लकाराः
Lakar in Sanskrit
Sanskrit's tenses and moods are called lakaras. Here are all ten with their meaning and an example, the five taught in school shown side by side, a simple method to identify any verb's lakar, and practice.
What is a lakar?
In Sanskrit grammar, tense and mood are called लकार. Panini named them with short codes that all begin with ल — लट्, लिट्, लुट्, लृट्, लेट्, लोट्, लङ्, लिङ्, लुङ्, लृङ् — which is why they are called the ten lakaras (दश लकाराः). Six end in ट् (the "ṭ-lakaras") and four in ङ् (the "ṅ-lakaras"); the लिङ् has two kinds, विधिलिङ् and आशीर्लिङ्.
Schools teach five: लट्, लृट्, लङ्, लोट् and विधिलिङ्. Once you can recognise these five, you can read most simple Sanskrit prose.
All 10 lakaras, with meaning and an example
Examples use पठ् (to read), third person singular.
| Lakar | Use | Example | Meaning |
| लट् | वर्तमानकालः — present | पठति | he reads / is reading |
| लिट् | परोक्षभूतकालः — remote past (not witnessed) | पपाठ | he read (long ago) |
| लुट् | अनद्यतनभविष्यत् — future, not today | पठिता | he will read (not today) |
| लृट् | सामान्यभविष्यत् — simple future | पठिष्यति | he will read |
| लेट् | Vedic subjunctive — only in the Vedas | — | — |
| लोट् | आज्ञार्थः — command, request, blessing | पठतु | let him read |
| लङ् | अनद्यतनभूतकालः — past, before today | अपठत् | he read |
| विधिलिङ् | विध्यर्थः — should, may, ought | पठेत् | he should read |
| आशीर्लिङ् | आशीर्वादः — blessing | पठ्यात् | may he read |
| लुङ् | सामान्यभूतकालः — general past (aorist) | अपाठीत् | he read |
| लृङ् | हेतुहेतुमद्भावः — conditional | अपठिष्यत् | he would have read |
Forms of the rarer lakaras (लिट्, लुट्, लुङ्, लृङ्, आशीर्लिङ्) vary between verbs and are learnt in higher classes; the five school lakaras are covered fully on the Dhatu Roop page.
The 5 school lakaras in one sentence
The same sentence with गम् (to go), so you can see only the verb change.
| Lakar | Use | Sanskrit | Hindi |
| लट् | Present | सः विद्यालयं गच्छति। | वह विद्यालय जाता है। |
| लृट् | Future | सः श्वः विद्यालयं गमिष्यति। | वह कल विद्यालय जाएगा। |
| लङ् | Past | सः ह्यः विद्यालयम् अगच्छत्। | वह कल विद्यालय गया। |
| लोट् | Command | त्वं विद्यालयं गच्छ। | तुम विद्यालय जाओ। |
| विधिलिङ् | Should | छात्रः प्रतिदिनं विद्यालयं गच्छेत्। | छात्र को प्रतिदिन विद्यालय जाना चाहिए। |
How to identify the lakar of a verb
- Starts with अ- and the root follows? (अपठत्, अगच्छत्, अभवत्) → लङ्, the past.
- Has -ष्य- or -इष्य- before the ending? (पठिष्यति, गमिष्यति, नेष्यति) → लृट्, the future.
- Has -ए- before the ending? (पठेत्, गच्छेत्, भवेयुः) → विधिलिङ्, "should".
- Ends in -तु, -न्तु, or is the bare stem? (पठतु, गच्छन्तु, भव) → लोट्, a command.
- None of these, with -ति, -सि, -मि? (पठति, गच्छसि, भवामि) → लट्, the present.
Common time words help too: ह्यः (yesterday) goes with लङ्, श्वः (tomorrow) with लृट्, अद्य and इदानीम् (today, now) with लट्.
Practice: which lakar?
अहं संस्कृतं पठिष्यामि।
लृट् — 'I will read Sanskrit.'
ते क्रीडाक्षेत्रे अक्रीडन्।
लङ् — 'They played in the playground.'
त्वं सत्यं वद।
लोट् — 'Speak the truth.'
सदा सत्यं वदेत्।
विधिलिङ् — 'One should always speak the truth.'
वयं गीतं गायामः।
लट् — 'We sing a song.'
रामः वनम् अगच्छत्।
लङ् — 'Rama went to the forest.'
Frequently asked questions
How many lakaras are there in Sanskrit?
Ten: लट्, लिट्, लुट्, लृट्, लेट्, लोट्, लङ्, लिङ्, लुङ् and लृङ्. लिङ् has two forms, विधिलिङ् and आशीर्लिङ्, so some lists count eleven.
What is लट् लकार?
The present tense: पठति (he reads), गच्छामि (I go).
Which lakar is used for the past tense in Sanskrit?
In school Sanskrit, लङ् लकार: अपठत् (he read), अगच्छत् (he went). लिट् and लुङ् are also past tenses in classical Sanskrit.
Which lakar is used for the future?
लृट् लकार: पठिष्यति (he will read), गमिष्यति (he will go).