Wilson Philological Lectures on Sanskrit and the Derived Languages c9.153

c9.153

Under the head of assimilation the first characteristic vowel change observable in the Pâli and the Prâkṛits which we have to notice is that of the Sanskrit ऐ and औ to ए and ओ. Most of the nouns having ऐ and औ are in Sanskrit attributives formed from other nouns, and as these are formed in other ways in our languages we cannot expect to find many instances of them. Still there are a good many, and enough to show that our vernaculars have inherited these Pâli and Prâkṛit transformations of the Sanskrit ऐ and औ. Thus:—