In this article we shall deal with those words which are formed with -r suffix and through –tr suffix.

-tr suffix:

-tr suffix denotes doer or agent of some action. Look at the examples given below.

कृ → कर्तृ
kṛ → kartṛ
do, make → doer, maker

गम् → गन्तृ
gam → gantṛ
go → goer

हन् → हन्तृ
han → hantṛ
kill → killer

We need to attach the suffix to the verb root to attach the suffix. The rules for the same remain the same as FPP.
The root of the verb is strengthened to the medium level, the following words use tr at the end:
Han
Gam
Roots which end with ṛ

INFLECTION

The strong and weak suffixes are given in the table below:

Endings Strong stem Weak stem Special stem.
-tṛ -tār -tṛ -tā

It has to be understood that tr suffix comes from the term “tar”, which ends in consonant so the word will form a consonant stem, however, the “tr” suffix itself ends in a vowel and therefore vowel stems are also formed.
Look at the tables given below to understand further:

-ṛ (feminine and masculine):

कार्तृ Singular Dual Plural
Case 1 (Subject) कार्ता
kārtā




कार्तारौ
kārtārau

कार्तारः
kārtāraḥ
Case 2 (object) कार्तारम्
kārtāram
कार्तारौ
kārtārau

कार्तॄन्
kārtṝn
Case 3 (“with”) कार्त्रा
kārtrā
कार्तृभ्याम्
kārtṛbhyām
कार्तृभिः
kārtṛbhiḥ
Case 4 (“for”) कार्त्रे
kārtre
कार्तृभ्याम्
kārtṛbhyām
कार्तृभ्यः
kārtṛbhyaḥ
Case 5 (“from”) कार्तुः
kārtuḥ

कार्तृभ्याम्
kārtṛbhyām
कार्तृभ्यः
kārtṛbhyaḥ
Case 6 (“of”) कार्तुः
kārtuḥ
कार्त्रोः
kārtroḥ
कर्तॄणम्
kārtṝṇām

Case 7 (“in”) कार्तरि
kārtari
कार्त्रोः
kārtroḥ
कार्तृषु
kārtṛṣu
Case 8 (address) कार्तः (र्)
kārtaḥ (r)
कार्तारौ
kārtārau
कार्तारः
kārtāraḥ

What is quite clear is that even though singular stems behave like consonant stems, the differences between case 5 and case 7 are quite noticeable. Plural forms follow consonant stems, but case 2 and case 6 follow the vowel stems.

FEMININE ENDINGS:
Suffix tri is used for feminine forms and the pattern followed is similar to the one followed in vāpī.

FAMILY RELATIONS:
Sanskrit has several words which are used to describe the family relationships. The most commonly used words end in –r. Look at the table given below to understand further.

Sanskrit English
पितृ father
मातृ mother
भ्रातृ brother
स्वसृ sister
  • An irregularity can be noticed in the nouns given above.
  • As far as the feminine noun is concerned, mātṛ and svasṛ, is concerned, case two plural is -ṝs instead of -ṝn.
  • The strong stem is -ar not –ār, however, the strong stem formed of svasṛ is svasār.
  • The irregularity is caused by Brugmann’s law.