Indian Antiquary Vol 52

SR No.: 032544
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Richard Carnac Temple, Stephen Meredyth Edwardes, Krishnaswami Aiyangar
Publisher: Swati Publications
Publication Year: 1985
Total Pages: 568
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 24 MB

Page 87

APRIL, 1923 ) DECLENSION OF THE NOUN IN THE RAMAYAN OF TULSIDAS
75
$ 20. Bases which ended in short vowels in the language of the Râmîyan have become consonantic in Modern Awadhi owing to the loss of the final short vowel, e.g., púta : mit, phala : phal : bipati : bipat, sôru : 8ôr. When the pronunciation is slack, however. e. and are heard after the last consonant, which connect the forms with their parents. Bases in long vowols, however, seem to subsist intact, e.g, dóha, kirá, châti, chahi, nda !
The Oblique Case. $ 21. Cases which express concrete relations have a tendency to disappear in all IndoEuropean languages. Use of alternative cases appears in Sanskrit literature as early as some of the earliest Brahmanas. At the Prakrit stage some cases and case-forms entirely die out and by the time of Apabhramsa case-relations become still more confused. By the time of Tulsidas there was established one general case-the oblique-which answered for all concrete or indirect cases. The direct case, with the aid of post-positions, also sometimes expressed these relations.
Oblique Singular. & 22. The oblique singular of the Râmâyan which ends in -hi or hi goes back to the instrumental plural and is based on the Apabhramsa termination - him, e.g., puttahim. Nasalisation is very unstable in Indian languages, m becomes and finally disappears. This -him goes back to the Sanskrit termination -bhis of the instrumental plural.
The alternative oblique singular in -e also seems to be based on the ancient instrumental plural, though on the alternative form in -aih (putraih). This alternative was mostly applied to bases in -a, the predeo nors of the masculine bases of the Ramayan in -a and -a.
The instrumental tends to be confounded very early with the dative, the ablative, the genitive, and the locative.
The post-positions kéra, kéri, kéré, based on karya or some such word10 and lagi (Sans krit. Lagyaté) which are generally used after the oblique, can be used both with the genitive and the instrumental.
$ 23. An objection which may be put forward against this derivation of the oblique singular, is that a plural ford has been invoked for tracing the development of the singular. It should, however, be noted that by the time of the Râmâyan the whole ancient system was in pieces and quite a new system was evolved from the remains of the ancient. Moreover, the instrumental singular (puttt) was liable to be confused with the nominative (puttu) and the locative (putti), so recourse was had to some -hi form to make the general oblique.
$ 24. The development of the pronouns in Prakrit 11 generally leads to the same conclusion, e.g., mai < Prakrit maê (instrumental singular), tui < Prakrit tué (instrumental singular), hamahi samhéhim (instrumental plural), tumhahi < tumhëhim, (instrumental plural), tehi (oblique singular) <tēhim (instrumental plural), tahi (oblique singular) < tahim instrumental plural), kehi < kehim, kdhi < kdhim.
$ 25. The oblique singular may also be derived from Apabhraisa locative singular (puttahi), in which case there would be no need of having recourse to the plural, but the general development of the pronouns does not agree with this derivation.
Vide Dr. Bloch, La Formation de la Longue Marathe, 1920, (roferred to in this paper simply as Dr. Bloch), p. 181, $ 183.
Vide Woolner, Introduction to Pralrif, p. 67.
"afistavyavandre dagar praydol caturthyarthe trtiyd" -The Vdrlika Oommenkry on Panini. + Pånini's Afddhydyt, IL 3. 26, II. 3. 32, II. 3. 33, IL. 3. 35. • Ibid., IL 3. 27, IL 3. 69, IL. 3. 71, 11. 3. 72.
• Ibid., II. 3. 44, IL 3. 45. 10 Vide Woolner, Introduction to Prakrit, p. 28.
11 Ibid., pp. 38-40.