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260
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[DECEMBER, 1915
In the languages of India proper, when a Prakrit word contained a double letter, this letter is either retained unchanged, or else reduced to a single letter with a lengthening of the preceding vowel in compensation. Thus, the Pr. bhatta-, boiled rice, becomes the Panjabi bhatt, and the H. bhdt. But in Ksh., and in Lahnda and Sindhî (two languages much subjected to Pisacha influence), the vowel is not lengthened, although the double consonant is reduoed to a single one. Thus, the same Sanskrit word becomes bhatu in Sindhi and bata in Ksh. It also, perhaps, reappears in the Beh. bita, meat. The following table gives further examples of the same law :
Sanskrit.
Apabhratsa
Prakrit.
Panjabi.
Lahnda.
Sindhi
Kashmiri.
Western Hindt.
dao
daba uchcha sachcha
dablu uchs заслын richhu
Jábh acha sách or vaoh richh
sadd
sada
مفه
duddh
dod
darbhal, a kind of dabbhu or dabdabbh grass.
bhu. uchchakah, high. uchchad
uchcha satyah, true.
sachchu sachch pikaha), a bear. richchhu . richchh tabdah, a sound.
saddu
sadd dugdham, milk. duiddhes duddh agrd, before.
agge adya, to-day. ajjt
aji chakram, a wheel. chaklou
chakk tarhayati, he ascertains. takkti
takkfushlakah, dry. sukkhau mukha karma, an action. kammt
kamm
dada aga
aggali
aggd aj chakk
adudhw aggt laj
chak
takk
tal
tak.
miks
kamm
kama
kam
hökha köms (ex
ceptional long vowel). cham
chamm
chama
cham
chamm kann
kann
kan
kan
sapp
sapp
гарч Sao
aasa
hash
charma, skin.
chammes karnah, an ear. kanal sarpah, & snake. sappu Suadrad, mother-in-law. and bhakam, boiled rice. bhathu rakalah, red.
rattal karlayati, he cute. latti hastal, a hand.
hatthus Prishtham, the back. pitthu, puthu
bhatt
4o.
bhatu
bata
bhat
ratta
ratt, blood
rada
rato kat.
kat hatth
rat-, blood katatha
hatth
la thu
hath
| puthi
pijt
pith
The above table shows how regularly the law applies to Kashmiri, and I here quote a few examples from Beh, in order to show how typical this is of the Pikacha languages generally Pr. uchcha-, high, H. Icha, but Beh, ucha-sth, to raise ; Pr. chamma-, skin, H. châm, Beh. cham; Pr. kaftei, he cuts, H. kate, but Beh. kata, a knife; Pr. pilthi, the back, H. pith, Beh. pti (for piti). Similarly for the other Pikacha languages. We thus see that, in this respect Kashmiri is in entire agreement with Pikacha, and differs from the languages of India proper.
