A Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India v1.c7.136

v1.c7.136

§ 79. The compound letter ज्ञ = ज + ञ demands separate notice. It most frequently occurs in the verb ज्ञा "to know," and its numerous derivatives and compounds. Vararuchi has two rules on this subject. In iii. 5, he prescribes the regular course of assimilating the ञ, as in savvajjo, ingiajjo, for sarvajna, ingitajna.¹ The commentator adds that this process is followed in all compounds of jna, "to know"; but in this he is certainly wrong, as the next illustration shows. In iii. 44, the elision of the j is enjoined in all words having jn, and one at least of the instances is taken from the root jnâ,—they are जणो, विआण for yajna, vijnâna. Further on (iii. 55) he adduces सण्णा for sanjnâ, and directs that the n shall not be doubled when preceded by the preposition â, as in आणा, आणात्ती for âjnâ, âjnapti. From his xii. 7, it may be inferred that in the Sauraseni Prakrit, jn was inverted to ञ nj, and examples are given विञ्जो, जञ्जो for विज्ञ, यज्ञ, while in the next sûtra (xii. 8) the above-quoted words sarvajna, ingitajna, preserve the n and reject the j, becoming सव्वण्णो, इंगिअण्णो, instead of, as in Maharashtri, savvajjo, etc. Lastly, in viii. 23, we are told that this very root ज्ञा becomes जाण, as in जाणइ for जानाति "he knows"; this is nothing more than the usual substitution of ण for न, as in the special tenses in Sanskrit the form ज्ञा is substituted for ज्ञा, and the न is merely the conjugational sign of verbs of the krî class.