Agent Nouns
Some other - u / - ar ending nouns follow a slightly different declension pattern. These are also known as Agent Nouns, as they denote persons performing certain actions. The most frequently occurring noun from this group is satthu.
Masculine noun : satthu
satthu = teacher, one who admonishes
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Paṭhamā | satthā | satthāro |
| Dutiyā | satthāraṃ | satthāro |
| Tatiyā | satthārā | satthūhi, satthūbhi, satthārehi, satthārebhi |
| Catutthī | satthu, satthuno, satthussa | satthūnaṃ, satthārānaṃ |
| Pañcamī | satthārā | satthūhi, satthūbhi, satthārehi, satthārebhi |
| Chaṭṭhī | satthu, satthuno, satthussa | satthūnaṃ, satthārānaṃ |
| Sattamī | satthari | satthūsu, satthāresu |
| Ālapana | sattha, satthā | satthāro |
Please note that though the word satthu means a teacher, it is specifically used in the Suttas, for the leaders of various religious sects. It is also one of the commonly used nouns for the Buddha.
Some other nouns which decline like satthu are :
kattu = one who does, doer
gantu = one who goes,
sotu = one who listens,
dātu = one who gives, a donor;
netu = leader,
vattu = one who says, speaker;
jetu = victor,
bhattu = husband,
nattu = grandson
* Please note that the abovementioned agent nouns are derived from verbs indicating the action performed by the respective agent.
E.g. kattu from karoti (= does)
gantu from gacchati (= goes)
sotu from suṇāti (= listens)
dātu from dadāti (= gives)
jetu from jināti (= conquers)
Thus, most of the verbs can form agent nouns ending in - u / - ar, and each such agent noun indicates a person performing the action expressed by the verb. We come across many such agent nouns in the Suttas.
** The last two words from the above list, bhattu and nattu are nouns expressing relationship and not agent nouns. However, they do not follow the declension pattern of pitu, but decline like the noun satthu.