Nalrayavadanti Charita

Author(s): Ernest Bender
Publisher: American Philosophical Society

Page 43

VOL. 40, PT. 4, 1950]
GRAMMAR: NOTES ON SYNTAX
1. Expansions of Basic Elements 1. Subject.
The subject of a sentence is a nominal form (noun, pronoun, or infinitive) with nominative case-suffixes.
padahau 103 vājai kima vina damda (112) 'how can a drum make sound without [being beaten by] a stick?'
tujha piya nişadha hum (204) 'I am your father, Nişadha'
mujha pani jäevaum hoi täsa-sathiim (253) 'I must go, then, with him' (lit., 'to me, then, going with him is')
Attributes of the subject can be adjectives, participles and postpositional phrases, agreeing with it in gender, number and case, nominal forms with genitive suffixes, or clauses, 104
nişadha-tanu namdana jethau... (73)
'this is the elder son of [King] Nişadha' ...savi bhūpāla gahagahamta... avaim mamḍapa-mahi... (53) all the delighted monarchs entered the pavilion' lahalahamta dhaja ravi aphalaim (49) 'the fluttering banner flapped in the sunlight' sura tuṭhau dii vara tava bhimi (172) 'the delighted god then gave Davadanti a boon'
ulārā pura-bāhiri ghana bhimi karāvyā rāyaham-taṇā (44) 'many camps were caused to be erected outside the city for (lit., of) the kings by Bhima'
sakala desa-nä ävaim raya (50) 'the kings of all the countries came'
tau sayali jagi tumha kitti palamba (111) 'then, your (lit., of you) fame would extend throughout the whole world'
Words and clauses 105 can occur in apposition with the subject, the words being the same as those which occur in the function of subject (i.e., nouns, pronouns, adjectives and infinitives). These, which bear nominative suffixes, can, in turn, be expanded by the addi
tion of attributives.
raja karaim tihim bhimaratha răurauta sīma (31) 'in that place ruled Bhimaratha, the acme of kings'
103 The pertinent sections of the examples are underlined to facilitate recognition.
104 For examples of these see under III (Examples of Complex Sentences).
105 See fn. 103.
303
... putti davadamti jovanavai gahagahi... (43) '[my] daughter, Davadanti, has achieved youth'
nala püchiu mamtri bhanai... (110) 'questioned by Nala, the minister said...
valatau nişadha namdana bolai... (80) 'turning, the son of Nişadha spoke. . .
2. Predicate.
The verbal element of the predicate agrees with the subject in person and number. It may be replaced by a "verb-compound" or a "compound-tense." 106
A "verb-compound" consists of two forms functioning as a single verb, the first being a conjunctive participle, the second a verbal form. It can be replaced by one verb, i.e., the first. A limited number of verbs occur as the second member of such compounds. The first member of such verb-clusters always describes the action; the second modifies the first (i.e., emphasizes the action, indicates the action extends over a period of time, etc.). It is very difficult at this stage of the language (and, especially, in poetry where the requirements of meter and rhyme separate the elements of a compound, sometimes causing the conjunctive participle to occur after the verb) to distinguish such clusters from sequences consisting of conjunctive participle and verb in which each describes an action, the conjunctive participle modifying the verb. 107
punyaim bhavathi bhaji jai (303) 'trouble
is destroyed through punya'
hum chaum tujha-pāsi āviu hiva jāum nahim nāsi (232) 'I have come back to you now. I will not run away.'
A "compound-tense" consists of two verbal forms, each in the present indicative. The second verb is always ch-, 'be.' There are very few occurrences in the manuscripts of such clusters. Other combinations, consisting of participles (present, past or gerundive) and the verb, ch-, rather than under this classification, are listed under the predicate of the sub-class of narrative sentences in which the verb is replaced by ch- and a predicate complement (here, a participial form). Furthermore, examples of participial forms occurring as the second member of a sentence are listed under equational sentences.
hum videsi jāum achaum (168) 'I am going [to wander] in foreign lands'
... tumhi bolau chau... (268) 'you say'
106 Cf. Kellogg, 1938: §§ 425-534; Taylor, 1944: §§ 124-126; Tessitori, 1914-1916: § 118; Vale, 1948: and the review of it in Jour. Amer. Orient. Soc. 69, (2): 106-108, 1949.
107 See, following, under conjunctive participial phrases functioning as adverbs.