katama | कतम | katama
katama/ | कतम/ | (as | अस् |), (A), (at | अत् |), mfn. (superlative of 2. ka | क |; declined as a pronom., Gram. 236), who or which of many? (e.g. katamena paṭā yātās te | कतमेन पटा यातास् ते |, by which road have they gone?)
it is often a mere strengthened substitute for ka | क |, the superlative affix imparting emphasis
hence it may occasionally be used for ‘who or which of two?’ (e.g. tayoḥ katamasmE | तयोः कतमस्म्E |, to which of these two?)
it may optionally be compounded with the word to which it refers (e.g. katamaḥ kaWaḥ | कतमः कWअः |, or katama-kaWaḥ | कतम-कWअः |, which Kaṭha out of many?)
when followed by ca | च | and preceded yatama | यतम | an indefinite expression is formed equivalent to ‘any whosoever’, ‘any whatsoever’, &c. (e.g. yatamad eva katamac ca vidyāt | यतमद् एव कतमच् च विद्यात् | he may know anything whatsoever). In negative sentences katama | कतम | with cana | चन | or katama | कतम | with api | अपि | = not even one, none at all (e.g. na katamaccanāhaḥ | न कतमच्चनाहः |, not even on a single day, on no day at all)
in addition to the above uses katama | कतम | is said to mean ‘best’, ‘excessively good-looking’ (cf. 3. ka | क |), RV. &c.
it is often a mere strengthened substitute for ka | क |, the superlative affix imparting emphasis
hence it may occasionally be used for ‘who or which of two?’ (e.g. tayoḥ katamasmE | तयोः कतमस्म्E |, to which of these two?)
it may optionally be compounded with the word to which it refers (e.g. katamaḥ kaWaḥ | कतमः कWअः |, or katama-kaWaḥ | कतम-कWअः |, which Kaṭha out of many?)
when followed by ca | च | and preceded yatama | यतम | an indefinite expression is formed equivalent to ‘any whosoever’, ‘any whatsoever’, &c. (e.g. yatamad eva katamac ca vidyāt | यतमद् एव कतमच् च विद्यात् | he may know anything whatsoever). In negative sentences katama | कतम | with cana | चन | or katama | कतम | with api | अपि | = not even one, none at all (e.g. na katamaccanāhaḥ | न कतमच्चनाहः |, not even on a single day, on no day at all)
in addition to the above uses katama | कतम | is said to mean ‘best’, ‘excessively good-looking’ (cf. 3. ka | क |), RV. &c.