Sanskrit Verbs - Participles - Past Participles - Past Passive Participles

Past Passive Participles

The past passive participle in Sanskrit is formed by adding "-tá" (Kta in Pāṇinian terms), and in some cases "na", to a root in its weakest grade when weakening is applicable (e.g. samprasāraṇa). As expected, the augment "i" is added to the root before the suffix. The resulting form is an adjective and modifies a noun either expressed or implied. The past passive participle can usually be translated by the corresponding English past passive participle: likhitaḥ śabdaḥ "the written word"; kṛtaṃ kāryam "a done deed." See below for more detail and exceptions.

Examples: bhūta from √bhū; kṛta from √kṛ; sthita from sthā (with weakening); ukta from vac (with samprasāraṇa); udita from √vad (with both samprasāraṇa and the i augment); pūrṇa from pṝ (-na in place of -ta and "irregular" root modification).

Depending on the transitivity of the root, the suffix "-tá" has two basic applications: 1. Transitive (sakarmaka) roots: when the suffix -tá is added to a transitive root such as √kṛ "to do," the resulting participle expresses the direct object (karman) of the verbal root. The agent (kartṛ) of the same action must then occur in the instrumental case (tṛtīyā vibhakti) when the speaker wishes to express it.

Example: √han (2P) (to kill)

rākṣaso hato rāmeṇa "The demon was killed by Rāma."

Note that rakṣasa is the direct object (karman) of the verbal action expressed in √han "to kill" and the agent (kartṛ) of the same action, Rāma, occurs in the instrumental case.

2. Intransitive (akarmaka) roots: forms adjectives/participles that indicate that the nouns modified are the subjects (kartṛ) for the action of the root (dhātu). This action is frequently in the past. In other words, the participle serves as a nominalization for a simple past tense in the kartari prayoga.

Example: √sthā(1P) (to stand)

Rāmo vane sthitaḥ --> Rāma stood in the forest.