Please note : In Pali, the Proper nouns (the names of persons, animals, places and things) also decline. Thus not only all the ‘a’-ending masculine common nouns but also all the ‘a’-ending masculine proper nouns decline like the noun ‘buddha’. Some examples of ‘a’ ending masculine proper nouns are :

• Sāriputta,
• Ānanda,
• Rāhula,
• Anāthapiṇḍika,
• Kanthaka (the horse of bodhisatta Prince Siddhattha)
• Kammāsadhamma (the place where the Buddha gave Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna discourse),
• Gijjhakūṭa (name of a mountain, the vulture’s peak)

In the next Unit, we will learn the eight cases and their role in Pali sentences.

For an overview of usage of cases and alternate way of studying declension tables (with the help of terminations) please refer to [Declension of nouns] in the menu at this link : https://learning.pariyatti.org/mod/page/view.php?id=1874.

Memorisation helps a great deal in learning Pali and translating the suttas. Hence, the students are encouraged to memorise at least a few declension tables. The declension of ‘a’-ending masculine noun can be taken as a basic format. If we memorise this table, declension of other masculine and neuter nouns can be understood quite easily by comparison with this basic format.