Indian Antiquary Vol 60

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 24

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[ JANUARY, 1931
Telugu vêtsu (to become hot); vattu (to become dry); vādu (to cook). Klli bis (hot); vaja (to cook); vasa (to be dry); vehpa (to be hot); véva (to be
well cooked). Gôndi vahachana (to come to boiling point); varerdáná (to become dry); véand
(to cook); vattånd (to be dry). Kurukh basna (to boil); battna (to be dry); bi'inâ (to cook); bir (to be hot).
Brahui beghing (to knead); basing (to bake); barun (dry).
va or voor ve appears to be common to all these. What, if any, is the connection between this group and the purely vocalic bases pointed out above? To say that the latter might simply be the modified forms of the former (with the disappearance of initial - ) will be to deny to the ancient vocalic bases an independence and antiquity which are undoubted. ly their own on account of their widespread occurrence and ramified developments. I venture to consider, on the basis of analogies given below, that - here is either an attenuated vestige of an affix-word or the development of the on-glide o which very characteristically appears (usually before initial dorsal vowels including dorsal a [cf. for glides in connection with a, internal Sandhi in Tamil compounds like pala-(v)-ani) in south Dravidian and central Dravidian dialects. [Cf. Kittel's Kannada Dictionary, page 1369, Trench's Gôndi Grammar, page 5; and, further, compare the evaluation of Telugu forms like oka (one) as vaka, etc.)
Be the origin of this - what it may, a comparison of the following forms of Dravidian would be instructive, as they show the probable secondaryll character of the initial v- forms
Forms without - with more or less the
same meanings-- Tam. rarangu (to obey).
Tam. a rangu (to yield, submit). var-ai (mark).
» orai (to rub). South Dr. vari (paddy, rice).
ari. Telugu vādu (to cook).
, adu (to cook). Tamil valay (to wander, to be distressed). alay. Gôndi bôr (who).
► år (who). Tuļu vd, the Interrogative.
, Interr. base d. The introduction of this initial bilabial should have occurred at an anoient stage, having regard to the fact that these forms (semantically differentiated) appear in Tamil in the most ancient literary texts.
If, therefore, v- may be postulated as being of probable secondary origin in a number of words, the relationsbip of the bases ve-, ve-, 06. (mentioned above) to e-, æ-, a-illustrates the original and ancient character of the vocalio bases.
When now we return to the main topio of our discussion, we have to examine how far the form anal may be related directly to the vocalic bases meaning 'fire,'' heat,' light.'
al of anal is & purely Dravidian formative. For -, compare the following Tamil forms
nênal (heat, summer). punal (stream of flowing water). 18
11 Here again the forms with initial vowels could be dernonstrated to be original on grounds similar to thoge pointed out in footnote 15.
i od to be fit, possible) is an ancient Dr. base (probably doictic) from which vale (like), val (strong) may be derived. Cf. also Tam. balaklam (custom) and olukkam (flow).