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PREPOSITIONS IN AŚVAGHOŞÁ
Satya Vrat
Whether prepositions are invested with any meanings of their own or they merely indicate the meanings latent in the roots is an old controversy dating back to the pre-Yāska era. As unlike nouns and verbs prepositions are never used independently. They are presumed to have no function beyond bringing out the different shades of meanings of the roots which they themselves are capable to denote but, as a matter of usage, do it with certain set upasargas To be sure, this is their main function and they perform it in full measure. When a large corpus of roots is found to convey by themselves the sense which they are supposed to yield with certain prepositions only, apasargas cannot be legitimately claimed to be impregnated with various layers of meanings which are transmitted to the roots they coalesce with. This function of the prepositions is poetically emphasised by Māgha in the following verse :
सन्तमेव चिरमप्रकृतत्वादप्रकाशितमदिद्युतदंगे । fasa #2: hajat atmaya GATA 11 X. 15.
This however is a half truth. There is an equally sizable mass of Sanskrit roots which are incapable of conveying the fine nuances unless they are conjoined with prepositions prescribed by grammar or usage. 19,
F41, 24, 36, 37, ie, to mention a few, cannot themselves express what they do with वि, प्र, वि, वि, अप् and वि respectively. The meanings these roots denote with the above-mentioned upasargas are poles apart from those expressed without them. What precisely imparts them fresh meanings ? Surely, the prepositions. Then, there are roots which though sanctioned by grammar are never used without upasargas even in their primitive sense. , to wit, by itself means 'to study' ( 53 375777 ) but is invariably employed with
safe to denote it. Its use without fe is simply unimaginable. This is precisely the phenomenon Kālidāsa has hinted in the well-known verse from Raghuvamsa.
रामादेशादनुगता सेना तस्यार्थसिद्धये ।
92417527a1jeg aarafianza 11 XV. 9. The case of me is inore illuminating. The dhatupatha prescribes its