Editing Sanskrit (section)

===Nominal-form preference===
While Vedic and epic form of speech is largely cognate to that of other [[Indo-European languages]] such as Greek and Latin, later Sanskrit shows a tendency to move away from using verbal forms to nominal ones. Examples of nominal forms taking the place of conventional conjugation are:
:{|
|-
| past passive participle
| ''naraḥ gataḥ''
| "the man went",<br /> ({{lit|The man was gone}})
|-
| active past participle in ''-vant''
| ''kṛtavān'' 
| "he had done"
({{lit|He, having done, (is)}})
|}

However the most notable development is the prolific use of word-compounding to express ideas normally conveyed by verbal forms and sub-clauses introduced by conjunctions.{{sfn|Keith|1996|pp=20–21}}

Classical Sanskrit's pre-eminent playwright [[Kālidāsa]] uses:
:{|
|-
| ''vīcikṣobhastanitavihagaśreṇikāñcīguṇā''
| whose girdle-string is a row of birds,<br /> loquacious through the agitation of the waves 
|}