n-stems · rājan, ātman, nāman

	rājan Masculine · “king”
Nom.	rājā	rājānau	rājānaḥ
Acc.	rājānam	rājānau	rājñaḥ
Ins.	rājñā	rājabhyām	rājabhiḥ
Dat.	rājñe	rājabhyām	rājabhyaḥ
Abl.	rājñaḥ	rājabhyām	rājabhyaḥ
Gen.	rājñaḥ	rājñoḥ	rājñām
Loc.	rājñi	rājñoḥ	rājasu
Voc.	rājan	rājānau	rājānaḥ

Coral marks the strong stem rājān- used in nom. sg./du./pl., acc. sg./du., and the whole vocative. The weak stem rājñ- (with syncope of the a) fills the oblique cases before vowel endings, and the middle stem rāja- (no n) fills the cases with consonant endings (-bhyām, -bhiḥ, -bhyaḥ, -su).

	ātman Masculine · “self, soul”
Nom.	ātmā	ātmānau	ātmānaḥ
Acc.	ātmānam	ātmānau	ātmanaḥ
Ins.	ātmanā	ātmabhyām	ātmabhiḥ
Dat.	ātmane	ātmabhyām	ātmabhyaḥ
Abl.	ātmanaḥ	ātmabhyām	ātmabhyaḥ
Gen.	ātmanaḥ	ātmanoḥ	ātmanām
Loc.	ātmani	ātmanoḥ	ātmasu
Voc.	ātman	ātmānau	ātmānaḥ

Coral marks the strong stem ātmān- — same distribution as in rājan. But notice: ātman does not syncopate. Where rājan has rājñā, rājñe, rājñaḥ in the oblique singular, ātman keeps the full stem: ātmanā, ātmane, ātmanaḥ. A stem with a preceding consonant (here tm) blocks the contraction.

	nāman Neuter · “name”
Nom.	nāma	nāmnī	nāmāni
Acc.	nāma	nāmnī	nāmāni
Ins.	nāmnā	nāmabhyām	nāmabhiḥ
Dat.	nāmne	nāmabhyām	nāmabhyaḥ
Abl.	nāmnaḥ	nāmabhyām	nāmabhyaḥ
Gen.	nāmnaḥ	nāmnoḥ	nāmnām
Loc.	nāmni	nāmnoḥ	nāmasu
Voc.	nāma / nāman	nāmnī	nāmāni

Coral marks the neuter strong positions — the nom./acc./voc. plural nāmāni (strong stem + neuter plural -i). The nom./acc. sg. nāma is the bare stem with -n dropped at word-end. nāman does syncopate in the oblique (nāmnā, nāmne, nāmnaḥ, nāmni) — the ā before the m is long but short of the stem boundary the vowel drops.

1. The rule

Sanskrit -an and -man stems (Whitney §420–425; MacDonell §84) operate on three stems rather than one: a strong stem with long -ān-, a weak stem that may or may not syncopate, and a middle stem without the n, used before consonant endings. The distribution is rigid — it matches the strong/weak system of ṛ-stems, but with -an in place of the ṛ. Together these stems include some of the commonest nouns in the language: rājan, ātman, brahman, karman, nāman, janman, dharman.

2. How to remember

i Three stems, three places. Strong -ān- in nom. sg./du./pl., acc. sg./du., and the whole vocative — the “strong” slots. Middle (no n) before consonant endings: -bhyām, -bhiḥ, -bhyaḥ, -su. Weak in everything else.
ii Weak stem syncopates — sometimes. rājan → weak rājñ- (ins. rājñā, gen. pl. rājñām), but ātman → weak ātman-, no syncope (ins. ātmanā). Rule: if a consonant stands immediately before the -an, syncope is blocked (tm-an → weak still tman-). If the a is preceded by a vowel or single consonant, syncope happens (rāj-an → rājñ-).
iii Nom. sg. ends in long -ā for masculines: rājā, ātmā, brahmā. The final -n drops and the a lengthens. Neuter nom./acc. sg. gives just the bare stem without the n: nāma, karma, brahma.
iv Vocative keeps the -n. rājan!, ātman! — the only cell in the singular where the final n of the stem actually surfaces in the masculine. The Sanskrit tradition delights in this form: he rājan! “O king!”.

3. Exercise — all three paradigms

Three paradigms, 72 forms. Watch the syncope in rājan and nāman, and the lack of it in ātman.

	rājan Masculine · “king”
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nom.
Acc.
Ins.
Dat.
Abl.
Gen.
Loc.
Voc.

	ātman Masculine · “self”
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nom.
Acc.
Ins.
Dat.
Abl.
Gen.
Loc.
Voc.

	nāman Neuter · “name”
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nom.
Acc.
Ins.
Dat.
Abl.
Gen.
Loc.
Voc.

0 / 72 correct