The most common plural form of the Sanskrit word Kavi is kavayaḥ. This form is specifically the nominative plural, used when "poets" or "sages" are the subject of a sentence.
In Sanskrit, nouns like 'kavi' (meaning 'poet' or 'sage') are masculine and undergo declension, which means their form changes based on their grammatical case and number (singular or plural). Therefore, while 'kavayaḥ' is the nominative plural, other plural forms exist depending on their grammatical function in a sentence.
Declension of Kavi (Plural Forms)
The table below illustrates the various plural forms of 'kavi' across different grammatical cases:
| Case | Plural Form | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | kavayaḥ | Used for the subject of a verb (e.g., "The poets recite."). |
| Instrumental | kavibhiḥ | Used to indicate the instrument, means, or accompaniment (e.g., "written by the poets"). |
| Dative | kavibhyaḥ | Used to indicate the indirect object or purpose (e.g., "given to the poets", "for the poets"). |
| Ablative | kavibhyaḥ | Used to indicate separation or origin (e.g., "coming from the poets"). |
Understanding these case endings is crucial for correctly constructing sentences in Sanskrit. For instance, if you want to state that "the poets are singing," you would use kavayaḥ as the subject. If you need to express that "this knowledge was passed down by the poets," you would use kavibhiḥ to indicate the agent.
