[citation needed] However, Sanskrit, especially in the later stages of the language, significantly expands on this both in terms of the number of elements making up a single compound and the volume of compound-usage in the literature, a development which is unique within Indo-European to Sanskrit and closely related languages.
[3][4][5] The process of 'resolving' the compound, i.e., expounding the meaning using the component words declined as in sentence form is termed vigraha·vākya.
A tatpuruṣa is an endocentric compound composed of two elements, wherein the first one, named the attributive, determines the second one.
[11][12] Based on the grammatical nature of the attributive member, six varieties of tatpuruṣa compounds are identified as seen in the classification above.
There are mainly three kinds of dvandva pair constructions in Sanskrit:[27] The result of itaretara-dvandva[l] is an enumerative word, the meaning of which refers to all its constituent members.
[30] Some Sanskrit grammarians identify a third kind of dvandva which they call ekaśeṣa-dvandva,[m] where only one stem remains in what is viewed as the compound of multiple words.
[31] While not strictly copulative, this is a compound consisting of the same word repeated with the first occurrence accented.
[32] Bahuvrīhi[o] is an exocentric compound consisting of a noun preceded by a grammatical modifier which, taken together, functions as a single nominalised adjective.