Wilson Philological Lectures on Sanskrit and the Derived Languages c8.42

c8.42

From these extracts you will observe that phonetic decay has made greater progress in these dialects than in the one we have examined. The changes in the Pâli are, with a few exceptions, such as may be attributed to the circumstances and vocal peculiarities of a foreign race. But in the Prâkṛits the usual processes of corruption have a wider range of operation; though even here we shall, as we proceed, find it necessary to ascribe a good deal to an ethnological cause. And first as regards the phonetic transformations which we have noticed in the Pâli, I have to observe that Prâkṛits also exhibit the same with but slight differences. The vowel ऋ is changed to अ as in घअ, तण, मअ, &c. for घृत, तृण, मृग, &c.; to इ as in किवा, हिअअ, किस, &c. for कृपा, हृदय, कृश, &c.; to उ as in पुहई, पाउस, बुढ, &c., for पृथिवी, प्रावृष्, वृद्ध, &c. When standing alone it is more often changed to रि than in Pâli; as in रिद्धी and रिच्छ for ऋद्धि and ऋक्ष; रिण or अण, रिजू or उज्जू, &c., for ऋण, ऋजु, &c., while the Pâli forms of these words are इद्धि, अच्छ, अण and उज्जु. The diphthongs ऐ and औ are as in Pâli changed to ए and ओ, as in केलास, वेज्ज, केदव, &c. for कैलास, वैद्य, कैटभ, &c.; and in जोव्वण, कोमुई, कोत्युह &c., for यौवन, कौमुदी, कौस्तुभ, &c.; but in a good many instances they are dissolved into their elements अइ and अउ, as in दइच्च, भइरव, दइवअ, सइर, &c., for दैत्य, भैरव, दैवत, स्वैर, &c., and पउर, कउसल, सउह, मउली, &c., for पौर, कौशल, सौध, मौलि, &c. This change resembles the dissolution of conjunct consonants into the different members, and like it is due to a weak or languid way of pronunciation. In ऐ and औ the first element or अ is rapidly pronounced, and the temporal value assigned to it by the authors of the Prâtiśâkhyas is, you will remember, half a mâtrâ, while in the Prâkṛit transformations it is one mâtrâ. The long vowels are, as in Pâli, shortened when followed by double consonants; and there is the same or even stronger evidence of the existence of short ए and ओ. In Pâli short इ and उ followed by a conjunct are in certain cases changed to ए and ओ, and from that fact we inferred that they were short. Here in a great many more cases when so followed, short इ is optionally interchangeable with ए, and short उ is necessarily replaced by ओ, as in पिण्ड or पेण्ड, पिठ् or पेठ्, निद्दा or नेद्दा, &c., and तोण्ड, मोण्ड, पोक्खर, &c., for पिण्ड, पिष्ट, निद्रा, तुण्ड, मुण्ड, पुष्कर, &c. In several cases ए not followed by a conjunct is optionally changed to इ, as in विअणा or वेअणा for वेदना, दिअर or देअर for देवर, &c.