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CHAPTER SIX
SANDHI
129 The observance of Sandhi rules in Ardha-Magadhi is not so strict and consistent 'as in Sanskrit. Two vowels can, in this language, come together and remain without combining. Hiatus or the presence of two vowels without forming Sandhi occurs in the body of a word or between two words in a sentence. Nearly in all cases Sandhi is optional. In practice, however, it is usually observed in a compound and in groups of words forming one phrase in a sentence.
The phenomenon of Sandhi in Classical Sanskrit does not reflect the real nature of the language. but the influence of grammatical theory on the literary aspect of a language. Even grammarians admit that samhita is optional and dependent on the will of the speaker. The Vedic texts show, on metrical consideration, that the writing does not show in all respects the real sounds of the language and in many cases the written Sandhi must not be present originally. In few words like titaü we find hiatus in the body of a word.
VOWEL SANDHI
130 Sandhi is forbidden in the following cases:
(i) A vowel left behind by the dropping of a medial consonant does not combine with another : यति- जइ an ascetic ; मृदुक = मउय soft; ऋतु उउ season ; रिपु- रिउ enemy ; वियोग = विओग separation.
