanskrit, 2. Band, § 435, say that the –r– was not limited to the 3rd person plural of the middle perfect (for example, चक्रिरे), but was occasionally extended to other forms.

My pleasure

 

[Gop]

Hello, I am translating महाभारतम् । ३ । १८८, and in the second verse of the śloka no. 80, I find the word शेरते, which I cannot find it in the dictionaries that I usually consult (Monier-Williams and Böhtlingk-Roth). The śloka no. 80 reads (I follow the text of https://bombay.indology.info/mahabharata/text/UD/MBh03.txt):
पानीयं भोजनं चैव याचमानास्तदाध्वगाः
न लप्स्यन्ते निवासं च निरस्ताः पथि शेरते
My tentative translation is:
Then, travelers will not obtain drink or food when they ask for them, and banished people… habitation on the road…
I guess that शेरते might be the singular masculine locative of an adjective *शेरत (which I cannot find), qualifying पथि, or the third person plural of the middle present of an athematic verb *शेर्, which I also cannot find. Thank you very much in advance for whatever answer.

Your problem was, I think, to identify the root verb from the inflected form. If you are familiar with French, I would suggest an online resource available in that language which can do this: sanskrit heritage dictionary, produced by INRIA (institut national de recherche en informatique et en automatique). It is not only a reliable dictionary, but can also identify nouns and verbs from their inflected forms.