apatya vikrayin

 

Apatyavikrayin is a Sanskrit compound meaning “one who sells his offspring,”

formed by combining apatya (“child, offspring”) and vikrayin (“seller”).

✅ Meaning and Lexical Definition

Both major dictionary sources define apatyavikrayin (अपत्यविक्रयिन्) as:

“a seller of his children” or “a father who sells his daughter for

money to a bridegroom”

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A closely related form apatthavikrayin is defined identically as “a

father who receives a gratuity from his son‑in‑law, a seller of his offspring”

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.

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  2 Sources

✅ Grammatical Breakdown of the Compound

The word apatyavikrayin consists of two members

Wisdom Library

:

apatya (अपत्य) — “offspring, child”

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vikrayin (विक्रयिन्) — “seller, one who sells” (from

root √krī “to buy/sell” with suffix -in)

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  1 Source
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This yields the structure:

apatya + vikrayin → apatyavikrayin

✅ Type of Compound (Samāsa)

In Sanskrit grammar, this compound is best analyzed as a tatpuruṣa 

compound, specifically a karma‑tatpuruṣa, because:

• apatya functions as the object of the action “selling.”
• vikrayin is the agent (“seller”).

Thus the internal meaning is:
apatyaṃ vikrīṇāti saḥ → apatyavikrayin
“one who sells offspring.”

It can also function semantically like a bahuvrīhi when used adjectivally

(“a man who sells his children”), but structurally it is tatpuruṣa.

✅ Relation to the Grammatical Term apatya

The word apatya also appears in Sanskrit grammar as a taddhita

semantic category meaning “descendant/offspring,” with affixes 

such as aṇ, iñ, ḍhak used to form patronymics (e.g., dāśarathi, 

vainateya)

learnsanskrit.org

.

However, in apatyavikrayin, apatya is used in its ordinary lexical

sense, not as a taddhita base.

✅ Why the Form Ends in -in

The suffix -in forms agent nouns (kartṛ‑pratyaya), meaning “one 

who possesses or performs.”

Thus:

• vikrayin = “one who sells”
• apatyavikrayin = “one who sells offspring”

✅ Summary

• apatya = child, offspring

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• vikrayin = seller
• apatyavikrayin = “seller of his children”

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• Compound type: karma‑tatpuruṣa
• Used to describe a morally censured figure in Dharmaśāstra
• and lexicographical tradition.
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  2 Sources