Wilson Philological Lectures on Sanskrit and the Derived Languages c7.42

c7.42

The Pâli has lost the dual, and also the dative and ablative cases, except of masculine and neuter nouns ending in अ.∗ The only occasion when the first is ordinarily used is when ‘giving’ is expressed, but the genitive case has such a comprehensive signification in Sanskrit that it denotes the dative relation also, and is often used in that sense. Most of the relations expressed by the ablative are denoted by the instrumental, and for the expression of the peculiar ablative sense, viz., the separation of one thing from another, the particle तम् had come into very general use, even in the parent language. The genitive and instrumental thus took up the place of those two cases. But people do not forget what they have frequent occasion to use. The great majority of nouns in Sanskrit end in अ, and of these the singular is oftener used than the plural. Hence the singulars of the dative and ablative of these nouns are preserved in the Pâli, notwithstanding the operation of the causes that drove away these cases from other places. The म् of the termination of the instrumental plural is optionally changed to ह. The locative singular of masculine and neuter nouns ending in a vowel is formed by adding the pronominal termination स्मिन्, phonetically changed to स्मि and म्हि; and the ablative स्मात् in the form of स्मा or म्हा is used optionally in the case of nouns in अ. The termination स्य of the genitive singular of this class of nouns is generalized, and in the form ofस्स applied to all nouns of the masculine and neuter genders. It should be remembered that in accordance with the general rule, the Sanskrit grammatical forms drop the final consonant, including a visarga, in passing into the Pâli. The nasal म् is changed to an anusvâra, and since this, like a conjunct consonant, necessitates the rapid utterance of the preceding vowel and renders it heavy, the vowel is shortened. We have thus नं for नाम्, सं for स्याम्, यं for याम्, &c. The न् of स्मिन् and of the syllable अन् occurring in some of the cases is also changed to an anusvâra.