Sanskrit Dhatu Roop

What is dhatu roop?

धातुरूपम् is the set of forms a verb root (धातु) takes. Each form shows three things at once: the tense or mood (लकार), the person (पुरुष — third, second, first) and the number (वचन — singular, dual, plural). So every lakara gives a 3 × 3 table of nine forms. The subject decides the form: सः पठति, त्वं पठसि, अहं पठामि.

Verbs are either परस्मैपद (endings -ति, -तः, -न्ति…) or आत्मनेपद (endings -ते, -इते, -न्ते…). Most beginner verbs are parasmaipada; सेव्, लभ् and वृत् are common atmanepada verbs. What each lakara means is explained on the Lakar page.

Note the order: Sanskrit tables list प्रथमपुरुष (he/she/it) first and उत्तमपुरुष (I/we) last — the reverse of English.

Spot the pattern

• लट् endings: -ति -तः -न्ति / -सि -थः -थ / -आमि -आवः -आमः.
• लृट् adds -स्य / -इष्य before the लट् endings: पठ् → पठिष्यति, नी → नेष्यति.
• लङ् adds अ- at the front (the augment): अपठत्, अभवत्, अगच्छत्.
• लोट् second person singular is the bare stem: पठ!, भव!, गच्छ! — the commands you hear most.
• विधिलिङ् has -ए- throughout: पठेत्, भवेत्, गच्छेत्.