As the name suggests the locative case is mostly used to indicate a location or a place. Hence it is translated as – in / on / upon / above / at etc.

Please remember the locative forms of the noun ‘buddha’ :

Let us learn a few Pali words and translate some Pali sentences into English.

• samudda = ocean
• mañca = couch, bed
• pabbata = mountain
• ākāsa = sky
• sīha = lion
• canda = moon
• āhiṇḍati = wanders, roams
• nahāyati = bathes
• vasati = lives, dwells
• udeti = rises

1. Sīhā pabbatamhi āhiṇḍanti.
   The lions roam in the mountain.
2. Dārako mañce sayati.
   A child sleeps on a bed.
3. Ākāsasmiṃ cando udeti.
   The moon rises in the sky.
4. Kumārā samuddasmiṃ nahāyanti.
   The boys bathe in the ocean.
5. Upāsakā gāmesu vasanti.
   The lay devotees live in the villages.

In the Tipitaka, we frequently come across various forms of the verb pasīdati along with nouns in the locative case.
A common example is – Buddhe dhamme saṅghe pasanno. It refers to a person who has faith in or who is devoted to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.

Locative case : to indicate time

The locative case is also used to indicate time. Some of the Pali words expressing time are :

• divasa = day
• māsa = month
• samaya = time
• khaṇa = moment
• yāma = watch (a period of time consisting of a few hours)

Thus, in the Suttas we come across phrases like –

• sattame divase = on the seventh day (sattama = seventh)
• tasmiṃ samaye = at that time (ta is a pronoun indicating ‘that’)
• tasmiṃ khaṇe = at that moment
• gimhānaṃ pacchime māse = in the last month of summer (gimha = summer, pacchima = last)
• rattiyā paṭhame yāme = in the first watch of the night (ratti = night, paṭhama = first)

Please note the use of the locative case in the above phrases.