Some Topics in the Development of OIA MIA NIA

Author(s): H C Bhayani
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 19

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3. -s- aspirated the preceding stop see more on this change in the present volume.
Hence -g
> gh-.
These changes would yield the form ghimsa
ghimsu as a locative form can be accounted as follows. gimhâsu ‘during summer' (like vāsāsu ‘during rains') frequently occurs in canonical texts. (e.g. at Dasaveāliya (3,12) gimhesu (v.l. gimhāsu. Agastyasimha's Curni), hemamtesu. -vāsāsu, Pali also has the plural form gimhāņa 'summer'. Accordingly we can assume a locative plural form ghimsāsu which can possibly yield ghimsu through the haplological loss of the first -s-, although it would rather require a collocation -sasu instead of -sāsu. If following Turner we assume a stem griṣman- (after heman-, usman) (CDIAL 4391), its locative plural gris-masu' changed to ghimsasu can give ghimsu.
In ghim-sisira-vase, ghim probably appeared for ghimsa due to haplology or scribal error.
Note
Colette Caillat has discussed in detail the etymology of AMg. ghimsu, taking the earlier views into consideration. The present at-tempt aims at defending on phonological ground the traditional equating of ghimsu with grisme.
1. Vedic ghramsa 'heat' of the sun, Ardhamāgadhi ghimsu burning heat', Jaina Mahāraştri ghim- 'hot season', ABORI, 68, 1987,
55-557.