1. na the dental nasal (found at the beginning of words and before or after dental consonants as well as between vowels; subject to conversion into ṇa, Pāṇ. viii, 4, 1-39).

2. na ind. not, no, nor, neither, RV. (nā, x, 34, 8) &c. &c. (as well in simple negation as in wishing, requesting and commanding, except in prohibition before an Impv. or an augmentless aor. [cf. 1. mā]; in successive sentences or clauses either simply repeated, e.g. Mn. iv, 34; or strengthened by another particle, esp. at the second place or further on in the sentence, e.g. by u [cf. no], uta, api, cāpi, vā, vāpi or atha vā, RV. i, 170, 1; 151, 9; Nal. iii, 24, &c.; it may even be replaced by ca, vā, api ca, api vā, &c. alone, as, Mn. ii, 98; Nal. i, 14, &c.; often joined with other particles, beside those mentioned above esp. with a following tu, tv eva, tv eva tu, ced, q.v., khalu, q.v., ha [cf. g. cādi and Pāṇ. viii, 1, 31] &c.; before round or collective numbers and after any numeral in the instr. or abl. it expresses deficiency, e.g. ekayā na viṃśati, not 20 by 1 i.e. 19 ŚBr.; pañcabhir na catvāri śatāni, 395 ib.; with another na or an a priv. it generally forms a strong affirmation [cf. Vām. v, 1, 9] e.g. neyaṃ na vakṣyati, she will most certainly declare, Śak. iii, 9; nādaṇḍyo 'sti, he must certainly be punished, Mn. viii, 335; it may also, like a, form compounds, Vām. v, 2, 13 [cf. below])