Verse 3.8.40

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.8.40:

साध्यत्वात्तत्र चाख्यातैर्व्यापाराः सिद्धसाधनाः ।
प्राधान्येनाभिधीयन्ते फलेनापि प्रवर्तिताः ॥ ४० ॥

sādhyatvāttatra cākhyātairvyāpārāḥ siddhasādhanāḥ |
prādhānyenābhidhīyante phalenāpi pravartitāḥ || 40 ||

40. Being something to be brought about, verbs express primarily actions, the accessories of which are all finished things, even though the actions are prompted by the ultimate result.

Commentary

[It is action which a verb primarily expresses because it is that which is to be brought about (sādhya). The accessories arc all siddha (finished things). What is sādhya is more important. Of course, the fruit is also something to be brought about but that is expressed by another word altogether and we are now considering the relation of primary and secondary between meanings conveyed by the same word. Even when the verb is in the passive voice, it is action which is understood as the main sādhya. No doubt, this action brings about the fruit in reality. But as far as the verb is concerned, it conveys action as the main thing and not the fruit. The Vedas also command actions and not the fruit. That is why grammarians look upon action as the main meaning of the sentence. Number and person help action through qualifying the accessories. Time and aspects are directly subordinate to action. Where the verb is impersonally used (bhāva), there the importance of action is in regard to number etc. No accessory expressed by the same word exists. Therefore, number cannot be subordinate to any accessory. Action is really undiversified and being asattva, it has no number at all.]

If it has no number, how to explain the adding of suffixes like kṛtvasuc in the sense of counting action?