Page:Vedic Grammar.djvu/269

 VI. DECLENSION. NOUNS. VOWEL STEMS. 259 syllables, is thus removed by the use of -āv, except when u or u follows ². In the latter case the Samhitā text writes -ā u-³, e. g. ubhá upāmśú (x. 837), though the Pada always has -au u-. There are seven or eight passages of the RV. in which -a is written with hiatus before other vowels (a- i- o-), but those passages are all obscure or corrupt 5. a. About a dozen forms, occurring altogether some 20 times, shorten the dual -ā to a, mostly owing to the metre, but in a few instances against the metre. In the forms asura, aditya, deva, dhrta-vrata, mitra, varuṇa, indrā-varuṇa, mitrā-varuņa6 the Pada text has -ā; but in paura (v. 744) and vīra (vI. 6310) the short vowel appears in the Pada also. A similar shortening occurs in the first member of the dual compounds indră- vīyū (1. 24) and mitrā-rājānā (v. 62³). N. A. n. This form takes the normal ending -, which combines with the final -a of the stem to -e. It is made in the RV. from about 30 nominal stems. The vocative does not occur. Only seven of these n. forms are found more than once, sige 'two horns' being the commonest (5) ³. a. The n. nákta- 'night' is irregular in forming its du. N. as a m. in the compound ušāsā-náktā ‘dawn and night', in agreement with which a f. adjective is used, owing donbtless to the predominance of 'Dawn', in the combination. In II. 39*,, yugéva nábhyeva like two yokes, like two naves', though analyzed by the Pada as juga iva and nábhyā iva, must be explained as regular n. forms yugé and nábhye+va. I. D. Ab. Before the normal ending -bhyam 9 which forms these cases, the final -a of the stems is lengthened, e. g. násatyabhyām. In the RV. this form is made from only about a dozen nominal stems in the m. and three in the n. The cases can of course only be distinguished exegetically. I. m. kárṇābhyām (AV.) ‘ears', dámṣṭrābhyām (TS. AV.) ‘teeth', daksina- savyábhyam (AV.) 'right and left', dáśa-sakhabhyam 'having ten fingers', mitrá-váruṇābhyam, yuktábhyām 'yoked', vrīhi-yavábhyām (AV.) 'rice and barley', subhrábhyam 'shining', surya-candramásābhyam (AV.) ¹0 sun and moon', hástabhyam 'hands', haryatábhyam 'desirable'. - n. rk-samábhyam hymn and chant', ngabhyām (AV.). II D.m. tveṣabhyām 'violent', násatyabhyam 'truthful', nicirábhyam 'attentive'. Ab. m. ámsabhyām 'shoulders', kárṇabhyim. n. pārśvábhyām (AV.) G. L. These cases take the normal ending -os, between which and the stemy is inserted. In the RV. only eight nominal forms occur with the genitive sense, and twelve with the locative sense. One form, dhvasrayos (Ix. 583), seems to be used as an Ab. There are one or two others which anomalously drop the final -a of the stem, instead of inserting y, before the ending -os¹2 ¹ In two instances hiatus is removed by nasalization: upásthāṁ ¹ ékā (1. 356) and jánam ásamā (VI. 67¹). 2 There are 40 instances of this in the RV.; see LANMAN 575. 3 This is also the practice of the Brah-LANMAN 343. maņas; see AUFRECHT, AB. 427; cp. Sarvā- nukramaṇī, ed. MACDONELL, p. X. In the AV. (as in the later language) -āv u- is regularly written (except muská upávadhīt, XX. 1362). 4 See LANMAN 3414. 5 Except VIL 704 where devà óşadhişu (Pada devau) is written, o- being treated like u-, perhaps owing to its labial character. 6 See RPr. IV. 39, 40. 7 The shortening of the du. -ā at the end of odd Pādas before, occurring in four passages (II. 37; VI. 68²; -VIII. 66¹¹; x. 66¹³) is due to Sandhi; see 70. 8 These neuter duals are enumerated by read bhiam in two or three forms. 10 In this compound only the second dual takes the proper case-ending. 1¹ There are also the pronominal forms G.L.m. ayós, ubháyos, táyos, yáyos; táyos also as G. n. 12 Also the pronominal forms av-ós, en-is, -ós. Cp. LANMAN 344. 9 To 17*
 * sides', prá-padābhyām 'tips of the feet', máta-snabhyām certain internal organs.