Page:Sanskrit Grammar by Whitney p1.djvu/137

 concerned, a unity with the vocative: thus (all the examples from RV.), at the beginning of a, with first syllable of the combination accented, O brother Indra!  O king Soma!  most youthful messenger!  most youthful skilled officer!  mighty son of strength! — in the interior of a , without accent,  the somas, O song-loving Indra!  ye, O Açvins of propitious and beautiful hands!  hither, ye two kingly guardians of great order!

e. On the other hand, two or more independent or coördinate vocatives at the beginning of a are regularly and usually both accented: thus,  ''O father! O mother! Agni! Indra! Varuṇa! Mitra! gods! thou of a hundred aids! of a hundred arts! best, bright, shining, cleansing one!  son of strength, propitiously bright one!'' But the texts offer occasional irregular exceptions both to this and to the preceding rule.

f. For brevity, the vocative dual and plural will be given in the paradigms below along with the nominative, without taking the trouble to specify in each instance that, if the latter be accented elsewhere than on the first syllable, the accent of the vocative is different.

315. As regards the other cases, rules for change of accent in declension have to do only with monosyllables and with stems of more than one syllable which are accented on the final; for, if a stem be accented on the penult, or any other syllable further back — as is, , , , — the accent remains upon that syllable through the whole inflection (except in the vocative, as explained in the preceding paragraph).

a. The only exceptions are a few numeral stems: see 483.

316. Stems accented on the final (including monosyllables) are subject to variation of accent in declension chiefly in virtue of the fact that some of the endings have, while others have not, or have in less degree, a tendency themselves to take the accent. Thus:

a. The endings of nominative and accusative singular and dual and of the nominative plural (that is to say, of the strong cases: 311) have no tendency to take the accent away from the stem, and are therefore only accented when a final vowel of the stem and the vowel of the ending are blended together into a single vowel or diphthong. Thus, from come  (=  + ) and  (=  + ); but from  come  (=  + ) and  (=  + ).

b. All the other endings sometimes take the accent; but those beginning with a vowel (i.e. of the weakest cases: 311) do so more readily than those beginning with a consonant (i.e. of the middle cases: 311). Thus, from come  and ; from, however, come  but.