Seeing "ko" in "I called Ram" (maine Ram ko bulaaya), Kartik thinks "ko" always shows who benefits…
Seeing "ko" in "I called Ram" (maine Ram ko bulaaya), Kartik thinks "ko" always shows who benefits from an action. His sister says "ko" shows something different here. Who is right?
Who do you think is right? Pick one.
The answer: His sister is right, "ko" shows the object here
Why
Kartik may have picked this idea up from sentences with 'के लिए', where 'को' can signal who benefits. But in 'मैंने राम को बुलाया', 'राम' isn't receiving a benefit — he is the direct TARGET of the action 'calling' — the one who got called. Here 'को' marks the object (कर्म कारक, karma karak), not benefit or dedication. Test it: 'मैंने राम को देखा' and 'मैंने राम को बुलाया' both have 'राम' as the direct target of the action (seeing, calling), not a beneficiary sharing in some gain. His sister is right: here 'को' marks the direct object of the verb — 'को' can mean different things depending on the sentence, just like 'से'.
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