Page:Vedic Grammar.djvu/125

 IV. Nominal Stem Formation. Primary Nominal Derivation. 115

-aku : agent. 129. This very rare suffix seems to have been limited to the formation of agent nouns. It appears in mrday-aku- 'gracious' (formed from a causative stem), pfd-aku- (AV. VS.)' 'adder', iksv-aku-, N. of a man.

-ana : agent.

130. This suffix forms a middle participle^ from the present (455, 461, 4^7) 473) 479)) the perfect (493) and (in the form of -s-and) from the aorist tense stems (527). It also appears in the formation of a few adjectives and substantives, a preceding u always taking Guija. Such adjectives are: tdkav-ana- 'speeding' (beside tdk-u- and tdk-va-), bhrgav-ana- 'beaming' (beside bhfgu- m.), vdsav-ana- 'possessing wealth' (vdsu-), urdhva-s-and- 'being erect' (formed like an aorist participle from urdhvd- 'upright').

There are also the Proper Names dpnav-ana-, cydv-ana-, pfthav-ana-; also cydvat-ana- which looks as if formed by adding -ana to the active present participle stem of cyii- 'fall'. Of doubtful derivation are the substantives pdrs-ana- m. 'abyss' and ruj'ana-^ f. 'river' (i. 32*).

-/ : action and agent.

131. With this suffix are formed numerous feminine action nouns, agent nouns (adjectives and masculine substantives), and a few neuters of obscure etymology 5.

The root appears in various forms: sometimes with Guna, Virddhi or lengthened a, generally with unchanged or weak vowel, often reduplicated. Before the suffix a final radical palatal regularly appears (not the original guttural). In many of these derivatives the root is not traceable elsewhere. The accent is so fluctuating that no general rule can be stated. The meaning is often greatly specialised.

1. Examples of action nouns are: with Guna, rSp-i (AV.) 'pain', hc-i (AV.) 'heat'; with lengthened a: aj'-i- m. f. 'race', grdh-i- 'seizure', dhraj-i- 'course'; with unchanged vowel: san-i- 'gain'; with weak vowel: tvis-i- 'brilliance', krs-i- 'tillage', ri'tc-i- (AV.) 'brightness'.

2. Examples of agent nouns are: with Guna, ar-i- 'devout', arc-i- m. 'beam'; with Vrddhi, kirs-i (VS.) 'drawing'; with lengthened vowel -jani-^ f. 'wife', sar-i- f. 'arrow' (RV^), a kind of bird (VS. TS.), da?-i- (AV.) 'poisonous matter'; also in a few words of obscure etymology, drap-i- m. 'mantle', nabh-i- f. 'navel', pan-i- m. 'hand', ras-i- m. 'heap'; with unchanged vowel: h'ld-i- 'playing', granth-i- m. 'knot', mdh-i- 'great'; with weak vowel: siic-i- 'bright', grbh-i- (AV.) 'container', bhfm-i- 'lively' (beside bhrm-i- f. 'lively motion'). From the reduplicated root, which nearly always has a weak or reduced radical vowel, are formed with ordinary reduplicative vowel: ctkit-i-^ (SV.) 'understanding', cdkr-i- 'active', jdghr-i- 'sprinkling about' {ghr-), pdpr-i- 'bestowing abundantly', babhr-i- 'carrying', vavr-i- m. 'covering', sdsr-i- 'speeding', susv-i- 'pressing'; yuyudh-i- 'warlike', vivic-i- 'appropriating' {Yvyac-);

1 It occurs in the RV. only as the first member of a compound in pfdaku- sanu- 'having a surface like that of a snake'.

2 See Lindner p. 53 — 55.

3 apnana- seems to be an irregular present participle of o^- 'obtain' formed from the stem Sp-nd- instead of ap-nu-.

4 For this word occurring in the form of rujanas see p. 59, note '.

5 See Grassmann, Worterbuch r7l8f. ; Lindner p. 55—58.

6 At the end of compounds beside the independent jani:

7 Various reading for the cikit-t'i- of the RV.

8*