Indian Antiquary Vol 62

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

Page 317

JUNE, 1933]
[§§ 278-280
The second of these is, of course, a doubtful example of th. In the first example, the conjunct is treated as if it were rr or ll.
CONJUNCT CONSONANTS
278. (1, d.) Magadhi Pr. conjuncts. These can be expected only in EIAVS., and only sporadic instances have survived. In writing in the Kaithi character in B. st and sth are represented by st, th, respectively. Thus, drsta is written drist. According to Hc.. in Mg.Pr. a Skr. or Sr.Pr. # is represented by st. This is not the case in the eastern literary languages, but I have now and then heard an ignorant villager in the more inaccessible parts of Magadha, pronounce the very common word patță, a lease, pasta.' This is an interesting survival. It is difficult to get other examples, for it is considered so extremely vulgar, that, speaking to an official like me, the speaker always either at once corrects himself, or is corrected by the bystanders, and then becomes so ashamed of himself that no further philological information can be obtained from him.
The Skr. word grhasthaḥ, and its derivatives is pronounced girhast in B., and is commonly written girhast or gṛhast.
I know of no other examples, unless we may cite the tendency exhibited by Bg.0.A. and M: (which often shows Mg.Pr. forms) to represent a Skr. st by t and not by th (Skr. st > Sr.Pr. tth, but in Mg.Pr. > st), as in Bg.A.O.M. hat, a hand (not huth, as in H., &c.); M. hátti, Bg.O. háti, A. ha'ti, an elephant; but H., &c., hathi.
279. (1, e) Mg.Pr. yc, yj. These are only methods of writing c and j, employed by Mk. in order to show that they are clearly pronounced as palatals (Grierson, JRAS, 1913, 391 ff.). At the present day the EIAV. palatals are more distinctly and truly palatal than those of the West and South (Hl.Gḍ.Gr. 7 ff.). Hc. (iv, 292, cf. Pr.Gr, § 236) and the older grammarians represent this yj by y, and are silent about yc (cf. however Pr.Gr., § 217). This is best explained by the fact that Mk. belonged to Eastern India, the home of Mg. Pr., while Hc. belonged to the West. Mk.'s evidence regarding Mg.Pr. cannot be lightly disregarded.
280. (2) Apabhramsa retention of r. This retention of r in conjuncts has also survived sporadically in IAV., as in:
Skr.
prákataḥ, manifest
mitraḥ, a friend trayaḥ, three
Ap. prágatu (Hc. iv, 398)
Numerous other cases such as JAV. priya, beloved, can be cited, but it is always possible to explain them as Tss. The above is the only certain example for IAVS. generally, but, for Old Western Rajasthani, Tessitori (OWR.Gr., § 31) gives several examples, such as grahaï, he takes; trinni, three; trutai, he is broken; prāmai (prâpnoti), he obtains.
kgetram, a field
This retention of r is very common in Sindhi (S.Gr. xxxviii), Lahnda, and in Dardic (cf. § 286, 2). It is noteworthy that in the Vracada Ap. of Sindh (Mk. xviii, 4), the r of a conjunct consonant was always retained. In S. the accompanying dental consonant is generally cerebralized. Thus :
pútraḥ, a son
ptru (Ho. iv, 398)
mitru
IAV. prágat or páregat, M.H.B. also prághat or pár ghat, S. pára ghat".
khetru
131
S. pútru or púttu, L. putr, Wai, piutr, Kl. putr, Bš. putr, pitr.
S. mitr" or mittu, Kš. metr-.
S. tre, L. trae, Bš.Kl.Ks. treh, Wai. tre,
Kh. troi, S. çei, Gwr. Ole, Pas. hlē, hla.
S. Khetru, L. khelar.