A Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India v3.c19.4

v3.c19.4

§ 81. (1). Pronominal adverbs of time.—The near demonstrative is H. अब, G. हवे, M. व्हळां, O. एबे. All these hang together, and are apparently compounds of the Skr. वेला “time,” with the type of the demonstrative अ, इ, or ए. The fuller form in O. shows this, it is एते बेळे, which is clearly the locative case of a masculine बेल, literally, “in so much time.” G. has prefixed a ह, but many words in G. may be indifferently written with ह or अ; there is, therefore, nothing organic about this letter when met with in this connection. In M. व्हळां also the ह seems to be somewhat anomalous. There are also, however, many other forms for “now” in the various languages, which appear to be unconnected with वेला.