(Whitney §269-277 and §1111)
The second (द्वितीया) case is the accusative. It generally represents the direct object of a transitive verb or any word qualifying the direct object. This applies also the objects of participles and infinitives of verbs. It also serves as the goal or direction of a verb of motion.
अग्निम् ईदे।
“I praise Agni.”
तम् उग्रं कृणोमि तम् ब्रह्माणम्।
“Him I make formidable, him a priest!”
दमयन्तिम् अभीप्सवः
“desiring to win Damayantī“
अहम् तम् हन्तुम् शक्नोमि।
“I can kill him” (where “him” is in the accusative)
गृहम् गच्छामि।
“I am going home.”
Certain prepositions (more accurately called postpositions in Sanskrit) take the accusative. These include among others:
- प्रति : “near”
- अनु : “after”
- अन्तर् : “between”
यूपम् प्रति तिष्ठति।
“She stands near the sacraficial post.”
There are also adverbial uses of the accussative. These include:
- To denote a measure of space or distance
- To denote a duration in time
- To denote a point in space or time
योजनशतम् गन्तुम् इयेष।
“I wanted to go 100 yojana”
स संवत्सरम् ऊर्ध्वोऽतिष्ठत्।
“He stood upright for a whole year.”
तेनैऽतां रात्रिं सहा जगाम।
“He arrived that night with him.”
The accusative forms of some nouns are used to make adverbs with a corresponding meaning. Thus:
- सुखम् – “happily”
- कामम् – “at will, if you please”
- नक्तम् – “by night”
- राहस् – “secretly”
- ओषम् – “quickly”
Adjectives in the accusative (usually neuter accusative) also create adverbs:
- सत्यम् – “truly”
- चिरम् – “long”
- पूर्वम् – “previously”
- नित्यम् – “constantly”
- भूयस् – “more”