As a student, Samasas, especially बहुव्रीहिः, always invoked fear in me. However, now that I hold a degree in Sanskrit and spend countless hours immersed in reading the kāvyas, I can comfortably state that बहुव्रीहिः is one of my favorite samasas. Of course, I still struggle to decode the complex ones, but the standard ones become much easier if you know the template. Oh yes, the names of the samasas hold no significance, so I won’t delve into their naming.

The concept of बहुव्रीहिः has multiple layers, and one must systematically unravel them to master this topic. In this post, I am going to discuss a classic example that posed a significant challenge for me, especially when I was at the initial stages of learning.

This particular example is from the renowned work “Raghuvamsham” by the one and only Mahakavi Kalidasa.

The term is: जायाप्रतिग्राहितगन्धमाल्या ->जाया (Wife) , प्रतिग्राहित (accepted), गन्ध (fragrance), माल्य (garland)

Given that this ends with a स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (feminine gender), it’s evidently an adjective for a स्त्रीपदम् (feminine noun). In this case, it refers to the cow named Nandini. Now, let’s embark on the exciting journey of decoding this samasa:

जायाप्रतिग्राहितगन्धमाल्या –

The term “गन्धमाल्य” is a द्वन्द्व-समासः (compound of two nouns) representing “fragrance” and “garland.”
“जायया प्रतिग्राहितम्” is a तृतीया-तत्पुरुषसमासः (another type of compound which we will look into later).

(Note: When encountering a क्तान्तं as उत्तरपदम्, a तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः is often a likely choice.)
“जायया प्रतिग्राहिते गन्धमाल्ये यया सा” simplifies to “जायाप्रतिग्राहितगन्धमाल्या.”
Wasn’t that straightforward? Now, to provide a clearer understanding, here’s the original verse:

अथ प्रजानामधिपः प्रभाते जायाप्रतिग्राहितगन्धमाल्याम् ।
वनाय पीतप्रतिबद्धवत्सां यशोधनो धेनुमृषेर्मुमोच।। ~ रघुवंशम् 

“At dawn, King Dilipa released Vashista’s cow, Nandini, into the forest. The calf had been fed and Nandini herself had received the fragrance and garland from his wife.“

Let us keep delving into the enchanting world of Sanskrit, where every word holds a treasure of meaning and beauty!