Page:Sanskrit Grammar by Whitney p1.djvu/117

 a. The dual is used alone (without two) properly when the duality of the objects indicated is well understood; thus,  the two Açvins;  Indra's two bays; but  he has two horses. But now and then the dual stands alone pregnantly: thus, one Veda or two or more than two;  two hundred and sixty-one.

266. Case. The cases are (including the vocative) eight: nominative, accusative, instrumental, dative, ablative, genitive, locative, and vocative.

a. The order in which they are here mentioned is that established for them by the Hindu grammarians, and accepted from these by Western scholars. The Hindu names of the cases are founded on this order: the nominative is called first, the accusative  second, the genitive  sixth (sc.  division, i.e. case), etc. The object sought in the arrangement is simply to set next to one another those cases which are to a greater or less extent, in one or another number, identical in form; and, putting the nominative first, as leading case, there is no other order by which that object could be attained. The vocative is not considered and named by the native grammarians as a case like the rest; in this work, it will be given in the singular (where alone it is ever distinguished from the nominative otherwise than by accent) at the end of the series of cases.

A compendious statement of the uses of the cases is given in the following paragraphs:

267. Uses of the Nominative. The nominative is the case of the subject of the sentence, and of any word qualifying the subject, whether attributively, in apposition, or as predicate.

268. One or two peculiar constructions call for notice:

a. A predicate nominative, instead of an objective predicate in the accusative, is used with middle verb-forms that signify regarding or calling one’s self: thus, (RV.) he thinks he has been drinking soma;  (AV.) he may regard himself as wise in ancient things;  (MS.) thou hast claimed to be a savior out of trouble;  (TS.) Indra pretending to be a Brahman;  (R.) thou boasted thyself truthful. Similarly with the phrase : thus, (TS.) taking on a black form (i.e. making shape for himself as one that is black).

b. A word made by (1102) logically predicate to an object is ordinarily nominative: thus,  (AV.) what they call the heavenly world:  (AB.) it they style  (MBh.) know me for the Vidarbha-king’s daughter, Damayantī by