Page:The history of the Bengali language (1920).pdf/308

286 'আমি কাড়িলাম' etc., are not in use; the forms in use are 'সে কেড়ে নিল,' 'আমি কেড়ে নিলাম,' etc.

The infinitives called 'অসমাপিকা' verbs formed by আ (= Pr. অ = S. য় and ত্বা), as করিয়া, ধরিয়া, ছাড়িয়া, etc., are identical with Prākṛta করিঅ, ধরিঅ, ছড্ডিঅ, etc.; as their later contracted forms করি, ধরি, ছাড়ি, etc., are only met with in Oriya literature, and the fuller early forms cannot be proved to have existed at any time in Oriya, we may presume that the forms as contracted on the soil of Bengal flowed into Orissa. In addition to the forms 'করি,' 'ধরি,' etc, we meet with 'করিণ,' 'ধরিণ,' etc., in use in the literature of Orissa and not in the common speech of the people; this exclusively literary ণ suffix of Oriya, is in existence in Marathi, but it is not from Marathi that Oriya borrowed it, since from the earliest known time, the use of this suffix is noticeable in Oriya literature. We do not exactly know, who those Marhattas are, who have been named in the Purāṇas, along with the wild hordes of the frontier of Bengal.

The adverbial use of the অসমাপিকা verbs in Eastern Vernaculars, including Bengali, is interesting. হেঁটে (i.e., হাঁটিয়া) is অসমাপিকা verb in such a sentence as 'আমি হেঁটে যাচ্চি,' but it is adverb, having the meaning "quickly" in the sentence "বেলা যাচ্চে, হেঁটে চল"; in some cases, 'করিয়া' being compounded with some adjectives or nouns, adverbs are formed, such as, 'ভাল করে পড়,' 'যত্ন করে রাখ,' 'বুদ্ধি করে কাজ কর,' etc.; করিয়া or করে referred to here, is identical with করিয়া which indicates instrumental case, as in হাতে করে ধর. A class of compounds similar in form is in use in the Burdwan Division, but the compounds of this class are adjectives and their final component 'করে' conveys the meaning 'মত' or like, as may be noticed in such phrases as 'রোগা করে লোকটি,' 'কাল করে মেয়েটি,' etc. It may also be noted here, that in the idiom of some Eastern Districts, for such