Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c12: Chapter VI

Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c12

Language
English

Contents

Chapter VI

c12.1

QUANTITATIVE RESTORATION.

c12.2

156. THE metrical laws of the Rigveda recognize only the distinction between long and short syllables, a long syllable being one that contains a long vowel or a short vowel followed by two consonants. Since the text distinguishes throughout the long vowels by special symbols, and also denotes each consonant by a distinct symbol or (in consonant-groups) by a distinct element in a symbol, it contains implicitly a complete commentary on the quantitative value of syllables: and any question that may be raised implies a doubt as to the correctness of the text, and can only be discussed by the help of a criterion not directly dependent upon the text.

c12.3

All the rules which prescribe the quantities of syllables in different positions in the verse, such as those given in §§ 31—47, admit of exceptions: and therefore no safe conclusion can be drawn from the occasional appearance of a particular syllable in a position in which long or short quantity is generally required. But the *general use* of a syllable which recurs with any frequency must necessarily reveal its quantity, in accordance with the principle of quantitative evidence explained in § 9. Short syllables must on the whole be placed in positions which favour short quantity or are indifferent: and long syllables in positions which favour long quantity or are indifferent. If any syllable is used indifferently in all positions in the verse, it must be because its quantity was regarded as indifferently long or short.

c12.4

The principal questions that arise concern (i) the quantity of variant *final* vowels, that is, final vowels not uniformly written in the Saṃhitā text, and (ii) the quantity of final long vowels before hiatus. Incidentally we are also concerned (iii) with the value of final -o (Pp. -o *iti*).

c12.5

The principle of evidence here asserted is precisely the same which has been followed in the discussions on Sandhi and on Syllabic Restoration. It reduces to secondary importance all questions as to the readings of the Saṃhitā or Padapāṭha texts: and accordingly, whilst the readings of the former are noted throughout, and those of the latter when they are of interest, the general discussion of them will be reserved till the end of the chapter: for only in cases in which the metrical evidence leaves reasonable doubt will it be justifiable to pay regard even to so ancient a tradition as that of the Saṃhitā text.

c12.6

Although the principle adopted leads to changes in the text which are in many cases considerable, it is seldom that any real difficulty arises in words and forms which are of frequent occurrence. For if the text does not correspond to the usage, the question is whether the poets have regularly used words in positions for which they are not well suited metrically, or the editors of the text have introduced unsound alterations. As to the first alternative it is impossible to pronounce until a broad view has been reached as to the metrical standards of the poets in the Rigveda as a whole. But as to the second possibility there is no real room for doubt, in view of the results recorded in the last two chapters, and generally accepted by critics of the Veda. Still it should be of value to indicate the probable causes of the most common errors of the Saṃhitā text, as is attempted in §§ 175, 176.

c12.7

But, exactly as in the preceding chapters, there are fairly numerous cases of forms and words which are somewhat rare in the Rigveda, and in which therefore the bulk of evidence is insufficient to establish a rule as to general use. In such cases the decision between alternative probabilities will be a matter for individual judgment.

c12.8

157. The chief positions which favour short quantity are (i) the fifth and seventh places in dimeter verse, and the ninth (and eleventh) places in trimeter verse; (ii) the second place after the caesura, whether early or late; and (less regularly) the first place after the caesura also.

c12.9

The chief positions which favour long quantity are (i) the sixth place in dimeter verse, and the eighth and tenth places in trimeter verse; (ii) the second place in either kind of verse, if the third syllable is short, and the third place, if the second syllable is short; and to an extent much less marked (iii) the second and fourth places in either kind of verse except as just described, and the seventh place in trimeter verse after an early caesura.

c12.10

The quantity is indifferent in initial and final syllables, in the third place except as described above, and in the fifth place of trimeter verse before late caesura, unless the fourth syllable is short.

c12.11

Syllables containing short final vowels are, however, admitted more freely than other short syllables to the second place in either kind of verse when the third syllable is short, and to the eighth place in trimeter verse.

c12.12

These general rules, with the exception of the last, which will be the subject of discussion later, follow directly from the description of the Vedic rhythms in §§ 31 to 47. It will however be of advantage to base them upon direct experiment applied to undisputed long and short final vowels, since the most important questions have to do with final vowels: and also to express the results by symbols which will readily lend themselves to the numerical calculations upon which we have to rely.

c12.13

The various positions in the verse may be shortly denoted as follows: initial and final syllables by the letters In, Fin: the fourth to the seventh place in dimeter verse by the numerals 4, 5, 6, 7, and the same positions in trimeter verse by these numbers followed by A or B according as the caesura is early or late: the eighth to the tenth (or eleventh) place in trimeter verse by the respective numerals.

c12.14

The second and third places in dimeter verse may be denoted by 2D 3D, and in trimeter verse by 2T 3T: but in either case if the other syllable of the two is short a special position results favouring long quantity. These positions may be denoted 2D 3T 3T respectively. Similarly before a late caesura the fourth and fifth syllables may be denoted by 4B and 5B respectively, if the other syllable of the two is short, these positions again favouring long quantity in a very marked way.

c12.15

There are some other positions which are comparatively rare, and yet require to be discriminated. Thus if after an early caesura the sixth syllable is long, the seventh will usually be short (§ 46); this position may be denoted by 7A. The third place in the reopening of epic Anuṣṭubh is usually long (§ 41): this position may be denoted by 3E. The seventh place in Trochaic Gāyatrī or the semicadence of epic Anuṣṭubh is very often long, and may be denoted by 7G. Occurrences before consonant-groups are denoted by GR.

c12.16

In decasyllabic verses the syllables will be numbered to correspond with the Triṣṭubh rhythm, one position before or after the caesura being unoccupied.

c12.17

Occurrences in positions in which the metre is difficult to determine, as in the fifth and sixth places in Trochaic Gāyatrī, and occurrences in Sandhi combination, are altogether omitted from consideration: occurrences of long final vowels before hiatus are considered separately (§§ 172—174).

c12.18

This system of symbols, of which use will be made throughout the chapter, may be illustrated as follows:

c12.19

In 2T 3T 4A 5A 6A 7A 8 9 10 Fin *pári dyāvā-pṛthivī́ jabhra urví* i 61 8c

c12.20

In 2T 3T 4B 5B 6B 7B 8 9 10 Fin *dvitā́ ví vavre sanájā sánīle* i 62 7a

c12.21

In 2T 3T 4A 5A 6A 7A 8 9 10 11 Fin *asýāma tád ādityā́ júhvaṭo havīḥ* viii 27 22c In 2T 3T 4B 5B 7B 8 9 10 Fin *śvásiti apsú* || *haṃsó ná sídan* i 65 9a

c12.22

In 2D 3D 4 5 6 7 Fin *putró ná bahupáyiam* viii 27 22b

c12.23

The interpretation of the symbols is shewn in a tabular form on p. 148.

c12.24

If now we take 1000 occurrences of undoubted long vowels, taken at random from hymns which contain the same proportion of trimeter and dimeter verse as the whole Rigveda, and then 1000 occurrences of undoubted short vowels taken in the same way, we find them distributed amongst the various possible positions as follows:

c12.25

Table shewing the distribution of long and short final vowels.

c12.26

| A | - | ˘ | B | - | ˘ | C | - | ˘ | D | - | ˘ | E | - | ˘ |
| 3T, 5B | 5 | 0 | 2T | 62 | 15 | In | 48 | 54 | GR | 15 | 170 | 5 | 0 | 130 |
| 3D | 10 | 0 | 2T | 62 | 12 | Fi | 226 | 145 | 5A | 2 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | 37 | 1 | 2D | 22 | 5 | 2D | 15 | 15 | | | | 7A | 0 | 1 |
| | | | 4A | 121 | 24 | 4D | 21 | 18 | 6A | 1 | 10 | 7B | 0 | 10 |
| 6 | 28 | 1 | 4B, 4B | 5 | 0 | 5B | 70 | 64 | 6B | 4 | 34 | 9 | 1 | 145 |
| 8 | 121 | 5 | 7A | 82 | 21 | | | | | | | 11 | 0 | 3 |
| | | | 3E, 7G, 7E | 1 | 0 | 3D | 26 | 48 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 3T | 15 | 45 | | | | | | |
| | 201 | 7 | | 355 | 77 | | 421 | 389 | | 22 | 236 | | 1 | 291 |

c12.27

This table may be interpreted as follows for the present purpose: If there is no grammatical motive drawing a form or word towards particular positions in the verse, its place will be determined by the quantity of the syllables, and in the case of forms which have only the final syllable in common, by the quantity of the final syllable. Thus a long final syllable will be distributed fairly evenly between the positions of groups A, B, and C above: and a short final syllable between the positions of groups C, D, and E. Still short final vowels are not rare in the positions of group B, and are occasionally found even in group A.

c12.28

But if the grammatical function of a word draws it to the beginning or end of a clause, the results will be different. Many relatives and conjunctions are disyllables which regularly stand at the beginning of the verse, since in the Rigveda each verse is a fairly complete grammatical whole. Since then the final vowel necessarily stands in the second place, it is so far restricted to the positions 2T 2D 2T 2D and GR, none of which is in itself decisive. But we may infer from the table that if the vowel is short the positions 2T, 2D will be commoner than 2T 2D, and also that consonant groups will very frequently follow: whereas if the vowel is long the quantity of the third syllable will be just as often short as long, and consonant-groups will follow comparatively seldom.

c12.29

If on the other hand a word is drawn by its grammatical function to the end of the verse, the occurrences so far elude the test, as the value of the final syllable is optional. In most cases however the same words occur very commonly before the caesura also. We may then infer from the table that if the final syllable is long, the occurrences will be most common before an early caesura : if it is short, before a late caesura.

c12.30

These various classes of words are illustrated in the Table in § 164, in which only those particulars are given which are practically required. Where the results are intermediate between those which are to be expected for a long and a short vowel respectively, the inference to be drawn is that the quantity was regarded as, to a greater or less extent, optional.

c12.31

No precise inference is to be drawn from the distribution of final vowels as to the rhythm of the verse. In the first place, long final vowels are more common than short, and therefore in a given quantity of verse, appear in every position with relatively greater frequency than the table suggests. Further the final syllables which end with consonants are in a majority of instances made long by position, except when they occur at the end of the verse. Thus the long syllables in the positions 2T 2D, 2D, 4, exceed the short syllables in a much larger proportion than this table indicates, and those in the positions 3T, 3D are much more nearly equal in number to the short syllables which occur there.

c12.32

158. Long final vowels are regularly found in the following forms: (i) in the perfect-endings of the 1 pers. sing., 1 pers. pl., and 2 pers. pl. (-ā, -mā, -ā): (ii) in the 2 sing. imperative of the root-aorist middle (-svā) : (iii) in the gerunds in -tyā, -yā (including -āyā): (iv) in the case-endings -tarī, -ī (instr.), -tī, -uī and in enā (pronoun): and (v) in the following adverbs; ácchā, áthā, ená, evá, kílá, ghā, ná in the combination nú cit, purudhá, viśvádhā, viśváhā (including viśváhā), and smā, although the text now and then gives short quantity.

c12.33

For the forms used in the text, see § 177 i. From the table in § 164 it will be seen at once that the general distribution of the syllables concerned closely corresponds to the average for long syllables as shewn in § 157 : and the only doubt that arises is whether the few occurrences in group E are due to metrical or quantitative irregularity.

c12.34

(i) The following are examples of the regular quantities:

c12.35

bibháyā hí tuávataḥ viii 45 35a
á yāhi suṣumá hí te viii 17 1a
tám vájam citrám ṛbhavo dadā naḥ iv 36 9d.

c12.36

There is one exception, anāha *viii 48 5b (9).

c12.37

(ii) In the disyllabic imperatives of the root aorist the final vowel is always long, as in *kṛṣvá*, *trásvā*, *mátsvā* (*mátsuā*), *vámṣvā*: as for instance:

c12.38

*nú no rayím úpa māsvā nṛvántam* ix 93 5a.

c12.39

(iii) The following are examples of the use of the gerunds:

c12.40

*sá pravolhín parigátyā dabhíteḥ* ii 15 4a
*tá utsnáyā rayím abhí pras tasthuḥ* ib. 5c.

c12.41

There are a few exceptions, almost all of which are in the popular Rigveda: *-tya* *x 97 21c (5); -ya* i 67 10b (9), *x 71 9c (9), *130 7c (9).

c12.42

(iv) Except the instrumental forms in *-tī* and *-ī*, these case-endings are rare in the Rigveda: for instance *-ū* (locative) is only found in *camū́* and *tanū́*, of which the first only occurs in combination, and the second rarely except before consonant groups. But at any rate the hypothesis of long final vowels meets every metrical necessity. Examples are:

c12.43

*ví tám duhre aryamá kartārī sácā* i 139 7f
*jaṭháre sómam tanū́ sáho máhaḥ* ii 16 2c
*súarvatīr apá enā jayema* v 2 11d.

c12.44

(v) Examples of the use of the adverbs named are:

c12.45

*sá yajñánām áthā hí ṣá* iii 13 3b
*tásmai víṣaḥ svayám evā namante* iv 50 8c
*índra sūrín kṛṇuhí smā no ardhám* vi 44 18d
*yāhí sūno sahaso yásya nú cit* vi 18 11c.

c12.46

Exceptions are few and very doubtful: but we find perhaps *átha* in viii 10 5d (5), *ená* (text *ená*) in vi 20 10b (9), *gha* (text *ghā*) in viii 1 30a (7 in irregular dimeter verse), and *vísvāha* (text *-hā*) i 25 12a.

c12.47

159. In the following forms long quantity is regular in the Rigveda, but short quantity is a fairly frequent variation: (i) the imperative in *-ā*, *-a*; (ii) the second person plural in *-thā*, *-thanā*, *-tā*, *-tanā*; (iii) the neuter pl. in *-ā* (from stems in *-an*, *-van*, and *-man*), in *-ī*, and in *-ū*.

c12.48

(i) The imperative in *-ā*, *-a* occurs in over 1300 passages: in 40 the vowel is certainly short, in the following positions: 5. *i 23 23d, 42 4c, iii 51 11b, vi 51 13c, viii 32 7c, ix 49 4b, 61 23c, 63 22c, 66 30c, *x 9 9d, *85 35c, *87 25d. 7. viii 44 2c, ix 107 6c, 114 *3d *4b. 7B. iii 32 12c, viii 51 3c, *x 18 11b. 9. i 56 2d, 57 4d, 102 3a 5c, 144 7a, ii 23 1d, iii 15 6a, vi 15 16b, *47 29d, vii 13 3c, 18 18b, *viii 100 4a, x 38 1b, *87 9a *10a *17d, *95 1a, *103 5d, 122 2a, 148 3a. 11. i 102 3d. Also probably in x 116 7d (6A).

c12.49

(ii) The second person plural in *-thā*, *-tā* (-*tha*, *-ta*) occurs over 800 times, and is certainly short in the following 43 passages: *-tha*: 5. viii 18 15b, 19 34b, 67 17c, *x 97 5d *9b.

c12.50

-ta: 5. i 3 8b, *23 19c *21a, 80 9b, 172 3c, ii 41 14c, v 51 2c, vii 59 3d, viii 3 13b, 18 10b, 32 17c, 72 13c, ix 46 4b 4c, 62 18c, 106 3b, x *19 1b, *85 33b, 93 15c 15d 15e, *97 19d, 132 6d, *175 2b, 188 1b. 7. ix 67 27c. 9. i 85 6b, *161 7a, iii 33 12d, 60 2b, iv 36 4b, vii 34 6a, 56 9a, viii 18 21c, *x 13 4a, *15 6b, *51 8b, 66 12b.

c12.51

(iii) The endings -thanā, -tanā occur 151 times, but of these 100 are at the end of the verse and 22 in combination. The remaining passages, with three exceptions, favour the long vowel.

c12.52

The exceptions are all in the 5th place dimeter, namely iv 37 7b, viii 18 15a, *x 175 2c.

c12.53

(iv) The neuter plural forms in -ā (from stems in -an, -man, -van), -ī and -ū occur about 225 times; in many instances the interpretation is uncertain, and the forms may be singular. Only in six passages are plural forms with short final vowel fairly certain, namely mahá ix 88 4a (6A), śárma i 58 8b (9), 174 2b (7B), vi 20 10c (7B), purú vi 44 14a (7B), bahú *x 52 4b (6A).

c12.54

In all these endings the occurrences in groups A and B so greatly outnumber those in D and E (see Table, § 164) that we are likely generally to be in the right in assuming long quantity not only in occurrences in A and B, but also in those in C. This implies a very considerable departure from the practice of the text, for which see § 176 ii. The occurrences in D may be taken to be those of the short vowels: but as in all cases but one a consonant-group follows, this is not certain, and the metre is not affected.

c12.55

Of the occurrences of the short vowels one third are in the popular Rigveda.

c12.56

The Pada-pātha has correctly kept the old value of the vowels in trí, áhā, śīrṣá.

c12.57

160. Disyllabic adverbs have regularly final -ū in the Rigveda: the particles ū tú nú sú are used side by side with u tú nú sú, although the forms with long vowels do not often appear in the text.

c12.58

(i) makṣú and míthū have always long quantity, which is also given in the text. In tṛṣú the long vowel must be restored throughout, the occurrences that have weight being i 58 4c, iv 7 11a, vii 3 4b, and x 91 7b (all 2T). Further purú is found regularly in purú cit, and as an adverb *i 191 9b (2D), vii 62 1b (2T), 97 7d (2T), viii 4 1c (4A), ix 15 2a (4), x 61 13b (2T); and also as the first element in a dvandva derivative, as in purú- purūbhujā v 73 1c (4, 6) and vi 63 8a (2T, 6B), purú- puruhūtáh viii 2 32b (4), 16 7b (4) and in a separated compound, as purú- yác chámsam i 166 13b (2T). For purū-, puru- in ordinary compounds see § 166 iv. sádhū should probably be restored in viii 32 10c (2D), in ii 3 6a (2T) before hiatus, and elsewhere at the end of the verse.

c12.59

The adverbs may represent an instrumental singular or neut. plural form: the evidence is insufficient to establish a neuter singular in -ū, though it is favoured in one or two passages, as urú vi 20 5c (2T), 47 14c (2T), 61 11b (2T), x 147 5b (2T), purú iv 31 8c (2D), *x 94 5d (2T). In i 6 5a (2D) vílú cid should probably be read as neut. plural.

c12.60

(ii) The occurrences of the particle tú, tú are: A¹. 8, v 2 7d. B. 2T¹, iii 36 9a, iv 1 10a, 22 5a, ix 72 8a 9a, 97 38d, 107 24a: 2D¹, i 10 11a, 29 1c 2c 3c, iii 41 1a, iv 32 1a, viii 7 11c, 13 14a, 69 16a: 2T², i 69 8c, iv 22 6a¹, vi 29 5b, viii 21 10c, x 1 6a, *101 10a¹: 4A, *x 88 6c. C¹. 2D, viii 2 22a: 3T, i 169 4a, vi 23 7b². D². GR., 7 times: 6A, i 177 4c. E². 5, *x 85 35d: 7, vi 48 9d: 11, viii 27 14c.

c12.61

¹ Text tú.

c12.62

² Text tú.

c12.63

(iii) The occurrences of the particle nú, nú are: A. 3T², i 72 8d³, 167 9a⁴, ii 33 7d⁵, vi 27 3a⁴, viii 25 23c⁴, 66 9c⁴: 3D², i 80 15a⁴, viii 12 4c³: 6¹, i 17 8a, 172 3a², ii 8 1a: 8¹, iii 58 6d, iv 16 21a, *18 3b, vi 9 6d, 63 10c, viii 21 7b: 10¹, i 56 2c, v 31 13a, vi 8 1a, 15 5c, 22 5b. B. 2T, i 59 6a¹, 64 13a¹, 165 10b², 186 9a², iii 49 2a², v 30 3a²: 2T², i 139 1b, 166 1a, iii 55 18b, v 41 1a, vi 8 1b, viii 101 15c, ix 92 5a, x 69 5d: 4A², i 32 1a, 89 9a, iii 31 9c, 55 18a, iv 20 4b, v 41 13a, 85 6a, vi 18 3c, 52 5b, 66 3b, viii 51 7c, *x 59 4b, 62 6c, 100 6a, *168 1a: 4B², i 148 3a, vi 24 3c, vii 19 9a, 37 5c, x 132 3a: 4B, vi 48 16b²: 7A², iii 38 2d, iv 40 1a. C. Initial, 25 times¹. 2D², i 25 17a, v 67 5a, vi 59 1a, vii 66 5b, viii 40 9e, 45 37a: 4², viii 77 1a, x 72 1a: 5B², ii 11 3a 15a 16a 17a, 28 9c, vi 47 22a, x 61 5b: 3T⁷, 51 times: 3D⁷, 22 times. D². Before consonant-groups 29 times: 6B, x 79 6b. E². 5, i 132 1e: 7, i 17 8a, 22 8b, viii 46 28d, *x 175 4a: 9, *i 164 32b, v 32 9c, 33 8d, vi 17 9a, 50 5a, vii 39 6d, *x 27 7b, 111 7d.

c12.64

¹ Text nú.

c12.65

² Text nú.

c12.66

³ § 163 vi.

c12.67

⁴ § 171 iv.

c12.68

⁵ § 167 iii.

c12.69

⁷ Occurrences of ū nú in the second and third places are included here.

c12.70

For nú cit see § 158. The occurrences in decisive positions are: A. 8, iv 6 7b, vi 39 3c, viii 27 9c, 46 11c: 10, vi 18 8d 11c.

c12.71

⁶ § 175 ii.

c12.72

(iv) In the case of the particle ū u many actual and possible occurrences must be left out of account here, as well as the occurrences of an element u which is of phonetic character, and distinct from the particle. In the last class are included not only the well-known u of u loká and that in the suffix -tavá u for -tavaí, but also other cases in which -ā u stands for final -ai, -au, or -ah (§ 171 v). As doubtful all occurrences of u in such forms as átho, úpo are omitted, except when hiatus has to be postulated before u (§ 171 ii-iv). Occurrences before hiatus are considered separately (§ 173 iv): but the somewhat frequent occurrences of ū in the second place in the combinations ū nú, ū śú must be left out of account, as it is not possible to determine with certainty the quantity of the third syllable.

c12.73

The remaining occurrences are as follows, the text giving u unless otherwise stated:

c12.74

A. 3T, i 112 1d = 2d = 3d³, 184 2a³, iii 20 2c, 62 2a, iv 6 1a³, 51 2a, v 73 8a³, vi 15 1a³ 12b, 25 1c³, 27 7b³, 51 3a, 66 3b⁴, vii 29 2c³, 95 6a, viii 24 1c³, ix 110 1a³, x *10 14a³, 178 1a³: 3D, i 27 4a³, 30 4a, 36 13a³, ii 41 7a³, vi 16 16a³, 44 4a, vii 96 1a, viii 20 19a³, 61 5a³, 63 8a, 92 7a: 6, viii 61 12d¹: 8, ii 18 2c¹, x 56 1a¹, *161 4b: 10, vi 51 10a, x 61 24b⁴. B. 2T, ii 35 3c¹, iv 2 4d, vi 68 8a², viii 66 10a¹, *x 94 8c¹: 2D, v 10 6a², 16 5a², 17 5a², viii 2 13c, 22 13c¹, 30 3b, 40 3c, ix 45 4a¹: 2T, i 32 15c, ii 2 5b, 37 2a 2b, iii 4 10c, v 29 13d, 58 1a, vi 22 2a, 37 2a, 40 2c, vii 20 5b, 38 2a, 42 3a, 61 6a, 62 6a², 93 6c², 100 1a², *viii 48 3d: 4A, i 52 8a, 77 2b¹, ii 35 15b, iii 1 3c, 31 7a, iv 21 9d, 38 2b, 39 5c, 43 2b, vii 44 2a: 4B, i 113 11c⁴: 7A, i 108 4b, 178 5c, ii 9 2a, iv 55 4c, x 160 2a.

c12.75

¹ Text ū.

c12.76

³ Text ū ṣū.

c12.77

⁴ Text ū nū.

c12.78

C. 2D, i 30 2c, 120 2c², v 52 15a², vi 54 2a, viii 23 5a, 24 16a, 66 10b, 84 5c, 93 15a, x *16 11c *13b, *85 47d: 4, viii 81 8a, x 126 3c 3d 6a: Final, viii 66 13a: 3T, 34 times: 3D, 36 times. D. Gr, 154 times: 6A, i 113 4c, 143 7d, *164 16a *19a *19b, ii 35 10b, iv 5 3d, 40 1a, *v 44 14b, vi 38 1a, *vii 35 2a *3a *9c, 86 8c, x *15 13b, 31 7a, *81 4a. E. 7B, i 34 6b, 35 6d, 82 6d, 91 18a, 110 1a 1D, 139 4a, *164 26d *48b, iii 46 5c, iv 21 9c, 39 1a, *v 83 10a, vi 9 6d, 27 1d, vii *35 2b *7b *11c *12b, x 39 1c, 40 11a, *52 3a, *114 4d: 9, iii 31 11a, 53 4a, iv 7 9d, 22 7a, viii 3 20a, 21 9b, 23 7c, x 2 3c, *167 1c: 11, v 55 7b: 5, iii 24 4c, iv 8 4a, viii 7 17b 22b, 44 9a, 52 10b, *x 86 13b, *173 2d: 7, ii 5 3b, viii 82 3a, *x 86 3c.

c12.79

² Text nū for nū ū, § 124.

c12.80

(v) The following are the occurrences of the particle ṣū, ṣū:

c12.81

A. 3T², viii 103 1c³: 3D, i 37 14c³, 82 1a³, iv 31 3a⁴, viii 7 32a³, 67 15a³, 93 21a⁴, ix 61 13a³: 6¹, i 10 11c: 8¹, iii 36 2c, *v 83 10a, viii 24 7c, *x 59 4c: 10, ii 20 1a². B. 2T¹, i 129 5a, 139 7a 8a², 148 3c, 173 12a, ii 28 7d, iii 30 6a, 33 9c, 55 2a, iv 26 4a², v 30 7a, 42 13a, viii 18 22c, 53 6c, x 75 1a², *101 11d: 2D¹, vii 89 1a², viii 27 3a, 32 19a: 2T², i 76 3a, 165 14c, 169 5c, ii 34 15d, v 62 2a, x 32 2d, 54 1a, *59 4a, *94 14c¹, 112 9a: 4A², i 76 2b, 184 2a, iii 30 21d, 31 14d, iv 22 10d, vi 25 1c, 27 7b, vii 29 2c, 42 3c, 93 6a, x 100 2a, 133 7a, 178 1a: 4B², viii 24 1c: 4B², i 138 4a, 139 1f¹, iv 6 1a, 20 4a, vi 15 1a: 7A, *vi 74 4b². C². 2D, 105 3a, iv 55 10a, v 67 5c, vi 45 33a, 56 4c, viii 18 3a 12a, 45 8a, 94 3a, *x 59 8f, 133 3a: 4, i 36 13a, ii 41 7a, iii 24 2c¹, iv 32 6a³, v 35 2d, 73 8a, 74 10c 10d, viii 1 19a, 4 3d, 6 39a, 13 25a, 20 19a, 26 1a¹ 15a 23b, 45 9a, 61 5a, 73 17a, 81 8c: 5B, 6 times: 3T⁵, 29 times: 3D⁵, 22 times. D². Gr., 35 times: 6A, *x 179 2a. E². 5, i 84 3c, iii 37 2a, vi 48 3d, viii 6 32b, 34 12a, 82 6a, *x 16 14c, 126 6a: 7, *i 93 1a⁶, *191 6d, viii 18 18a, 40 1a, ix 49 1a: 9, i *179 5c, 182 1a, v 63 6c, vi 21 7b, 33 1a, vii 26 3d, ix 81 3c, *x 18 12a: 11, x 77 4c.

c12.82

¹ Text ṣū.

c12.83

² Text ṣū.

c12.84

³ § 171 iv.

c12.85

⁴ § 167 iii.

c12.86

⁵ Occurrences of ū ṣū in the second and third places are included here.

c12.87

⁶ Perhaps 7E, but see § 198 ii.

c12.88

Many of the appearances of nū ṣū in the positions 3T, 3D above are due to restorations which will be explained later in this chapter: but even apart from these the long vowels are amply justified for all four particles, and it appears reasonable to restore the forms with long vowels in all occurrences in groups A and B, as well as in the positions 2D and 4D.

c12.89

161. In the adverbs *adyá* (*adyá*), *ádhā* (*ádhā*), and *yádī* (*yádi*) the short and long vowels appear side by side in the text, which closely follows the guidance of the metre.

c12.90

The occurrences are as follows:

c12.91

(i) *adyá*, *adyá*: A¹. 8, *i 161 13d, 180 10a, iii 36 3d, iv 25 3a, 44 1a, v 51 13a, x 30 2d, 35 2d, 36 2d, *81 7b. B¹. 2T, i 113 17c, ii 29 2d, v 1 11a², *vii 104 15a, viii 3 8c, x 55 5d: 2D, i 13 2c, iv 30 23c, v 74 1b, vi 56 6c: 2T, i 115 6a, *163 13c, vi 30 3a, 50 4b, x 35 1d, 54 2d, 63 8d: 4A², i 125 3a, 182 8c, 184 1a, ii 13 8d, iv 44 3a¹, v 56 1c, vi 24 5a, 71 6a, vii 78 5a, viii 22 6c, 27 14c, x 35 13a, 36 11a, 45 9a. C. 2D¹, i 13 6c, 44 1d 3a, v 22 2d, 26 8b, 82 4a, viii 22 1b: 4², i 25 19b¹, 28 8a, 44 9d, *50 11a, 136 4e, 142 1b 8d, ii 41 3a 20b, v 13 2b, 53 12a, 74 7a, 82 7b¹, vii 66 12a, viii 1 10a 16a, 2 20a, 26 3a, 27 5a, 61 17a¹, 94 8a, ix 44 6a, 65 28b¹, *x 127 4a: 5B², 39 times: Final², 33 times: 3T², 14 times: 3D², 11 times. D². Before groups, 8 times. E². 7B, viii 26 8c: 5, i 188 1a, v 79 1a, viii 5 18a, *x 135 5c: 7, *i 93 2a³, ix 67 22a.

c12.92

¹ The text has *adyá*.

c12.93

² The text has *adyá*.

c12.94

³ Perhaps 7E, but see § 198 ii.

c12.95

(ii) *ádhā*, *ádha*: A¹. 6, v 52 3c: 8, vii 56 1b: 10, ii 31 4d, x 92 14d, 115 1c. B¹. 2T, i 55 5c, 101 9c, 114 10d, 167 2c³, 169 6c³, 186 9c³, iv 2 14a 16a, 5 14c, 10 2a, *18 9c, vi 10 4c², vii 4 8c, 29 3d, 56 7b, 88 2a, *104 15c, viii 101 10c, ix 110 9a³, x 6 7a, *10 14d, 61 22a² 24a, *95 12d³ *14c: 2D, v 16 4a, 52 11a 11b 16c, 66 4a, vi 2 7a, vii 15 14a, 74 5a, viii 84 6a, 92 29c, 93 12a, 98 7a, x 25 3c, 33 3d, *97 2c: 2T, i 57 2a², 102 7d, 104 7a, 129 11f, 156 1c, 180 7c, ii 17 4a, 30 3b, iv 2 15a, 6 7c, *18 13d, 22 6c, 27 4d², v 85 8d, vi 1 2a, 6 5a², 19 12c, 30 2a, vii 18 21d, 20 3d, 90 3c³, *viii 100 2d, ix 97 11a², x 61 21a 23a², *83 7b, *85 27d, 132 3a. C¹. 2D, i 42 6a, iv 7 2c, v 17 4c, 38 1c, 52 11c, viii 1 16d, 12 19d, 46 31a³, 75 16c, 83 9c, 98 11c, ix 48 5a, x 25 1c 2c. D². Before consonant-groups, 74 times: 6A, iii 38 2d, iv 17 10a, *v 40 6a³, vi 36 1b. E². 7B, i 153 1c³, ii 28 9a, iii 4 9a, 6 2b, 55 1a³ 6a, vi 18 14a, 31 3c, vii 20 5c, 38 6d, 45 3d, x 1 6a, *11 4d, 30 10a, 33 1c, 113 8a: 5, iv 31 6c, viii 1 18a.

c12.96

¹ Text *ádhā*.

c12.97

² Text *ádha*.

c12.98

³ Text *ádha yád*.

c12.99

(iii) *yádī*, *yádi*: A. 5B², i 173 8d, x 115 1c: 6¹, x 143 1c: 10¹, *x 12 3a. B¹. 2T, i 168 8d, iii 5 10c, 6 3c, iv 41 3c, ix 72 2c, 86 6c, *x 11 4c: 2D, vi 42 3a, viii 19 23a, ix 99 2c: 2T, iii 5 8b, *29 6a, 31 2c, iv 21 8d, vi 25 6b, *vii 104 14a² *15b², ix 70 2d, x* 129 7b², *161 2b²: 4A², i 56 4a, iii 31 6a¹ 13a, iv 21 6a, 26 5a, 27 3b, v 48 4c, ix 86 46d, 97 22a¹, x 61 25a. C. 2D, i 11 3c¹, ii 5 6a¹, viii 13 21a², 32 6a², 61 10b², ix 14 3c¹, 15 3c¹, 47 4c¹: 4¹, v 74 5c, ix 14 2a, x 22 10c. D². Before consonant-groups, 9 times: 6A, *i 161 8c, v 3 10b, vi 25 6d, *x 95 4b. E². 7B, i 27 13c, 178 3d, vi 22 4a, vii 82 8b, *104 15a, *viii 100 3b, *x 16 3c, *129 7d, *161 1c *2a.

c12.100

¹ Text yádi.

c12.101

² Text yádi.

c12.102

No great change is required in the text, but the long vowel should be read in all occurrences in groups A and B, and probably in the positions 2D and 4 also.

c12.103

The Atharvaveda has almost always ádhā, but adyá and yádi.

c12.104

162. The imperative forms in -dhi -hi are regularly short in the Rigveda: but śṛṇudhí, śṛṇuhí, śrudhí have regularly, and kṛdhí, jahí most commonly, long final vowels. The quantity of forms in -uhi is uncertain.

c12.105

(i) The forms śṛṇudhí, śrudhí occur very commonly followed by the word hāvam, but the value of the final syllable is the same in all cases. The only exception is śrudhí viii 66 12d (5), where the words should perhaps be rearranged.

c12.106

(ii) The forms kṛdhí, jahí are exceptionally found as follows: kṛdhí vi 47 10d (6A), viii 96 8c (6A); jahí vi 44 17a (7B), viii 53 4a (7B).

c12.107

(iii) Forms in -uhi (except śṛṇuhí, in which the final vowel is always long) occur as follows: A. 3D, vi 53 4b: 6¹, vi 45 14c, viii 45 22c: 8, vi 25 3d¹, 44 9c, vii 25 2c, ix 91 4b. B. 4A, i 54 9c: 7A, 18 times. C. Final, 10 times. D. Before groups, 9 times. E. 5, i 13 2c. Distinct evidence of quantity is wanting, but the prevalence of occurrences in the position 7A as compared with 8, for which otherwise these forms are equally suitable, and the rather frequent occurrences before consonant-groups, suggest that the vowel was generally regarded as short. The long vowel, however, may reasonably be restored in the occurrences in group A.

c12.108

¹ The text has -uhi.

c12.109

(iv) Of other forms in -dhi, -hi the occurrences in positions favouring short quantity greatly preponderate, but the restoration of a long vowel is very probable in the positions of group A, and also in the positions 2T, 2D. Such occurrences are: A. 3D, viii 65 5c¹: 5B, *x 10 10c²: 8, ii 26 2a¹⁴, vii 1 3a³, viii 60 6a³: 10, iii 54 22d⁴. B. 2T, i 129 11a⁵, *164 40c⁶, 189 4a⁵, ii 11 17d⁷, vi 2 11c⁸, vii 1 13a⁵, viii 3 12a⁹ 12c¹⁰, 96 10d¹¹, ix 89 7c¹⁰, *x 51 5a¹: 2D, i 27 3c⁵, 36 15a⁵, 129 9b⁷, *133 2c¹², iii 45 1b⁷, iv 48 1d⁷, viii 3 11a⁹, 46 25b⁷, 60 9a⁵ 9d⁵, 78 10d¹³, 93 31b⁷.

c12.110

¹ ihí.

c12.111

² barbrhi.

c12.112

³ didihí.

c12.113

⁴ didihí.

c12.114

⁵ pāhí.

c12.115

⁶ addhí.

c12.116

⁷ yāhí.

c12.117

⁸ vihí.

c12.118

⁹ śagdhí.

c12.119

¹⁰ śagdhí.

c12.120

¹¹ dhehí.

c12.121

¹² chindhí.

c12.122

¹³ pūrdhí.

c12.123

¹⁴ vihí.

c12.124

For viddhí tú vii 31 4c viddhí tú is a probable reading, see § 173 iii.

c12.125

163. There remain for consideration a number of final vowels of which the quantity is regularly short, both according to the metre and the text: but they appear frequently in certain positions in which the long quantity is otherwise favoured. It is difficult to decide to what extent these variations are the result of metrical laxity, or are due to some reminiscence of archaic long quantity or other phonetic cause. It is however clear that there are certain positions in the verse to which long final vowels are admitted more readily than other long syllables, and those which belong to certain endings more readily than other long final vowels. The special positions may be termed positions of protraction, and the special endings described as capable of protraction. Endings capable of protraction fall into two groups.

c12.126

The first group consists of words which are usually of more than two syllables, and are most commonly found before the caesura and at the end of the verse. The final syllable in this group is protracted in the eighth place of trimeter verse. The forms are (i) the first person plural (other than of perfects) in -ma; (ii) the second and third persons singular of the perfect in -tha, -a; (iii) the thematic and perfect imperative in -sva; and (iv) the instrumental of nouns in -ena.

c12.127

The second group consists of words which are disyllables, and are usually found at the beginning of the verse: they appear therefore as protracted in the second place, especially if the third syllable is short. The forms are (i) paroxytone adverbs in -tra, as yátra, tátra; (ii) pronominal instrumentals in -ena, as yéna, téna; and (iii) disyllabic stems appearing as the prior elements of compounds and derivatives, as in índra-vat, sumna-yú.

c12.128

We observe at once that, as nearly all the words have long penult, the final vowel cannot ordinarily occur in any of the positions of group A except 8. The regular short quantity is however easily demonstrated, as in the next section.

c12.129

The text only occasionally gives long quantity in the positions 2T, 2D, and in order to simplify the discussion we shall disregard the occurrences in these positions, and assume the final vowels then to be short.

Group I

c12.s1.1

(i) Protracted forms of the first person plural in -ma occur 28 times in the eighth place, being in the proportion of almost 50 in 1000, as follows: 8, i 73 9b, 94 1b 1d 2d 3d 4a, 132 1b¹ 1f, 165 7c, ii 2 10b, 33 4a, iii 33 10a, iv 10 1d, *58 2a *2b, v 3 6a¹, 42 6b, 45 5b 6a, vii 27 5b¹, 57 4c, viii 25 22c¹, x 2 2c, 63 10d 14d, 80 7b, 111 1c, 148 1d¹. Also 2T, vii 20 8d¹: 2D, viii 63 10c¹.

c12.s1.2

¹ The text has -ma.

c12.s1.3

The corresponding dual form in -va is never protracted.

c12.s1.4

(ii) The perfect forms in *-tha* (2 pers.) and *-a* (3 pers.) are protracted in the 8th place 18 times, being in the proportion of 25 in 1000, and 7 times elsewhere. The occurrences are: *-thā*; 8, ii 9 3c, *viii 48 9b, *x 180 2b: 2D, vi 16 3a¹, viii 24 24a¹: 4B, vii 37 3a. *-ā*; 8, i 31 5c, 145 1a, ii 23 13d, v 1 5d, 45 6d, vi 1 6b 9c, vii 18 24b, viii 29 2a², ix 70 9d, x 5 5b, 67 6b, 111 2d 4c, *181 1d: 2T, i 122 9d², viii 61 12c: 2D, i 25 8c 9c. Perfects of verbs in *-ā*, as *paprā* i 69 1b, *jahā* viii 45 37c, have always *-ā*, and are not included above.

c12.s1.5

¹ *vétthā.*

c12.s1.6

² The text has *-a*.

c12.s1.7

(iii) The thematic imperatives in *-sva* (with which we include perfect forms like *dadhiṣvá*) are protracted 9 times in the eighth place, being in the proportion of 20 in 1000. The occurrences are ii 33 2d, 37 3b, iii 60 5b, vi 41 5c, ix 80 4d, 90 4b, 97 44b 44d, x 112 3d. Also once in the position 4B, vi 23 8a.

c12.s1.8

(iv) The instrumental forms of nouns in *-ena* are protracted in the 8th place 24 times, being in the proportion of 35 in every 1000. The instances are i 32 5c, 33 13b, 116 24a, 117 21c, *164 30d *38b, iii 31 12c, 32 2c, iv *18 5b, 34 8c, 39 3d, vi 32 2a, vii 18 17b, viii 66 9c¹, ix 70 2b, 80 1c, 84 5d, 96 17c, *x 42 10d, 56 3a, *88 4b, 111 2c, *139 4b, *180 1c. There is also an occurrence in the sixth place of epic Anuṣṭubh, *vii 55 7c.

c12.s1.9

¹ The text has *-ena*.

Group II

c12.s2.1

(v) The paroxytone adverbs in *-tra* occur in the positions of protraction 38 times, being in the proportion of 140 in every 1000: but this is largely accounted for by the grammatical function. The instances are: 8, iii 53 5b, *vii 103 2d, viii 15 12c: 2T, i 115 2c, *163 4d, *164 3d¹ *21a *33d, iii 23 1d, 53 5c 6c, iv 26 7c, v 41 17c, 44 9c 9d, *vi 75 8c *11c, vii 1 4c, 83 2a 2c 2d, viii 20 6c, x 8 6b, *18 13d, *28 8d, 42 4c, *53 8c, *71 2c, *88 17a, 138 1c, *149 2a: 2D, i 22 4b, v 61 14b, vi 16 17a¹ 17c, viii 34 3a, ix 111 2e, *x 72 7c.

c12.s2.2

¹ The text has *-tra*.

c12.s2.3

(vi) The pronominal instrumentals *yéna*, *kéna*, *téna* occur in positions of protraction 37 times, being in the proportion of 200 in every 1000, largely accounted for as in the last section. The instances are: 2T, i 117 2d¹, 165 2d¹, 183 3c¹, 186 5c¹, ii 17 6c, 24 10d¹, iii 60 2c¹, iv 36 9c¹, 43 6d¹, 51 4c, v 54 15b, 87 5c, vi 49 5c¹, vii 1 24c¹, 21 6c, 41 5b¹, *101 3d¹, viii 3 9c 10a, ix 108 4a, x *10 8d¹, *52 1d¹, *102 9c¹, *114 7d¹, *121 5b¹: 2D, i 42 5c¹, 50 6a, vi 16 48c, *vii 55 7c, viii 12 2a 2c, 17 10b, 19 20b, 20 26b, 67 6c, ix 61 19b, x 126 2c. *yéna nú* may be restored in i 72 8d, viii 12 4c.

c12.s2.4

¹ The text has *-ena*.

c12.s2.5

(vii) Protraction in the prior elements of compounds and derivatives is not always readily recognized, as many of the words are of comparatively rare occurrence. The instances, according to the discussion in §§ 165-169 below, are as follows, including a few instances in the positions 6, 8, and 10: 6, v 9 7a², ix 101 3a²: 8, i 48 2a¹⁸ 12c³: 10, viii 60 13c⁵ 14a⁵: 2t, i 31 7c⁶, 48 2a³, 72 2c⁷, 83 1a³, 117 9d⁸, 118 9b⁵, 121 12d⁹, 122 7c¹ 8d³, 123 12a³, 140 13a², ii 32 2d¹⁰, iii 51 2c¹¹, iv 42 9d⁹, v 8 7b¹⁰, 30 1b¹², 36 6d¹, 58 6b¹⁴, vi 1 7b¹⁰, 17 11d⁹, vii 41 7a³, 71 3b¹⁰, 72 1b³, 100 2d³, viii 20 2a¹⁴, ix 74 5b¹⁵, 97 26a¹⁵ 49c² 51a², 104 2c¹⁵, 110 11c¹¹, x *15 9a⁶, 36 8b¹⁵, 40 5d³, 48 7b², 76 4d¹⁵, 78 1b¹⁵, 91 15c¹¹, *101 1d⁴, *109 1c¹⁴, 160 1b¹³: 2d, ii 41 10b², iv 31 4a², v 35 5c¹³, 61 13b¹⁷, vi 16 14c⁹, vii 32 24a², viii 38 2b⁹, ix 100 1a², *x 97 7a³.

c12.s2.6

¹ śrutáratha, § 166 vii. [^2]: abhí, § 167 iii. [^3]: áśvavant, § 168 ii. [^4]: índravant, ib. [^5]: práti, § 167 v. [^6]: tatrṣāṇá, § 169 iii. [^7]: śramayú, § 168 iii. [^8]: ahíhán, § 166 vii. [^9]: vṛtrahán, ib. [^10]: sumnayát, sumnayú, § 168 iii. [^11]: vājasáni, § 166 vii. [^12]: sukháratha, ib. [^13]: sarvarathá, ib. [^14]: vilú-, § 166 iv. [^15]: devaví, § 166 vii. [^16]: devávant, § 168 ii. [^17]: tveṣáratha, § 166 vii. [^18]: sú-, § 167 v.

c12.s2.7

164. The conclusions reached in the preceding sections are generally confirmed by a close examination of the statistics of the use of words and forms of the different groups. Thus the use of the forms included in § 158 differs only slightly from that of ordinary long final vowels: the forms included in § 159 appear much more frequently, but still only occasionally, in the positions which favour short quantity. The adverbs named in §§ 160, 161 are found in all positions, but several shew a preference for those that favour short quantity. All the remaining forms in their general use agree with those that have short final vowels: yet there remains a substantial difference, which indicates that ‘protraction’ is not a mere theory of an editor, but corresponds to some special characteristic of the forms concerned.

c12.s2.8

The table that follows hardly needs explanation so far as the first three groups are concerned. In the two the occurrences in group A are far more numerous than those in group E, and similarly those in B than those in D; also the quantity of a following third syllable is indifferent, and the position before an early caesura twice as common as before a late caesura. In the group of adverbs (§§ 160, 161) all these signs disappear. In all the ‘forms capable of protraction’ (§ 163) we observe that the long third syllable and the position before a late caesura are greatly favoured, and so far short vowels are indicated. Yet the longer words appear ten times as often in group A as ordinary short vowels, although they can (as a rule) only appear in the eighth place (§ 163). The treatment of such forms as yátra, yéna comes out most clearly when they are compared with other words like ápa, utá, yásya (with kásya and tásya) which have much the same form and grammatical function. Even when we include amongst the latter the forms that appear as ápo, utó in the text (see § 171 iv), a marked difference remains in the distribution between the groups, and indicates that the ‘vowels capable of protraction’ were also not considered very suitable for the positions of short quantity.

Distribution of Variant Final Vowels in the Rigveda

c12.s3.1

| | | | Decisive positions | | | In 2nd place | | Before caesura |
| | | | A | B | D | E | 2TD | 2TD | 4A | 5B |
| | All long vowels | 1000 | 201 | 355 | 22 | 1 | 84 | 77 | 121 | 70 |
| | All short vowels | 1000 | 7 | 77 | 236 | 291 | 17 | 30 | 24 | 64 |
| § 158 | Perfects in -ā, etc. | 163 | 22 | 50 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 15 | 4 | 11 |
| | Aorist impv. -svā | 69 | 3 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 14 | 4 | 2 |
| | Gerunds in -tya, -yā | 85 | 8 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 6 |
| | Endings -tarī, -tī, etc. | 125 | 8 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 6 |
| | Adverbs | 538 | 35 | 249 | 15 | 4 | 114 | 121 | 43 | 18 |
| | Total | 980 | 76 | 367 | 24 | 9 | 158 | 164 | 76 | 43 |
| § 159 | Imperative in -ā | 1177 | 146 | 332 | 33 | 40 | 104 | 114 | 108 | 43 |
| | 2 pl. -thā, -tā | 707 | 141 | 140 | 40 | 43 | 17 | 14 | 61 | 38 |
| | ” -thanā, -tanā | 129 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| | Neut. pl. -ā, -ī, -ū | 203 | 25 | 66 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 16 | 17 |
| | Total | 2216 | 326 | 549 | 80 | 92 | 146 | 159 | 191 | 98 |
| § 160 | tú, tú | 38 | 1 | 23 | 8 | 3 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| | nú, nú | 215 | 22 | 37 | 30 | 13 | 6 | 14 | 15 | 7 |
| | ū, u | 387 | 38 | 47 | 171 | 44 | 13 | 30 | 10 | 0 |
| | sú, sú | 208 | 14 | 49 | 36 | 22 | 19 | 21 | 13 | 6 |
| § 161 | adyā, adyā | 184 | 11 | 31 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 39 |
| | ádhā, ádha | 182 | 5 | 68 | 78 | 18 | 40 | 42 | 0 | 0 |
| | yádi, yádi | 68 | 4 | 30 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 10 | 0 |
| | Total | 1282 | 95 | 285 | 344 | 117 | 114 | 146 | 63 | 52 |
| § 162 | Impv. in -uhí, -hí, -dhí¹ | 870 | 13 | 108 | 60 | 149 | 23 | 33 | 36 | 33 |
| § 163 | 1 pl. -ma | 533 | 28 | 34 | 19 | 67 | 2 | 6 | 28 | 85 |
| | Perfect -tha, -a | 539 | 18 | 45 | 16 | 52 | 6 | 12 | 31 | 91 |
| | Impv. -sva (thematic) | 387 | 9 | 22 | 6 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 59 |
| | Instr. -ena (nouns) | 505 | 25 | 67 | 38 | 109 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 72 |
| | Total | 1964 | 80 | 168 | 79 | 282 | 8 | 18 | 143 | 307 |
| | Adverbs in -tra | 224 | 3 | 93 | 9 | 15 | 35 | 59 | 25 | 51 |
| | Instr. -ena (pronouns) | 166 | 0 | 93 | 13 | 12 | 37 | 82 | 8 | 4 |
| | Total | 390 | 3 | 186 | 22 | 27 | 72 | 141 | 33 | 65 |
| § 171 | ápa, ápo | 167 | 4 | 11 | 101 | 35 | 2 | 19 | 1 | 0 |
| | utá, utó | 704 | 2 | 114 | 212 | 218 | 65 | 104 | 5 | 1 |
| | yásya, etc. | 263 | 0 | 44 | 77 | 72 | 13 | 54 | 2 | 23 |
| | Total | 1134 | 6 | 169 | 490 | 325 | 80 | 177 | 8 | 24 |
| § 172 | Hiatus after -ā | 218 | 16 | 71 | 8 | 30 | 9 | 14 | 48 | 48 |

c12.s3.2

¹ omitting kṛdhí, jahí, śṛṇudhí, śṛṇuhí and śrudhí (§ 162).

c12.s3.3

165. In the quantity of the final vowels of the prior elements of compounds and derivatives the Saṃhitā text is in general agreement with the metre, and doubtful cases are rare. Owing again to the complexity of the conditions, it is not easy to classify the occurrences or to treat them in a systematic way: but it may be recognized that the quantity of the final vowel depends partly upon the historical character of the prior element, and partly upon the phonetic character of the initial sound of the posterior element, besides any other influences that may be at work. It will be convenient to consider separately: (i) compounds in which the prior element is a noun or numeral; (ii) compounds with prepositions and particles; (iii) vowels preceding derivative suffixes; and (iv) the augment and the vowel of reduplication. The phonetic influence of *v* following will in each class claim special attention: in addition, it is possible that *y r l s* and *m* produce in certain groups of words some effect in the direction of lengthening.

c12.s3.4

166. In compounds of which the prior element is a noun (including adjectives, pronouns, and numerals), the final syllable of that element is long (i) if it is a case-form, as *akṣṇayādrúh*, *amājúr*, *tuávṛdha*; (ii) if it is a feminine stem in *-ā* or *-ī*, as *urvarā-jít*, *nadítama*, *senānī*; (iii) in most proper names, as *lópāmudrā*, *viśvámitra*; and occasionally (iv) in stems in *-u*, *ulúkhala*, *purū-táma*, and perhaps (v) in stems in *-an*, as *vṛṣāyúdh*. The prior element (vi) has always a long vowel before *-vṛdh* and perhaps in some other cases before *v*, and (vii) is occasionally found in some other words in positions favouring long quantity.

c12.s3.5

(i) With the compounds of case-forms are included those of adverbs which have flexional endings, as in *evāvadá*, *etādṛś*. Such compounds are often found side by side with others that shew the short final of a stem: as *sanājú* but *sanajá*.

c12.s3.6

Here must be included the *dvandva* duals, the prior element having usually the long vowel not only in the nom. voc. acc. form, but also in the oblique cases. The text gives regularly *índrāvíṣṇū*, *mitráváruṇā*, *súryāmásā*, and so forth: and *índrāvāyú* must in all instances be restored, as is clear from the fact that it never stands at the end of Triṣṭubh verse, or in any other position in which *a* is favoured. Other restorations favoured by the metre are *mítrā ... váruṇā* i 151 6b and iv 1 18d (2T, 7A), *mítrā- v* 62 3b (2T), 66 6b (2D).

c12.s3.7

On the other hand we always find the triplet *varuṇa mitra aryaman* with the singular vocative forms, and occasionally the pair *varuṇa mitra* in the same shape, as i 122 7a (7A, 9): cf. vii 66 9ab. *mitra* varuṇa should probably be restored in ii 41 4a, v 64 4a, 67 5ab, vii 66 19a, viii 25 4a, 72 17a, 101 3a: and see further § 174 ii.

c12.s3.8

(ii) The text probably gives dhārāvará correctly in ii 34 1a (2T), though other compounds give dhāra-. In i 43 4a gāthápati should be read: in ii 41 16ab (2D) ámbitame dévítame corresponding to nádítame, and vedíṣád i 140 1a (2T), iv 40 5b (4B). Cf. § 170 iii.

c12.s3.9

(iii) Words such as ugrádeva, jarābodha, nárāśáṁsa, vārṣágirá, viśvánara come under this heading, independently of their presumed derivation. In iii 18 4c the metre suggests viśvámitra, but correction is not justified in view of the general usage.

c12.s3.10

(iv) Of final -ū in composition there are many traces in the text, always confirmed in the metre, as urūṇasá, ulúkhala, purútáma, purūrávas, vibhúvasu, vasújū: whilst other words have -u, as iṣuhasta, gātuvíd, dasyuhán. The long vowels may be connected with adverbial forms, see § 160 above. Further there are many cases in which the metre suggests the restoration of ū regularly or occasionally, as follows:

c12.s3.11

uru-: perhaps urūkṛt in the single occurrence viii 75 11c (2D), and urúyuga in the single occurrence viii 98 9b (6).

c12.s3.12

purú-: the compounds have commonly u, sometimes ū. The words purutáma, purubhúj, are sometimes found at the beginning of the stanza, or the end of the dimeter of Jagatī verse, in which positions ū is favoured; sometimes after an early caesura, where u is favoured but is not certain. In purutáma the text follows the metre: if rightly, we should restore purubhúj in i 3 1c (2D), v 73 1c (6), viii 8 17b (6), 10 6a (10). But purúvāsu has always the long vowel, probably even in vi 22 4d, vii 38 1d (both 6A).

c12.s3.13

madhu-: the compounds have regularly u: the metre favours ū in madhupŕcam ii 10 6d, mádhumatī iv 57 3a and madhuvŕdham x 75 8d, for which see subsection vi a.

c12.s3.14

vasu-: most of the compounds have u; but ū should probably be restored in most (if not all) occurrences of vásudhiti, namely i 128 8a (10), 181 1d (2T), iv 8 2a (6), 48 3a (6); the other occurrences are iii 31 17a and vii 90 3d (both 6A). In vasurúc ū should probably be restored in the single occurrence ix 110 6b (2T), and in vasuvíd the long vowel should certainly be restored in the majority of instances, the following v being an accessory cause, namely in i 46 2c (6), viii 23 16a (6), 60 12d (6), 61 5c (10), ix 101 11d (6), 104 4a (6), x 42 3d (2T). The reading of the text is only supported by *i 164 49c, vii 41 6c, ix 96 10a, where the word follows an early caesura.

c12.s3.15

vibhū- should be restored in vibhúṣáh for vibhvásáh of the text v 10 7c (3D), ix 98 1d (5).

c12.s3.16

viṣu-: viṣūvát and viṣūvŕt are regular, but víṣuañcā should probably be restored for viṣūcīnā in *i 164 38c (6A), as viṣudríac for viṣvadríac in vii 25 1d (5A).

c12.s3.17

vīlu- is regular, and it is therefore hardly safe to restore vīlū- in vīlupaví v 58 6b (2T), viii 20 2a (2T), or in vīlúharas *x 109 1c (2T) these appear rather to be instances of protraction (§ 163 vii).

c12.s3.18

(v) The final syllable of a stem in -an seems to be represented by -a in vṛṣāyúdh: but more usually appears as -a, as in the compounds of brahma-. The metre however suggests the restoration of -ā in the following words: dāśabhuji i 52 11a (10); dhanvacará v 36 1c (2T); śatápavitra vii 47 3a (2T) and śatábhuji i 166 8a (2T), vii 15 14c (6); syúmagabhasti i 122 15d (2T), vii 71 3c (2T), syūmagŕbhe vi 36 2c (2T), and syúmaraśmi viii 52 2d (2D). See also § 174 i.

c12.s3.19

(vi) A long vowel appears more or less regularly when the second element is one of the words -vasu, -vŕdh, -vŕdha, -magha or -sah.

c12.s3.20

(a) -vasu. The preceding vowel is regularly long, often with other contributory causes: sahávasu ii 13 8a (6A) and puruvásu, when it also follows the caesura (see subsection iv), are only doubtful exceptions.

c12.s3.21

-vŕdh. A long vowel is found in annāvŕdh, ŕtāvŕdh, ŕduvŕdh, āhutívŕdh, girāvŕdh, ghŕtāvŕdh, tugriāvŕdh, parvatāvŕdh: but mahivŕdh, rayivŕdh are equally well attested. In x 75 8d (10) madhūvŕdh may be restored.

c12.s3.22

-vŕdha. The metre favours kavīvŕdhá viii 63 4a (6), but is unsupported.

c12.s3.23

(b) -magha. The preceding vowel is always lengthened, and therefore tuvimaghá v 33 6d (6A) should probably be corrected.

c12.s3.24

(c) -sah. The preceding vowel is regularly long, as in virāsáh (§ 178), yajñāsáh, carṣaṇīsáh: but short in nṛsáh, bhūriṣáh and a few other words.

c12.s3.25

Probably janasáh should be restored in i 54 11b (6A).

c12.s3.26

(vii) In the following compounds there is not sufficient evidence to establish the existence of a long final vowel, but the syllable in question appears with some regularity in ‘positions of protraction’:

c12.s3.27

devaví: the second syllable occurs six times in the position 2T, namely ix 74 5b, 97 26a, 104 2c, x 36 8b, 76 4d, 78 1b; six times in the positions 2T, 2D, and nine times in positions in which a short vowel is required. As to a possible reading devavíyam, etc., see § 172 i.

c12.s3.28

-ratha: tveṣáratha v 61 13b (2D), śrutáratha i 122 7c (2T), v 36 6d (2T), sarvarathá v 35 5c (2D), x 160 1b (2T), sukháratha v 30 1b (2T). In candráratha, surátha the short vowel is usually favoured.

c12.s3.29

vājasáni iii 51 2c (2T), ix 110 11c (2T), x 91 15c (2T).

c12.s3.30

-han: ahihánam i 117 9d (2T), 118 9b (2T), but ii 13 5b (6A), 19 3b (6A); vṛtrahánam i 121 12d (2T), iv 42 9d (2T), vi 16 14c (2D), 17 11d (2T), viii 38 2b (2D), but i 108 3b (6B). In dasyuhán the short vowel is usually favoured.

c12.s3.31

In the forms pávīru, pávīrava, pávīravat, tuvīráva, tuvīrávat there is no lengthening of i before r in a compound, but a stem development such as is found in gabhīrá, śárīra.

c12.s3.32

167. In compounds of which the prior element is a preposition or particle, with which may be considered certain combinations of prepositions with nouns and finite verbs, the phonetic character of the second element seems to be of chief importance. Thus (i) many prepositions appear to have long final syllables before -vṛta and some other words beginning with v: (ii) ápā is found in the combination ápā vṛdhi: (iii) abhí is occasionally supported by the metre in abhíyúj, and is found in the text in combinations such as abhí narāḥ, abhí navante, abhí ṣát: (iv) the negative a- is regularly long in āvṛta and frequently in áriṣṭa and cognate forms, and in ásat. There occur also (v) some other irregularities which cannot be classified.

c12.s3.33

All the prepositions and particles with which we are concerned have ordinarily short final vowels, so that the questions that arise have to do with occasional long quantity. Amongst the occurrences of prepositions are included such forms as ápo, úpo, sahó of the text, for the reasons given in § 171 iv.

c12.s3.34

(i) The compounds ápī-, abhí-, párī-, and prá-vṛta always occur where the long vowel is favoured, except vii 27 2d (6A); cf. ā-vṛta in subsection iv. In cognate words the value varies; thus nīvṛta, trivít and suvít are regular, but we find ápāvṛti viii 66 3c (10), abhívartá *x 174 1a (2D), ánapāvṛt vi 32 5c (8), x 89 3a (8), and should perhaps read ánīvṛta *iii 29 6c (10) and suvīvíta i 10 7a (2D).

First 180 of 373 passages. Read on

Linked texts (3)