華嚴經探玄記 3.17

3.17

Tenth, the eight cases (vibhakti): according to the conventions of the Western Country, if one wishes to study and read internal and external classics, one must understand the method of the eight case inflections of grammatical science (śabda-vidyā); if one is not clearly aware of this, one will definitely not know the scope of the text and meaning. 1. puruṣaḥ (nominative): this is the case of direct indication, like when a man chops a tree, pointing out and speaking of that man. 2. puruṣam (accusative): this is the case of the object of action, like the chopped tree that is acted upon. 3. puruṣeṇa (instrumental): this is the case of the instrument that is able to act, like chopping by means of an axe. 4. puruṣāya (dative): this is the case of the beneficiary/purpose, like chopping for the sake of a man. 5. puruṣāt (ablative): this is the case of the cause/source, like building a house on account of a man. 6. puruṣasya (genitive): this is the case of belonging/possession, like a servant belonging to a master. 7. puruṣe (locative): this is the case of the locus, like a guest depending on a host. Fascicle two of the Yogācārabhūmi calls the above seven kinds the 'seven exemplary patterns', because they are the great models from which understanding arises. In the eight inflections of grammar, he puruṣa (vocative) is added, which is the case of calling or addressing. However, these eight cases have three genders: 1. masculine, 2. feminine, and 3. neither masculine nor feminine [neuter]. The above has been explained provisionally in terms of the masculine gender, because in Sanskrit a man is called puruṣa. Furthermore, each of these eight cases has three numbers, namely: singular, dual, and plural, which makes twenty-four forms. Just as there are twenty-four for addressing a man, the feminine and neuter cases each likewise have twenty-four, yielding seventy-two cases in total. Designating phenomena with these can be inferred accordingly. However, this land mostly lacks such grammatical paradigms.