Karnatakabhashabhushana 3.22.2

3.22.2

akārāntād digvācinaḥ śabdāt parabhūtāyāḥ saptamyāḥ sthānē tadal vā bhavati. al-abhāva-pakṣē prathamā-dvitīyayōr abhāvāt — digvācibhyō ’ṇ iti aṇ na syāt.

In place of the locative case following an a-ending directional word, that [al] optionally occurs. In the alternative where al is absent, because there is no nominative or accusative, there would be no aṇ by [the rule] “aṇ after directional words”.