(Hart, pp.105-107)
An absolute phrase is one that modifies the whole sentence by placing it in a certain context and is usually made up of a noun and a verbal participle. An absolute phrase is syntactically independent from the main phrase. That is, the subject and object of the absolute phrase are different from that of the main phrase. An example is, for instance, the first phrase in the sentence, “Her voice trembling with emotion, she delivered the speech.” The subject of the absolute phrase is “her voice”; the verb, “trembling”, a present participle. The subject of the main phrase is “she” and the verb is “delivered”, of which “the speech” is the object.
This construction is also common in Sanskrit and is considered a noun phrase in the sense that an Sanskrit absolute phrase consists of at least a noun and verbal participle both declined in the same case, gender, and number. In Sanskrit, there are three types of absolute phrases: Locative Absolute, Genitive Absolute, and the more rare Instrumental Absolute.
Locative Absolute
A locative absolute, the most common absolute construction, occurs when both the noun and the verbal participle are in the locative case and agree with each other in terms of gender and number. According to Hart, “The action expressed in the locative absolute specifies the time of the action of the main verb. That is, the time of the action expressed by the locative absolute is known, while the time of action of the main verb is unknown and is determined with reference to the locative absolute” (p. 106). An example of a locative absolute is:
सूर्ये उदयति अन्धकारः पलायते।
“When the sun rises, the darkness disappears.”
Here, सूर्ये and उदयति are both in the masculine, locative singular. सूर्ये is the locative singular of the masculine noun सूर्यः, “sun”, and उदयति is the locative singular of उदयवन्त्, the present participle of उदि, “to rise”. So, the literal translation of the sentence would be something like, “The sun rising, the darkness disappears.” This could also be translated as “When the sun rises, the darkness disappears.”
Another example is:
राज्ञि शयाने नगरे शान्तिः।
Here the locative absolute phrase is राज्ञि शयाने . राज्ञि is the locative singular of the masculine noun, राजन् or “king”, and शयाने is the masculine, locative singular of of शयानः, which is the present participle of the verb शी “to lie down, sleep”. So the phrase can be translated, “The king sleeping, there is peace in the city.” The “there is” being implied by the lack of a verb in the main phrase of the sentence.
Genitive Absolute
The genitive absolute is less common, but is the same principle except that the noun and participle are in the genitive case. Hart says that this is used “when contempt or disregard is to be shown” (p. 106). Thus, it can be translated as “even though” or “in spite of the fact that”. An example is:
पश्यतो राज्ञः शत्रुर्वीरं अहन् ।
“Even though the king was looking, the enemy killed the hero.”
Here, the absolute phrase is (without sandhi), पश्यतः राज्ञः, or “of the king looking”. Within that phrase, पश्यतः is the masculine, singular genitive of the present participle, पश्यत, “looking”. राज्ञः is the genitive singular of the masculine noun, राजन्, “king”. Whereas the locative absolute generally carries a temporal feel, “When the king sleeps”, here the genitive absolute carries a feeling of contrariness, “Even though the king was looking.”
Instrumental Absolute
Of the absolute use of the instrumental, Whitney says, “An instrumental accompaniment is occasionallly used almost or quite with the value of an instrumental absolute.” (p. 280). He gives the example:
न त्वयाऽत्र मयाऽवस्थितेन काऽपि चिन्ता कार्या
“With me present, you should not have to worry about this”
The absolute phrase here, without sandhi, is: मया अवस्थितेन or “With me present”. मया is the instrumental of अहम or I. अवस्थितेन is the masculine singular instrumental of अवस्थित meaning “standing near”. If the speaker of the sentence were a woman, the feminine singular instrumental, अवस्थिता, would be used. By this example, the feel of the instrumental absolute is accompaniment, a common meaning for the instrumental in general.