Lesson 22: Using Past Participles
Like English, Sanskrit makes use of a past participle. The usual form of each is:
- Eng: (regular) root + ed — conquer “conquered,” dwell “dwelled”
- Skt: weak root + (इ)त — जि जित, “conquered,” वस् उषित, “dwelled”
- Skt: 10th cl. stem minus अय + इत — चोरय चोरित, “stolen”
- passive: Submit the requested forms. They are required.
- perfect: Having defeated my enemies, I have attained victory.
Voice depends on Verb Type
In general, the past participles of transitive verbs will be passive and those of intransitive verbs will be active. But the past participles of a few other transitive roots are also active: namely, verbs of motion, and a couple of intransitives made transitive by a prefix. Also, as Deshpande notes, simply adding the suffix -वत् to any past participle will make it active. Which gives us the following breakdown:
Root | Suffix | Voice | Examples |
trans. | -(इ)त | pass. | खादित (having been) “eaten” or (were) “eaten” |
intr. | act. | मुदित (having) “rejoiced” or (Rāma) “rejoiced” | |
v.o.m. | गत (having) “gone” or (Rāma) “went” | ||
conv. | अधिष्ठित (having) “occupied” or (Rāma) “occupied” | ||
Base | |||
pp. | -वत् | act. | खादितवत् (having) “eaten” or (Rāma) “ate,” etc. |
As verbal adjectives, past participles agree with the noun they qualify in gender, number and case. And unlike present participles, past participles can be used as sentence predicates. Hence, Deshpande’s example:
Of course, with the exclusively active past participle (pp. + वत्), voice does not depend on verb type. Regardless of root type or the voice of the pp. it is added to, the -वत् suffix creates an active past participle:
- रामेण फलानि खादितानि । “The fruit were eaten by Rāma.”
- रामो वने उषितः । “Rāma dwelled in the forest.”
- रामो ग्रामं गतः । “Rāma went to the village.”
- रामो वनम् अधिष्ठितः । “Rāma dwelled in the forest.”
Of course, with the exclusively active past participle (pp. + वत्), voice does not depend on verb type. Regardless of root type or the voice of the pp. it is added to, the -वत् suffix creates an active past participle:
- रामो वनं गतवान् । “Rāma went to the forest.” (act. → act.)
- रामः फलानि खादितवान् । “Rāma ate the fruit.” (pass. → act.)
Perfect, if not Sole Predicate
In the Sanskrit examples above, past participles are used as the sole predicate in each sentence. In such cases, the participle just stands for a simple past tense (“Rāma went. The fruit were eaten by Rāma,” etc.) In most other cases, however, the participle expresses a perfect sense (for completed action). For example:
Finally, as we saw in Lesson 16, both 1) intransitive verbs and 2) transitive verbs used intransitively, can be used impersonally (भावे प्रयोग). The same applies to past participles. They may be used impersonally—only as the sole predicate, where they have a simple past sense—in the neuter singular. Hence,
- non-predicate active: ग्रामं गतो रामस् तुष्येत् ।
“Rāma, (who has) gone to the village, should be pleased.” - non-predicate passive: रामेण क्षालितानि फलानि लक्ष्मणेन अखाद्यन्त ।
“The fruit (that had been) washed by Rāma was eaten by Lakṣmaṇa.” - predicate active: रामो गतो भविष्यति ।
“Rāma will be/have gone.” - predicate passive: रामेण फलं खादितं भविष्यति ।
“The fruit will be (will have been) eaten by Rāma.”
- कुपितो देव एवम् अवदत् । “The angry god spoke as follows.”
Finally, as we saw in Lesson 16, both 1) intransitive verbs and 2) transitive verbs used intransitively, can be used impersonally (भावे प्रयोग). The same applies to past participles. They may be used impersonally—only as the sole predicate, where they have a simple past sense—in the neuter singular. Hence,
- रामेण वने उषितम् । “Dwelling in the forest was done by Rāma.”
- रामेण गतम् । “Going was done by Rāma.”
Voice | Not Sole Predicate = Perfect | As Sole Predicate = Imperfect |
active | “having done (z),” x... | y “did” |
गतः (रामः)... | (रामः) गतः | |
passive | x “having been done,”... | y “was done” |
दृष्टः (ग्रामः)... | (ग्रामः) दृष्टः | |
bhāve | “(verb action) was done” | |
पतितम् |