Wilson Philological Lectures on Sanskrit and the Derived Languages c8.58

c8.58

The Prâkṛits sometimes change a labial to the nasal of its class as in नीम for नीप, आमेल for आपीड, कमन्ध for कबन्ध, नीमि for नीवि, समर for शबर, and सिमण for स्वप्न. These are optional changes; the forms of the words with व or ब instead of म also existing. Though the change involves softening, since a portion of the breath is sent through the nose and the force of the contact weakened, it must be attributed to a tendency to speak through the nose. Similarly, they introduced an anusvâra into words which did not originally contain it; where also the breath was discharged through the mouth as well as the nose. In this manner, वक्र became वंक; अश्रु, अंसु; इमश्रु, मंसु; स्पर्श, फंस; पुच्छ, पुंछ; मूर्धा, मुंधा; बुध्न, बुंध; दर्शन, दंसण; वृश्चिक, विंछुअ; मार्जार, मंजार; प्रतिश्रुत, पडंसुआ, &c. The last syllable of the absolutive termination ऊण and of the case endings एण and एसु is also sometimes nasalised, as in काऊणं or काऊण for कृत्वा, and वच्छेणं or ण and वच्छेसुं or सु for वृक्षेण and वृक्षेपु. On the other hand, the existing anusvâra of a few words is dropped, probably from a feeling that its existence in those words was due to a mistake and from a desire to correct it. Thus we have मास or मंस for मांस, कास or कंस for कांस्य, पासु or पंसु for पांसु, दाणि or दाणिं for इदानीं, and णं or ण as the termination of the gen. pl. The letter ल is, in a few cases optionally, sometimes necessarily, transformed into ण, as in णाहल or लाहल, णङ्गल or लङ्गल, णङ्गल or लङ्गल, and णडाल or णिडाल, for लाहल, लाङ्गल, लाङ्गल, and ललाट. In the last instance द is softened and made to exchange its place with the second ल, and the अ of ण becomes इ optionally. This also points to the Prâkṛit characteristic of speaking through the nose.