Sanskrit dictionary (beta)

[yá] pronoun relative (neuter -d) who, that, which, what: nearly always followed by the ordinary correlative tad (± etad or idam) or less frequently idam (masculine ayam), adas (masculine asau), îdris, tâdrisa, etâvat (tathâ sts. corresponding to the neuter yad); occasionally either the relative or the corr. is dropped. Ya is sts. inaccurately employed in the sense of if any (one). Uses of the relative calling for special mention are the following: 1. Ya is often added (without the copula) to emphasize a subject (for example âtma parityâgena yad âsritânam rakshanam, tan nîtividâm na sammatam, protection of dependents at the sacrifice of one's own life is not approved by moralists). Sts. it is thus used without emphasis by the side of a simple subject (e. genitive andhah sthaviras ka yah, a blind man and one who is old); rarely a nominative relative of this kind=an accusative (for example sarvân rasân apo heta pasavo ye ka mânushâh, he should avoid selling all sorts of condiments, cattle, and human beings). The neuter singular yad of this emphatic relative is frequently employed without regard to gender or number, when it may be translated by as for, as regards (for example asidhâ râvratam idam manye yad arinâ saha samvâ sah, as for dwelling with an enemy, that I consider as hard as the sword-blade vow); before a noun this yad=that is to say (Brâhmana). Immediately following oratio recta ending with iti yad=at the thought that (compare conjunction yad). 2. Two relatives often occur in the same sentence, when the second may be translated by any (for example yad rokate yasmai, bhavet tat tasya sundaram, what pleases any one, that to him is beautiful). 3. The meaning of the relative when repeated (sts. separated by hi) is generalised, ya ya being=whoever, whichever, whatever (followed by the doubled or single corr. tad). 4. Ya is often combined with other prns.: (a) with tvam, sa, esha, ayam, asau; (b) with aham (tvam, etc.): yo ~ ham, I who=since I, or (after a question) that I; (c) with tad, any soever: yad vâ tad vâ, any, any kind of; anything; (d) with tvad=or any other (Brâhmana, rare); (e) with interrogative ka with; also ka (Veda, Vedic, Classical (post-Vedic) Sanskrit, common), with; also kid (Classical (post-Vedic) Sanskrit, very common), with; also kid api (Classical (post-Vedic) Sanskrit, not common), with; also kana (Epic, rare), with; also vâ (Classical (post-Vedic) Sanskrit, rare), or with; also api (Classical (post-Vedic) Sanskrit, late, not yet in Manu), immediately following or sts. sepa rated (masculine yah kás ka, kas kid, kas kid api, kas kana, ko vâ, or ko ~ pi, neuter yad kim ka, kim kid, kim kid api, kim kana, kim vâ or kim api), whoever, whatever, any soever, any one, no matter who.