Listen, O revered sages, as Sūta unfolds the wisdom of grammar and meter, as taught in the ancient texts and clarified by the learned Kumāra and Kātyāyana. This teaching, drawn from the Samhitā and other sources, is offered to you, best among the ancestors, so that the understanding of language and its sacred forms may be firmly established. First, consider the nature of action in language. When an action is recalled or intended, when effort is implied by the verb 'to do,' or when violence is to be expressed, the forms of both the action and the agent become clear. Yet, the sixth grammatical case is not to be used for agents or objects, nor for participles in their base forms. Know that these base forms are of two kinds: noun and verb. From the root 'bhū' and others, the verb endings known as tiṅ and laḥ arise. Ten verb forms are remembered: tip, tas, su, jhi for the first person; sip, thas, tha for the middle; and the highest, called uttama or pūruṣa. For the parasmaipada, the endings are mib, vas, mas; for the ātmanepada, they are padānām. Tā, tām, jha are the initial forms; madhya, sthā, sā, thā, ndhvam are the middle; uttama again marks the highest person. Substitutes such as iḍ, bah, and mahi may be used, and the verb root may be like ṇij and others. Even when nouns are involved, the first person is used. The middle person applies to 'yuṣmad,' the highest to 'asmad.' The roots beginning with 'bhū' are thus declared, as are those ending with 'san' and similar forms. The present tense is expressed by laḍ, the past by smen, both coming from the root. Laṅ denotes a past not immediately preceding, while loṭ and related forms express desire. For injunction, permission, advice, invitation, command, request, and even for the desiderative, loṭ is the form used. When the optative mood is used beyond the present, it is called parokṣa; in the past, liṭ is used; for the future, ḻaṭ is employed. In all non-present tenses, this holds true, always derived from the root. When the donor's action is surpassed, leṭ is mentioned, again in the sense of the optative. The perfect tense occurs in all three: state, object, and agent. Forms such as tṛj and others resemble those expressing obligation and desirability, as well as what ought to be done and what ought not. Now, O Brahmins, hear the established examples. The letter ḻ is renowned in words such as service, lāṅgalīṣā, manīpayā, and in the sacred Gaṅgā water, as well as tavalkāra, ṛṇārṇa, and prārṇa. Tavalkāra refers also to one afflicted by cold; saindrī and saukāra are similar. The seat for the bride is for the father, and the suffix 'la' is to be used by rule. Lavaṇa is the leader; the cows are these, not the lords. The goddess's house is here; know that these two are clever. There are six horses, not the petals of the lotus. That which acts and that which does not, that water, that cremation ground—all are so described. One cooks here, ripens here; you cover, as is said. You make the sound of thunder, you cross over, remembering. You write, you create those things, you lie down, though unseen. You are in the middle, always performing worship. Who acts with hardship? Who would do so? Who is established in the fruit? Who lies down, who is impotent, who attains dignity? Who is here, who is spoken of thus? The gods say, "Go, O friend." Vishnu moves by his own will, as do the lord of song and the lord of smoke. He goes from us; he would go, he goes. The hut's shadow, as well as other connections, are of the same kind. Six types of compounds are declared: karmadhāraya, dvigu, trivedī, grāma, and tatpuruṣa. That which is made, that which is for that, the fear of wolves, and that wealth; the one skilled in knowledge, the knower of truth, bahuvrīhi, and avyayi—all are explained. There is the state, the superimposition, as stated; dvandva, and the divine sages and men. Taddhita forms include Pāṇḍava, Śaiva, Brāhaya, Brahmatā, and others. Divine, fire, friendship, lordship, Śukra, Ṛṣṭu, Swayambhuva, and father—these are not praised as moving beings, nor are the cow, the bull, and the masculine. Words ending with 'hal' include the horse, the yoke, the earth, the wind, the flesh-eater, the deer-kind, the self, the king, the youth, the path, Pūṣa, the slayer of Brahman, and 'hal' itself. Excrement, urine, semen, honey, oil, wood from the cremation ground, forest, water, bones, and worldly objects—these are all considered feminine. Action, clarified butter, the body, fire, poison, and the neuter gender; wife, old age, river, fortune, prosperity, earth, and bride are also feminine. Eyebrow, rebirth, cow, sister, and mother are women; speech, blood, direction, anger, generally a young woman, and the hips are feminine as well. Heaven, day, the rainy season, Soma, and the meter Ushnik are feminine by virtue of quality, substance, or action. Thus have I told you the feminine forms. White, black, red, pure, village chief, wise, clever, lotus-born, doer, intelligent, many, and good son—these are masculine. Truthful, serpent, and fire are masculine; those that are not to be eaten, those that fall far, all, universe, both, one less, and the other—these are masculine as well. Ḍatara and Ḍatama, Nema, Tvaḥ, Sama, and Simetara; Pūrva and Adhara, Dakṣiṇa and Uttarāvara—these are masculine. Para and Antara are also such; yat, tat, kim, and adas are neuter. Yuṣmat, asmat, tat—first, second, and third persons—are of the dual number. Similarly, a few, two, and so forth—all numbers are included. Examples are śṛṇoti (hears), juhoti (offers), jahāti (abandons), and dadhāti (places). Dīpyati (shines), stūyati (is praised), putrīyati (desires a son), dhanīyati (desires wealth), truṭyati (breaks), mriyate (dies), cicīṣati (wishes to collect), and ninīṣati (wishes to lead) are also given. All stand, for all, from all, ending in all; of all, in all—such are words like viśva and others. Pūrva, pūrvā, pūrvasmāt, pūrvasmin—these are explained. Sūta said: The perfect forms of verbs have been shown by name alone; having heard the details from Kumāra, Kātyāyana explained further. Now, regarding meter, Sūta declares the marks of the Āryā meter. The group called tvaṣṭa is always joined, not in odd positions; in the sixth, jo or nlau may occur, and the word in the sixth is from the second. From the beginning, in the seventh, a short syllable; in the second half, a śara. The three groups and the foot are proper, and vipulā arises from the crossing of fire. Thus, O Brahmins, the science of words, their forms, genders, numbers, compounds, and meters has been laid out, as preserved in the tradition and illuminated by wise teachers. May this knowledge lead you to clarity and mastery in both speech and understanding.