Introduction to Ardhamagadhi

Author(s): A M Ghatage
Publisher: School & College Book Stall

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INTRODUCTION TO ARDHA-MĀGADHI
(S. 55.
55 The usual method of treating the Sanskrit conjunct is called ASSIMILATION. It consists of two distinct operations; (i) the dropping of one of the two members of the conjunct and (ii) the doubling of the remaining consonant. Thus in the word 75, I, one of the two members of the conjunct is dropped and the remaining consonantot is doubled with the result 979. Here we say that pe has assimilated s. When the second member assimilates the first ( a = 1) it is called regressive, and when the first member assimilates the second (99 = ga ) it is called progressive.
Really speaking there is no conscious act of dropping of a member and the doubling of the remaining consonant. The speaker fails to make the necessary movements of the speech organs for the consonant which is weaker and only stresses the movements of the stronger consonant with the result that it becomes long. This is but natural when we consider that the syllabic quantity was of utmost importance to the Sanskrit speaker. Moreover the first mute of' a conjunct was only implosive and was followed by the explosion of the second member. This distinguishes the Indian conjuncts from the Iranian where the desire to preserve the articulation of both led to the spirantisation of the first (Sk. sapta, Per. haft). Both in Sanskrit (bhakta -v) and Prākrit (bhatta - ) the first syllable was closed, and throughout the course of development it was preserved at the cost of the place of articulation. In actual pronunciation bhakta was bhak/kta, wherein the second syllable t assimilated the k without its own explosion and when this tt was sufficient to preserve the quantity of the preceding syllable the first k or the mere implosive act of k was lost as being of no importance. So bhak/kta = bhak/tta = bhatta.
56 THE DOUBLING OF CONSONANTS. A few consonants like 7 or are incapable of being doubled. Of the others, the second and the fourth letters of the five Vargas are doubled by adding before them the first and the third letter