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INTRODUCTION
55
are careful in marking the Anunāsika. In naim, ņāim, sahum, nahim and ņāhim the nasalisation is inorganic. Nevertheless both the good Mss. of the Paümacariu have it and hence I have standardized the spelling of these words.
$12. Hemacandra takes note of the enlarged A. stems being nasalized at the end in the Nominative singular (HC. IV 354). Regarding this feature none of the three Mss. shows any pronounced tendency. They are indescriminate in nasalizing the final vowel of the vocables. Many extended neuter Nominatives are not nasalized. On the other hand we find numerous corresponding masculine forms nasalized on the final at random. But there are other indications to show that the Mss. are quite indifferent in nasalizing the ending syllable. -hi forming a part of stem is at times nasalized, as if it were the Instrumental Locative ending. So also -hu of the forms from stems ending in -ha. Similarly -ai at the end of pres. 3. person sing. forms or at the end of stems is confused with neuter plural Nominative/accusative in aim. By way of examples can be cited piyāmahum, vammahum, muhum, bhaim from P., and dunduhim, unnaim, dharaim, haraim from S. Even the Instr. sing, form of masc./neut. A stems which has an Anusvāra on the final syllable, is casually written without the sign of nasalization (niurumbe, bimbe, āe, nivisaddhe, samudde).. Because of this state of affairs, I have not admitted the neut. forms in -aum as authentic. But they have been recorded in the critical notes throughout
4. Ya-śruti and Va-śruti $13. Apabhrarnsa Mss. like Prakrit Mss. are quite careless in writing the ya-śruti. Our Mss. P. and S. have a tendency not to insert y betwees a or u and a following vowel. In these cases I have accepted the spelling without the ya-śruti if it is supported by even one Ms. If all the Mss. have y, I have accepted the spelling with the ya-śruti. In one or two stray stems like pari-añcapari-atta-, I have followed the practice of the Mss. For the rest, ya-śruti is consistently shown as filling an intervocalic hiatus.
$14. Va-śruti appears to be characteristic of Apabhramśa. With regard to it also the Mss. have the least claim to regularity or consistency. It appears at random between u and a or even between any two vowels. Whenever any one Ms. spells a vocable with the va-śruti, I have accepted, that spelling in the constituted text. For examples see $31.
5. Initial n- and Medial -nn$15. Some Prakrit Mss. follow the practice of using n in the ini. tial position, nn in the medial position and n for the rest. But many Apabhramba Mss. do not known at all. They have n or nn under all conditions. Among our three Mss. P. (and A. to a lesser degree) exhibits a slight tendency of spelling with an n- or medial -non-. In the constituted text dental n is strictly eschewed.
6. b and b bh. $16. Many Apabhramśa Mss. use v for both v and b, and as a corollary to this practice they always write vbh for bbh. The Mss. of PC. have b only once in a thousand. Hence the former practice is adopted in the constituted text, but vbh being a phonetic absurdity, it has been given as bbh throughout.
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