Ordinal Numbers
The numbers we learnt so far are cardinal numbers i.e. the numbers used for counting – 1, 2, 3, etc. We also have ordinal numbers in Pali, which are used for specifying rank, position etc – like first, second, third etc.
The ordinal numbers in Pali are :
paṭhama – first
dutiya – second
tatiya – third
catuttha – fourth
pañcama – fifth
chaṭṭha – sixth
sattama – seventh
aṭṭhama – eighth
navama – ninth
dasama – tenth
and so on ….
Please Note
• The ordinal numbers from 7th onwards are made by adding ‘ma’ to the corresponding cardinal number.
• The ordinal numbers also decline as per their gender (while acting as adjectives). The masculine and neuter ordinal numbers are a-ending and decline like buddha and phala, respectively. The feminine ordinal numbers are ā-ending or ī-ending and decline like latā / itthī
Thus we can have Pali expressions like
paṭhamo maggo (m) – the first path
dutiyaṃ jhānaṃ (n) – the second jhana / absorption
tatiyā vijjā (f) – the third knowledge
catuttho samaṇo (m) – the fourth monk
pañcamī / pañcamā dhītā (f)– the fifth daughter
sattamaṃ bojjhaṅgaṃ (n) – the seventh factor of enlightenment