(Whitney §289-293)

The fifth (पञ्चम) case, or Ablative, is commonly called the from-case. It can indicate any of the following meanings:

  • Expulsion, removal, or distinction from
  • Origin, source, or issuance from
  • Cause or reason from which something occurs
  • After in time or sequence
  • Avoidance or fear (where English uses “of”)
  • Comparative (equivalent to “than”)

While it can often be translated as “from”, it can also be translated as “out of” or “due to”. It is also use for comparisons where it is translated as “than”.

Expulsion/Distinction

Examples of the ablative in the sense of expulsion, removal, distinction, release, defense, and other similar relationships are:

ते सेधन्ति पथो वृकम्।
“They drive the wolf away from the path.”
एति वा एष यज्ञमुखात्।
“He really goes away from the face of the sacrifice.” 
अस्तभ्नाद्दयामवस्रसः।
“He kept the sky from falling.”

Origin

Examples of the ablative in the sense of issuing from something as a source or starting point are:

शुक्रा कृष्णादजनिष्ट।
“The bright one has been born from the dark one.”
लोभात्क्रोधः प्रभवाति।
“Anger arises from greed.”
वातात्ते प्राणमविदाम्।
“I have won your life‘s breath from the wind.”
ताच्छ्रुत्वा साखिगणात्।
“Having heard that from a group of friends...”
वायुरन्तरिक्षादभाषत।
“The wind spoke from the sky.”

Cause

The ablative in the sense of a cause from which something arises is shown in the following examples:

वज्रस्य शुष्णाद्ददार।
“Due to the fury of the vajra, he burst apart.”
यस्य दण्डभयात्सर्वे धर्ममनुरुध्यन्ति।
“From fear of whose rod, all are constant in their duty.”
अकारमिश्रितत्वादेकारस्य।
“Because the letter e contains an element of the letter a...“

After

Rarely, the ablative is used to mean “after” as in:

अगच्छन्नहोरात्रात्तिरथम।
“They went to the shrine after a whole day.”
टकारात् सकारे तकारेण।
“After the letter ṭ, before the letter s, the letter t is inserted.”

Fear/Disgust

A special use of the ablative is with words applying to fear in the sense of recoil from. Examples are:

तस्या जातायाः सर्वाम् अबिभेत्।
“Everthing was afraid of her at her birth.” 
युष्मद्भिया।
“Through fear of you ...”
यास्मान्‌नोऽद्विजते लोकः।
“Of whom the world is not afraid.”

Comparative

Another important special case is the use of the ablative in comparisons, translated by “… than …”. As in,

प्र रिरिचे दिवा इन्द्रः पृथिव्याः।
“Indra is greater than the heaven and the earth.”
स्वादोः स्वादियः
“sweeter than sweet”
किम् तस्माद्दुःखताराम्।
“What is more painful than that?” 
पूर्वा विश्वस्माद्भुवनात्।
“earlier than all beings...”
गा अवृ्णीथा मात।
“You have chosen the cow rather than me.”