ri, r, or sh, in the same word, the nasal must be written in the cerebral form n, even though k, g, p, b (or their aspirates), h, y, v, or m, should intervene. Thus, the English word carbonic would be written in the Sanscrit character thus, fu; and the accusative case of ब्रह्महन् is ब्रह्महणं; and the nominative plural of वर्मन् is वर्माणि; and the imperative mood of क्षिप, क्षिपाणि. * But the intervention of a dental, palatal, or cerebral, or of any letter whatever, if compounded with the nasal, prevents the operation of this rule, and requires the dental n to follow. Thus, the instrumental case of शृगाल is शृगालेन; the nominative plural of वर्त्मन्, f; and in further illustration of the same law, may be taken the words सर्जनं, क्रीडनं प्राप्नोति, राज्ञा. Changes of final m. 22. If the letter m end a word when the next begins with any consonant, it may be represented by Anuswara (); or it may, optionally, before those consonants which have a corresponding nasal, be changed to this corresponding nasal. Thus, griham gachchhati is written either गृहं गच्छति or गृहङ्गच्छति . म् 23. When the next word begins with a vowel, the letter is always written. Thus, griham apnoti, чfa. CHANGES OF VISARGAH OR FINAL h. Almost every nominative case, and nearly half the remaining cases of nouns in Sanscrit, besides many persons of the verb, end in Visargah (:), or the symbol used to denote the aspirate when final. And this final is liable to remain unchanged, to be changed to s, to sh, to o, to r, or to be dropped altogether, according to the nature of the initial letter following. At every step, therefore, these changes will meet the student's eye. Therefore let him master the following five rules before he attempts to read a single sentence of Sanscrit, or he can never hope to make any real progress in the acquirement of this language. * The letter is, properly, a compound of क् k and प् sh; although, in this Grammar, it is considered as a simple letter, and represented by ksh. RULE A. WHEN IS VISARGAH OR FINAL h UNCHANGED? 24. a. Before k, p (and their aspirates), and before the sibilants b. 25. a. स् 8, श् 8/. Before a pause, i.e. at the end of a sentence, or when a word stands by itself. RULE B. .—WHEN IS VISARGAH CHANGED TOS AND श् sh? Before (and its aspirate) it is changed to the dental sibilant s; before ch (and its aspirate), to the palatal sibilant sh.* b. Also in some books, before the sibilants,, Visargah is allowed to assimilate with these letters. RULE C.—WHEN IS VISARGAH CHANGED TO 0? Final ah is changed to o before all sonant consonants. b. Also before short a (this a being then cut off). 26. a. 27. a. RULE D. WHEN IS VISARgah changed To r? Ih, ih, uh, uh, eh, aih, oh, auh, before any sonant (consonant or vowel), change the final h to r; b. Unless itself be the sonant following, in which case, to avoid the coalition of two r's, final h is dropped, and the vowel preceding it (if short) is lengthened. 28. a. RULE E. WHEN IS VISARGAH DROPPED ALTOGETHER? Final ah, before any other vowel except short a, drops the Visargah, and leaves the remaining a opening on the initial vowel of the next word without coalition." b. Final ah, before any sonant (consonant or vowel), drops the Visargah; and, if the initial letter of the next word be a vowel, the remaining ā is allowed to open upon it without coalition. * So, also, before 7, 7, Visargah is changed to the cerebral sibilant रविष् टीकते. घ्; as, † By a special rule :, "he," and :, "this," the nominative cases of the pronouns तद् and , drop their Visargah before any consonant. In the following Table the nominative cases Narah, "a man," Narah, "men," and Harih, " Vishnu," joined with verbs, illustrate these rules at one view. 29. The rules for the changes of Visargah apply equally to final sibilants. Thus, manas hara becomes manohara (as in c. a.); and chakshus vishaya, chakshur vishaya (as in D. a.);* and chetas, standing alone, is written chetah (^. b.). * In a few compound words a final sibilant takes the cerebral form before k, as prādus krita become prāduṣhkṛita. Similarly, a final r before k or p: as, nir with krānta, ni ̧hkrānta; with putra, nishputra. See also r. 42, 43, and 131. 1. 30.8 is changed to sh when any other vowel except a or ā immediately precedes in the same word. Thus, bhavasi, "thou art"; but karoshi, not karosi, "thou doest." CHANGES OF FINAL T. Thus, prātar 31. Again, rules A, B, D, apply equally to final r. kāla becomes prātah kāla; prātar cha, prātash cha; and the preposition nir before ukta remains unchanged, and before rasa is changed to ni; thus, nirukta, nīrasa. 32. But final ar, unlike ah, remains unchanged before any sonant (consonant or vowel); as, prātar ūsha: and before the sonant itself, drops the r and lengthens the preceding a; as, punar rakshati becomes punā rakshati. 33. It is to be observed further of r, that it may optionally double any consonant (except) that immediately follows it. Thus, fat may be written निद्देय. Hence it appears that the symbol Visargah (:) may be considered as much a representative of final s and r, when these letters are imperceptible, as of final h. Indeed, all those inflections of nouns and persons of verbs which are said to end in Visargah, might be said to end in s; only that, in such cases, the s is silent, or pronounced with an imperceptible breathing, as in the French les, or the English, island, viscount. So again, in many French words, such as parler, the final r is silent; and in some English, such as card, the sound of r is very indistinct; and in all these cases, s and r would be represented in Sanscrit by Visargah : u$: &c.). The following Table exhibits the more common combinations of consonants at one view. Observe, that in the top line of initial letters the aspirated consonants have been omitted, because it is an universal rule, that whatever change takes place before any consonant, the same holds good before its aspirate. Finals has also been omitted, as undergoing precisely the same changes with final h. * Also when k precedes: as, vid with su is vitsu; but bhuk, bhukshu. Cf. r. 112. c. |
