CHAPTER XIII.
VERBAL ADJECTIVES AND NOUNS: PARTICIPLES, INFINITIVES, GERUNDS.
951 a. THOSE verbal adjectives, or participles, which are made from tense-stems, and so constitute a part of the various tense-systems, have been already treated. It remains to describe certain others, which, being made directly from the root itself, belong to the verbal system as a whole, and not to any particular part of it.
b. The infinitive (with a few sporadic exceptions in the older language) also comes in all cases from the root directly, and not from any of the derived tense-stems.
c. The same is true of the so-called gerunds, or indeclinable participles.
Passive Participle in tá or ná.
952. By accented suffix त tá — or, in a comparatively small number of
verbs, न ná — is formed a verbal adjective which, when coming from
transitive verbs, qualifies anything as having endured the action
expressed by the verb: thus, दत्त dattá given; उक्त uktá spoken.
Hence it is usually called the passive participle; or, to distinguish it
from the participle belonging to the passive present-system (771), the
past passive participle.
a. When made from an intransitive or neuter verb, the same participle,
as in other languages, has no passive but only an indefinite past sense:
thus, गत gatá gone; भूत bhūtá been; पतित patitá fallen.
953. In general, this participle is made by adding त tá to the bare
verbal root, with observation of the ordinary rules of euphonic
combination.
a. Some roots, however, require the prefixion of the auxiliary vowel
i to the suffix. For these, and for the verbs that add ná instead of
tá, see below, 956, 957.
b. As to the accent when the root is preceded by a preposition, see 1085 a.
954. The root before त tá has usually its weakest form, if there is
anywhere in the verbal system a distinction of weak and strong forms.
Thus:
a. A penultimate nasal is not seldom dropped: examples are aktá
(√añj), baddhá (√bandh), śrabdha (√śrambh), daṣṭá (√daṅś),
srasta (√sraṅs), bāḍha (√baṅh).
b. Roots which are abbreviated in the weak forms of the perfect (794)
suffer the same abbreviation here: examples are uktá (√vac), uṣṭá
(√vas shine), uptá (√vap: also vapta), ūḍhá (√vah),
suptá (√svap), iṣṭá (√yaj), viddhá (√vyadh); — and, by a
similar procedure, √prach (or praś) makes pṛṣṭá, √bhraṅś makes
bhṛṣṭa (beside the regular bhraṣṭá), and √śra boil makes śṛṭá
(beside śrātá).
c. Final ā is weakened to ī in gītá (√gā sing), dhītá
(√dhā suck), pītá (√pā drink), sphīta; and
jītá, vītá, śītá are made from the roots jyā, vyā, śyā, (or jī
etc.); — and further to i in chitá (beside chātá), dita (√dā
divide and dā bind), drita (? √drā sleep), hitá (√dhā
put: with h for dh; but dhita also occurs in V.), mitá (√mā
measure), śitá (also śāta), sitá, sthitá.
d. A final m is lost after a in gatá, natá, yatá, ratá (from
√gam etc.); and a final n in kṣata, tatá, matá, hatá. As to the
other roots in am and an taking ta, see 955 a, b.
e. More isolated cases are -ūta (RV.: √av), utá or ūta (√vā
weave), śiṣṭá (also śāsta: √śās), mūrtá (referred to
√mūrch). As to -gdha and jagdhá, see 233 f.
f. On the other hand, √svad makes svāttá.
955. Of more irregular character are the following:
a. A number of roots ending in am retain the nasal, and lengthen the
radical vowel (as also in some others of their verbal forms): thus,
kāṁta, krāṁtá, klāṁtá, kṣāṁta, cāṁta, tāṁtá, dāṁtá, bhrāṁta, vāṁtá, śāṁtá
(√śam be quiet), śrāṁtá (from √kam etc.); and one in an,
dhvan sound, makes dhvāntá.
b. A few roots in an make their participle from another root-form in
ā: thus, khātá, jātá, -vāta, sātá; dham has both dhamitá and
dhmātá.
c. Certain roots in īv take their yū-form (765 a): thus, dyūtá
(√dīv play), ṣṭhyūta, syūtá; but √mīv makes -mūta.
d. From roots in changeable ṛ (generally taking na: 957 b) are made
also pūrtá (√pṛ fill: beside pṛta), śīrta and śūrtá (√śṛ
crush); and śīrta is further made from √śrī mix.
e. Double forms are mugdhá and mūḍha, sāḍhá and soḍha, dhūrta and
dhruta, hvṛta and hrutá.
f. The root dā give makes dattá (from the secondary root-form
dad; but dāta also in V.). But the anomalously contracted form
-tta (as if for dāta, with the radical vowel lost) is also frequent
in composition, especially with prepositions: thus,
ā́tta, ánutta, párītta, prátta, prátītta; rarely with other elements,
as devátta, punartta, marútta (?). And the same abbreviated form comes
from √dā divide in ávatta.
g. The roots making participles in both ta and ita, or ta and
na, or in all three, will be noted in the next two paragraphs.
956. The suffix with इ i, or in the form इत itá, used especially
with roots having finals that are only with difficulty, if at all,
combinable with त् t according to the usual analogies of the language,
and often with roots of a secondary, derivative, or late character; but
also not seldom with original roots.
a. Thus, of roots presenting difficulties of combination: — 1. all that
end in two consonants (save those of which one consonant is lost by a
weakening process: 964 a, b): e. g.
śan̄k, valg, vāñch, lajj, ubj, ceṣṭ, ghūrṇ, katth, nind, jalp, cumb, umbh, khall, pinv, śaṅs
(also śastá), rakṣ, hiṅs, garh (in all, over fifty); but takṣ
makes taṣṭá; — 2. all that end in linguals (including ṣ after a or
ā): e. g. aṭ, truṭ, paṭh, luṭh, īḍ, vruḍ, bhaṇ, kaṣ, bhāṣ; — 3. all
that end in surd spirants: e. g. likh, grath, nāth, kuth, riph, guph;
— 4. all that end in l: e. g. cal, gil, mīl, lul, khel: — 6. all
that end in other persistent semivowels: namely, carv (also cūrṇa),
jīv (for the other roots in īv, see 955 c), dhāv run,
sev, day, vyay, pūy; — 6. ujh. — This class includes more than half
of the whole number that take only ita.
b. Of other roots ending in consonants: — 1. in gutturals, cak, ḍhāuk
(śak has both ta and ita); ślāgh; — 2. in palatals, ac (also
akná), uc, kuc, khac, yāc, ruc; aj?, kūj, vraj, also tyaj and
mṛj in late texts (usually tyaktá and mṛṣṭá); — 3. in dentals,
at, pat, ścut, also yat in epos (elsewhere only yattá);
krad, khād, gad, cud, nad, mud, mṛd, rad, rud, vad, vid know,
hrād; also nud in epos (elsewhere nuttá and nunna); mad has
both mattá and maditá (the majority of roots in d take na: 957
d); edh, kṣudh, gadh, dudh, nādh, bādh, spardh;
an, in, kvan, dhvan, pan, ran ring, van, stan, svan, and dhvan
(also dhvāntá); — 4. in labials, cup, yup, rup, and usually kup
(kupta late) and lap (lapta epic), occasionally
kṣip, gup, tap, dṛp, vap, śap, while jap has both ta and ita;
grabh (gṛbhītá), śubh, skabh, and occasionally lubh, while
kṣubh and stabh have both forms; tim, dham, śam labor, stim,
and kṣam in epos (also kṣāṁta); — 5. in spirants, aś eat,
īś, kāś, kṛś, vāś, śac, while piś has both forms, and mṛś takes
ita only late; iṣ send,
īṣ, kuṣ, tṛṣ, tviṣ, pruṣ, miṣ, rūṣ, heṣ, hreṣ, also muṣ except late,
while dhṛṣ, ruṣ, and hṛṣ show both forms;
ās, bhas, bhās, ras, las, vas clothe, has, also as throw
occasionally, while kas, gras, yas, vas shine, vas dwell, śās
(with śiṣṭá and śāsta), śvas, and hras make both forms;
īh, grah (gṛhītá), jah (secondary form of hā), mah, rah, and
occasionally ūh remove, while gāh has both forms.
c. Of roots ending in vowels, only śī lie, which makes śayita
(with guṇa of root, as elsewhere: 629).
d. In general, a root maintains its full form before ita; but there
are a few exceptions: thus, gṛbhītá and gṛhītá (the root being
reckoned as grabh and grah: see 729), uditá (also vadita in the
later language), uṣita (√vas shine; beside uṣṭá), uṣita
(√vas dwell: also sporadically vasita and uṣṭa), ukṣitá
(√vaká increase), śṛthitá (√śrath). From √mṛj are made both
mṛjita and mārjita (with strengthening as in present and elsewhere:
627), beside mṛṣṭá.
e. Instead of i, long ī is taken in gṛbhītá and gṛhītá.
957. The suffix न ná (always without auxiliary इ i) is taken
instead of त tá by a number of roots (about seventy). Thus:
a. Certain roots in ā: thus, kṣā, glā, drā run, drā sleep,
(also drita?), mlā (also mlātá), vā blow (also vāta), śyā
(also śīná), styā, hā leave (also hīná and hāta), hā go
forth; and dā divide makes diná (also dita and -tta).
Further, certain roots in i- and u-vowels: thus, kṣi destroy
(kṣīṇa; also kṣitá), ḍī, pī, lī cling, vlī, śī or śyā
coagulate (beside śyāna and śīta), hrī (beside hrīta); dū
burn (also duta), lū, śū; and dīv lament makes dyūna
(compare 765).
b. Roots in ṛ, which before the suffix becomes īr or ūr: the
forms are, arṇa (late; beside ṛtá), kīrṇa (√kṛ scatter),
gīrṇá (√gṛ swallow), jīrṇá and jūrṇá (√jṛ waste away),
tīrṇá and tūrṇa (also tūrtá), dīrṇá (√dṛ pierce: also
dṛta), pūrṇá (√pṛ fill: also pūrtá and pṛta), mūrṇá (√mṛ
crush), śīrṇá (√śṛ crush: also śīrta and śūrtá?), stīrṇá
(also stṛta). Of like character with these are īrṇá from
√īr, cīrṇa (beside carita) from √car, gūrṇa (beside gūrtá)
from √gur, a secondary form of gṛ, and cūrṇa (beside carvita)
from √carv, which is also plainly a secondary root.
c. A few roots ending in j (which becomes g before the suffix,
against the usual rule of internal combination: 216 f): thus, bhagna
(√bhañj), bhugna (√bhuj bend), magná (√majj), rugṇá, vigna
(beside vikta). Further, two or three ending in c (similarly
treated): thus, akná (√ac or añc: also acita and añcita),
vṛkná (√vraśc), and apparently -pṛgṇa (RV., once: with doubly
irregular change of root-final, from √pṛc). And one root in g,
lagna.
d. A considerable number, some of them very common ones, of roots in
d (which, against ordinary rule, becomes n before the suffix: 157
b). The forms are: unna (also utta), arṇṇa?,
klinna, kṣuṇṇa, kṣviṇṇa, khinna, channa, chinná, chṛṇṇá, tunná, tṛṇṇá, nunna
(also nuttá and nudita), panná, bhinná, vinna (√vid find: also
vittá), śanna (√śad fall), sanná (also sattá), skanná
(√skand), syanná (√syand), svinná, hanna. And ánna food, in
spite of its different accent, appears to be a like formation from √ad
eat.
958. The native grammarians reckon as participles of this formation a
few miscellaneous derivative adjectives, coming from roots which do not
make a regular participle: such are kṣāma burnt, kṛśá emaciated,
pakvá ripe, phullá expanded, śúṣka dry.
Past Active Participle in tavant (or navant).
959. From the past passive participle, of whatever formation, is made,
by adding the possessive suffix वन्त् vant, a secondary derivative
having the meaning and construction of a perfect active participle: for
example, तत् कृतवान् tát kṛtávān having done that; taṁ nigīrṇavān
having swallowed him down. Its inflection is like that of other
derivatives made with this suffix (452 ff.); its feminine ends in वती
vatī; its accent remains on the participle.
960. Derivative words of this formation are found in RV., but without
anything like a participial value. The AV. has a single example, with
participial meaning: aśitā́vaty átithāu one’s guest having eaten
(loc. abs.). In the Brāhmaṇas also it is hardly met with. In the later
language, however, it comes to be quite common. And there it is chiefly
used predicatively, and oftenest without copula expressed, or with the
value of a personal verb-form in a past tense: primarily, and not
seldom, signifying immediate past, or having a true “perfect” value; but
also (like the old perfect and the old aorist in later use) coming to be
freely used for indefinite time, or with the value of the imperfect
(779). For example: māṁ na kaścid dṛṣṭavān no one has seen (or
saw) me; sa nakulaṁ vyāpāditavān he destroyed the ichneumon; or,
with copula, mahat kṛcchram prāptavaty asi thou hast fallen upon
great misery. Although originally and properly made only from
transitive verbs (with an object, to which the participle in ta stands
in the relation of an objective predicate), it is finally found also
from intransitives: thus, cūtena saṁśritavatī (ś.) has become united
with the mango-tree; gatavatī (ib.) she has gone.
a. The same participle is also made in the secondary conjugations: e.
g. darśitavant having shown, prabodhitavant having awakened.
b. Possessives also in in made from passive participles are sometimes
found used in an analogous manner, nearly as perfect active participles:
e. g. iṣṭín having sacrificed, vijitino manyamānāḥ (AB.) thinking
themselves to have conquered.
Future Passive Participles: Gerundives.
961. Certain derivative adjectives (for the most part more or less clearly secondary derivatives) have acquired in the language a value as qualifying something which is to, or which ought to, suffer the action expressed by the root from which they come; and they are allowed to be made from every verb. Hence they are, like more proper participles, sometimes treated as a part of the general verbal system, and called future passive participles, or gerundives (like the Latin forms in ndus, to which they correspond in meaning).
962. The suffixes by which such gerundives are regularly and ordinarily
made are three: namely य ya, तव्य tavya, and अनीय anīya.
a. Derivatives in ya having this value are made in all periods of the
language, from the earliest down; the other two are of more modern
origin, being entirely wanting in the oldest Veda (RV.), and hardly
known in the later. Other derivatives of a similar character, which
afterward disappear from use, are found in the Veda (966).
963. The suffix ya in its gerundive use has nothing to distinguish it
from the same suffix as employed to make adjectives and nouns of other
character (see below, 1213). And it exhibits also the same variety in
the treatment of the root.
a. The original value of the suffix is ia, and as such it has to be
read in the very great majority of its Vedic occurrences. Hence the
conversion of e and o to ay and av before it (see below).
b. Thus: 1. Final ā becomes e before the suffix:
déya, dhyeya, khyéya, méya (perhaps dā́-ia etc., with euphonic y
interposed); but RV. has once -jñāya. — 2. The other vowels either
remain unchanged, or have the guṇa or the vṛddhi strengthening; and
e usually and o always are treated before the ya as they would be
before a vowel: thus,
-kṣayya, jáyya, bháyya, lāyya; návya, bhávya, hávya, bhāvyá; vā́rya:
and, in the later language, nīya, jeya, dhūya (such cases are wanting
earlier). In a few instances, a short vowel adds t before the suffix:
thus, itya, mitya, śrútya, stútya, kṛtya (the only Vedic examples). —
3. Medial a remains unchanged or is lengthened: thus,
dábhya, vándya, sádya; mā́dya, vā́cya. — 4. Medial i-, u-, and
ṛ-vowels are unchanged or have the guṇa-strengthening: thus,
ī́ḍya, gúhya, dhṛṣya; dvéṣya, yódhya, márjya.
c. The RV. has about forty examples of this gerundive, and the AV. adds
half as many more. Except in bhāviá (once), the accent in RV. is
always on the root; AV. has several cases of accent on the i of the
suffix (hence written ādyà, āśyà, -vyādhyà, -dharṣyà). According to
the grammarians, the accent is on the root or else the ending is
circumflexed: always the former, if the ya follow a vowel.
964. a. The suffix tavya is a secondary adjective derivative from the
infinitival noun in tu (below, 968), made by adding the suffix ya
(properly ía, whence the accent yà), before which the final u, as
usual (1203 a), has guṇa-strengthening, and is resolved into av.+++(5)+++
b. Hence, as regards both the form taken by the root and the use or
omission of an auxiliary vowel i before the tavya, the rules are the
same as for the formation of the infinitive (below, 968).
c. No example of this formation is found in RV., and in AV. occur only
two, janitavyà and hiṅsitavyà. In the Brāhmaṇa language it begins to
be not rare, and is made both from the simple root and from the derived
conjugational stems (next chapter); in the classical language it is
still more frequent. According to the grammarians, the accent of the
word is either circumflex on the final or acute on the penult: thus,
kartavyà or kartávya; in the accentuated texts, it is always the
former (the accent távya given to certain gerundives in the Petersburg
lexicons is an error, growing out of the ambiguous accentuation of śB.:
88 c).
965. a. The suffix anīya is in like manner the product of secondary
derivation, made by adding the adjective suffix īya (1215) to a nomen
actionis formed by the common suffix ana.
b. It follows, then, as regards its mode of formation, the rules for
the suffix ana (below, 1150).
c. This derivative also is unknown in RV., and in AV. is found only in
upajīvanī́ya and āmantranī́ya (in both of which, moreover, its
distinct gerundive value admits of question). In the Brāhmaṇas (where
less than a dozen examples of it have been noted), and in the later
language, it is less common than the gerundive in tavya. Its accent,
as in all the derivatives with the suffix īya, is on the penult: thus,
karaṇī́ya.
966. Other formations of kindred value are found in the Veda as follows:
a. Gerundives in tua or tva, apparently made from the infinitival
noun in tu with the added suffix a (1209). They are kártua (in two
occurrences kártva), -gaṁtva, jántua, jétua, náṁtua, váktua, sótua,
snā́tua, hántua, hétua, hótva; and, with auxiliary i (or ī),
jánitva, sánitva, bhávītva.
b. Gerundives in enia or enya (compare 1217): they are
īkṣeṇía, īḍénia, caréṇia, dṛśénia,
-dviṣeṇia, bhūṣéṇya, yudhénia, váreṇia (and bhajenya BhP.); with one
example from an apparent aorist-stem, yaṁsénya, and three or four from
secondary verb-stems (see below, 1019, 1038, 1068 a).
c. Gerundives in ā́yia (once ā́yya: compare 1218): they are
dakṣā́yia, panā́yia, vidā́yia, śravā́yia, hnavāyia; with a few from
secondary conjugation-stems (below, 1019, 1038, 1051, 1068a); and
stuṣéyia is of close kindred with them.
d. A few adjectives in elima, as pacelima, bhidelima (only these
quotable), are reckoned as gerundives by the grammarians.
967. The division-line between participial and ordinary adjectives is
less strictly drawn in Sanskrit than in the other Indo-European
languages. Thus, adjectives in u, as will be seen later (1178), from
secondary conjugational stems, have participial value; and in the
Brāhmaṇas (with an example or two in AV.) is found widely and commonly
used a participial adjective formed with the suffix uka (1180).
Infinitives.
968. The later language has only a single infinitive, which is the
accusative case of a verbal noun formed by the suffix तु tu, added to
the root usually directly, but often also with aid of the preceding
auxiliary vowel इ i. The form of the infinitive ending, therefore, is
तुम् tum or इतुम् itum. The root has the guṇa-strengthening, and
is accented. Thus, for example, एतुम् étum from √इ i; कर्तुम्
kártum from √कृ kṛ; चरितुम् cáritum from √चर् car; भवितुम्
bhávitum from √भू bhū.
a. As regards the use or omission of i, the infinitive (as also the
gerund in tvā: 991) follows in general the analogy of the passive
participle (956). Examples are (with the gerund added) as follows:
dagdhá, dágdhum, dagdhvā́ from √dah; bhinná, bhéttum, bhittvā́ from
√bhid; matá, mántum, matvā́ from √man; ūḍhá, vóḍhum, ūḍhvā́ from
√vah; patitá, pátitum, patitvā́ from √pat;
yācitá, yā́citum, yācitvā́ from √yāc; śayitá, śáyitum, śayitvā́ from
√śī. But certain exceptions and special cases require notice. Thus:
b. Of roots having no quotable participle, infinitive stems in tu are
made from ad, sagh; in itu from uñch, ūh consider,
kṣap, luṇṭh, lok, svar; and in both from yabh.
c. Of roots making participles of both forms, an infinitive stem in
tu only is quotable for kṣip, kṣubh, tap, tyaj, mṛś, lubh, vas
shine, śak, stabh; only in itu for
gāh, carv, jap, mad, yat, van, śaṅs, śvas; in both for as throw,
ūh remove, gup, car, mṛj (mā̆rṣṭu, mārjitu), lap, vas dwell,
śap, śās.
d. Also in a number of other cases (besides those already noticed) an
infinitive stem is made both with and without i. Thus, in addition to
the more regular form, a stem in itu is occasionally met with from
roots aś attain, iṣ seek, bandh, bhaj, yaj (ījitum), rudh
obstruct, ruh, vṛṣ, sad (sīditum), sah, han, hṛ; and one in tu
from roots ās, bhāṣ, vid know. Both forms occur also from certain
am-roots, namely nam, yam, ram, and, with ā before tu as in the
pple, kram and bhram (kṣam has only kṣaṁtu, against the analogy
of kṣāṁta); further, from certain roots in variable ṛ, namely tṛ
(tartu, tarī̆tu), vṛ cover (vártu, varī̆tu), and stṛ
(stártu, staritu, stárītu) (but from śṛ crush occur only
śárītu, śaritu, and from vṛ choose only varītu; while gṛ
swallow and pṛ fill make their infinitive from other root-forms,
namely giritum, pūritum); further, from a few vowel-roots, namely
nī, cyu, sū (sū́tu); and finally from kṛṣ, nṛt, śuc.
e. Against the analogy of the participle, infinitive-stems in itu
after a final consonant are made from the roots av, kṣan, khan and
jan (the pples coming from khā and jā), guh, jabh, tam, dīv
play and dīv lament (both devitu), majj, vṛt, vṛdh, sṛp; and
after a final vowel, from roots in ū, namely pū, bhū, sū (also
sūtu), and from śri and śvi; as to roots in variable ṛ, see just
above, d.
f. As the infinitive is made from the (accented and) strengthened root,
so it naturally has, as a rule, the stronger or fuller root-form where a
weaker or contracted form is taken by the participle (and gerund in
tvā́): e. g. váktu against uktá (and uktvā́), yáṣṭu against
iṣṭá (and iṣṭvā́), banddhum against baddhá (and baddhvā́), and
so on. Deserving special notice are gātu (√gā sing) against
gītá, and dhā́tu (√dhā suck) against dhītá; and so from dā
give and hā leave are made only dā́tu and hātu; but dhā
put, mā measure, and sthā add to the regular
dhātu, mātu, sthātu the late forms -dhitu, -mitu, -sthitu; and
sā or si has sātu, sétu, and -situ; vā weave (pple utá)
has both vā́tu and ótu; hū or hvā has havītu, hváyitu, and
hvātu. The root vyadh makes its only quotable infinitive, veddhum,
from its vidh-form; from sañj or saj occur both san̄ktu and saktu. The
anomalous epic forms ījitum (√yaj) and sīditum (√sad), were
mentioned above. The root grab makes gráhītum.
g. In the later language, the infinitive-stem forms possessive
compounds with kāma and manas (especially the former): e. g.
svaptukāma having the wish to sleep, yaṣṭukāma desirous of
sacrificing, vaktumanas minded to speak.
h. In very rare instances, dative infinitives in tave or tavāi are
made from the infinitive stem in the later language (as abundantly in
the earlier: 970 b): thus, pratihartave (BhP.). And jīvase (973 a)
is once found in MBh. (i. 3. 67 = 732), in a quasi-Vedic hymn to the
Aśvins.
969. In the Veda and Brāhmaṇa, however, a number of verbal nouns, nomina actionis, in various of their cases, are used in constructions which assimilate them to the infinitive of other languages — although, were it not for these other later and more developed and pronounced infinitives, the constructions in question might pass as ordinary case-constructions of a somewhat peculiar kind.
970. The nouns thus used infinitively are the following:
a. The root-noun, without derivative suffix, is so used in its
accusative in am, its dative in e or (from ā-roots) āi, its
genitive and ablative in as, and its locative in i.
b. The verbal noun in tu is so used in its accusative in tum, its
dative in tave or tavāí, and its ablative and genitive in tos.
Of other nouns only single cases, generally datives, are reckoned as used with infinitive value; thus:
c. From the verbal noun in as, the dative in ase; and also, in an
extremely small number of instances, a dative in se (or ṣe), from a
noun formed with s simply.
d. From nouns in man and van, datives in mane and vane.
e. From nouns in ti, datives in taye, or (from one or two verbs) in
tyāi.
f. From nouns in i, datives in áye.
g. From nouns in dhi and ṣi, datives in dhyāi and ṣyāi.
h. A few infinitives in ṣaṇi are perhaps locatives from nouns in an
added to a root increased by s.
i. From a single root, dhṛ, are made infinitively used forms in
tári, of which the grammatical character is questionable.
j. Among all these, the forms which have best right to special
treatment as infinitives, on account of being of peculiar formation, or
from suffixes not found in other uses, or for both reasons, are those in
ṣe, ṣaṇi, tari, dhyāi, and tavāi.
k. Except the various cases of the derivative in tu, and of the
root-noun, these infinitives are almost wholly unknown outside the
Rig-Veda.
l. Other suffixes and forms than those noticed above might be added;
for it is impossible to draw any fixed line between the uses classed as
infinitive and the ordinary case-uses: thus, prajā́patim praśnám āitām
(TS.) they went to ask Prajāpati; víśvaṁ jīvám prasuvántī carā́yāi
(RV.) quickening every living being to motion; apáḥ sármāya codáyan
(RV.) impelling the waters to flow; śaknuyā́d gráhaṇāya (instead of
the usual gráhītum: śB.) may be able to apprehend; ā tamanāt
(instead of the usual tamitoḥ: S.) until exhaustion. And the
so-called infinitives are found coördinated in the same sentence with
common nouns, and even with compound nouns: e. g.
cáritave... ābhogáya iṣṭáye rāyé (RV.) to go abroad, to enjoy, to
seek wealth; ārtatrāṇāya na prahartum anāgasi (ś.) for the rescue of
the distressed, not for hurling at the innocent.
More special rules as to the various formations are as follows:
971. The root-noun used as infinitive has the same form (except that it
does not take an added t: 383 f), and the same accent, both when
simple and when combined with prepositions, as in its other uses. In the
very great majority of instances, it is made from roots ending in a
consonant; but also from a few in ā (khyā, dā, dhā, pā?, mā, yā),
from two or three in i- and u-vowels (hi, mī, bhū), and from one
or two in changeable ṛ, which takes the ir-form (tir, stir).
a. The roots in ā form the accus. in ām, the dat. in āi, the abl.
in ās (understanding avasā́ before ā́ as for avasā́s and not
avasāí in RV. iii. 53. 20), and the locative in e (only two
examples, of which one is perhaps better understood as dative).
972. The infinitive noun in tu is made freely from roots of every
form. The root takes the guṇa-strengthening, if capable of it, and
often adds the auxiliary vowel i before the suffix (according to the
rules already stated, 968). The root is accented, unless the noun be
combined with a preposition, in which case the latter has the accent
instead: thus, kártum, étave, hántos; but
níkartum, níretave, nírhantos.
a. The dative in tavāi is in two respects anomalous: in having the
heavy feminine ending āi along with a strengthened u; and in taking
a double accent, one on the root or on the prefixed preposition, and the
other on the ending āi: thus,
étavāí, hántavāí, átyetavāí, ápabhartavāí.
973. a. The infinitive in ase is made in RV. from about twenty-five
roots; in AV. and later there have been noted no other examples of it.
In near three quarters of the cases, the accent is on the suffix: e. g.
ṛñjáse, jīváse, bhiyáse, tujáse; the exceptions are cákṣase;
dhā́yase (with y inserted before the suffix: 258); and
áyase, bhárase, spárase, hárase (with guṇa-strengthening of the
root). Strengthening of the root is also shown by
javáse, doháse, bhojáse, śobháse. In puṣyáse is seen, apparently,
the present-stem instead of the root.
b. The ending se is extremely rare, being found only in jiṣé and
perhaps stuṣé, and one or two still more doubtful cases.
974. Infinitives in mane are made from only five roots: thus,
trā́maṇe, dā́mane, dármaṇe, bhármaṇe, and (with different accent)
vidmáne. From √dā comes dāváne; turváṇe may come directly from
√tṛ, or through the secondary root turv; dhū́rvaṇe is rather from
√dhūrv than from √dhvṛ.
975. a. The infinitives in taye are iṣṭáye (√iṣ), pītáye (√pā
drink), vītáye, sātáye, and perhaps ūtáye (ūtáye nṝ́n to help
his men: (RV.). In tyāi, the only examples noted are ityāí (RV.)
and sā́ḍhyāi (MS. AB.).
b. With aye are formed
iṣáye, tujáye, dṛśáye, maháye, yudháye, sanáye; and citáye (VS.),
gṛhaye (K.).
976. The ending dhyāi is, more than any other, irregular and various
in its treatment. It has always an a before it; and in the majority of
cases it is accented upon this a, and added to a weak form of root:
thus, śucádhyāi, pṛṇádhyāi, dhiyádhyāi, huvádhyāi. But the form of
root is the strong one in a few cases: namely,
śayádhyāi, stavádhyāi, tarádhyāi, jarádhyāi, mandádhyāi, vandádhyāi.
In half-a-dozen forms, again, the root has the accent: namely,
kṣáradhyāi, gámadhyāi, yájadhyāi (but once or twice also yajádhyāi),
váhadhyāi, sáhadhyāi, bháradhyāi. In a single instance, píbadhyāi,
the suffix is added distinctly to a present-stem; and in one,
vāvṛdhádhyāi, to a perfect stem. Finally, in a number of instances
(ten), this infinitive is made from a causative stem in ay: thus,
mādayádhyāi, riṣayádhyāi, etc.
a. This infinitive is by no means rare in RV., being made in
thirty-five different forms (with seventy-two occurrences). But it is
hardly known outside of the RV.; the AV. has it but once (in a passage
found also in RV.); and elsewhere half-a-dozen examples have been
noticed, in mantra-passages (one of them TS. falsely reads
gámadhye); in the Brāhmaṇa language proper it appears to be entirely
wanting.
977. An example or two are met with of an infinitive in ṣyāi: thus,
róhiṣyāi (TS.), avyathiṣyāi (K. Kap.; MS. avyáthiṣe; VS.
vyathiṣat), and perhaps -dhāsyāi (PGS.).
978. The infinitives in ṣaṇi are: iṣáṇi (?) from √iṣ send,
-bhūṣáṇi from √bhū; śūṣáṇi from √śū or śvā; neṣáṇi from
√nī; sakṣáṇi from √sah; parṣáṇi from √pṛ, tarīṣáṇi from
√tṛ; and gṛṇīṣáṇi and -stṛṇīṣáṇi from √√gṛ and stṛ — the last
containing evident present tense-signs (compare the 1st sing. gṛṇīṣé,
894 d).
979. The only infinitive in tari is dhartári (with its compound
vidhartári), from √dhṛ.
Uses of the Infinitives.
980. The uses of the so-called infinitives are for the most part closely accordant with those of the corresponding cases from other abstract nouns. Thus:
981. The accusative, which is made only from the root-noun and the noun
in tu, is used as object of a verb.
a. Especially, of forms from the root śak be able, and arh be
worthy, have the right or the power. Thus, śakéma tvā samídham (RV.)
may we accomplish thy kindling; mā́ śakan pratidhā́m íṣum (AV.) may
they not be able to fit the arrow to the string; máno vā́ imā́ṁ sadyáḥ
páryāptum arhati mánaḥ páribhavitum (TS.) the mind, forsooth, can at
once attain and surpass her; kó hy ètásyā́ ’rhati gúhyaṁ nā́ma gráhītum
(śB.) for who is worthy to take his secret name? In the Veda, the
construction with these verbs is only one among others; in the Brāhmaṇa,
it becomes the greatly prevalent one (three quarters or more of all the
cases).
b. Further, of verbs of motion (next most frequent case): thus,
dā́kṣiṇāni hótum eti (TS.) he goes to sacrifice things pertaining to
sacrificial gifts; índram pratíram emy ā́yuḥ (RV.) I go to Indra for
(i. e. beseech of him) the lengthening out of life; — of √dhṛ
persist in, undertake: as, sá idáṁ jātáḥ sárvam evá dágdhuṁ dadhre
(śB.) he, as soon as born, began to burn this universe; — of verbs
meaning desire, hope, notice, know, and the like: as,
pā́śān vicṛ́taṁ vettha sárvān (AV.) thou knowest how to loosen all
bonds; tásmād agníṁ nā́ ”driyeta párihantum (śB.) therefore one
should not be careful to smother the fire; — and of others.
982. Of the infinitive datives, the fundamental and usual sense is that expressed by for, in order to, for the purpose of.
Examples are: víśaṁ jīváṁ caráse bodháyantī (RV.) awakening every
living creature to motion; tā́n úpa yāta píbadhyāi (RV.) come to
drink them; nāí ’tā́ṁ te devā́ adadur áttave (AV.) the gods did not
give her to thee for eating; praí ”d yudháye dásyum índraḥ (RV.)
Indra went forward to fight the demon; cákṣur no dhehi vikhyāí (RV.)
give us sight for looking abroad.
Some peculiar constructions, however, grow out of this use of the infinitive dative. Thus:
a. The noun which is logically the subject or the object of the action
expressed by the infinitive is frequently put beside it in the dative
(by a construction which is in part a perfectly simple one, but which is
stretched beyond its natural boundaries by a kind of attraction): thus,
cakāra sū́ryāya pánthām ánvetavā́ u (RV.) he made a track for the sun
to follow (made for the sun a track for his following);
śíśīte śṛ́n̄ge rákṣobhyo viníkṣe (RV.) he whets his horns to pierce the
demons; rudrā́ya dhánur a tanomi brahmadvíṣe śárave hántavā́ u (RV.) I
stretch the bow for Rudra, that with his arrow he may slay the
brahma-hater; asmábhyaṁ dṛśáye sū́ryāya púnar dātām ásum (RV.) may
they grant life again, that we may see the sun.
b. An infinitive with √kṛ make is used nearly in the sense of a
causative verb: thus, prā́ ’ndháṁ śroṇáṁ cákṣasa étave kṛthaḥ (RV.) ye
make the blind and lame to see and go; agníṁ samídhe cakártha (RV.)
thou hast made the fire to be kindled. Of similar character is an
occasional construction with another verb: as,
yád īm uśmási kártave kárat tát (RV.) what we wish to be done, may he
do that; kavī́ṅr icchāmi saṁdṛ́śe (RV.) I desire to see the sages.
c. A dative infinitive is not seldom used as a predicate, sometimes
with, but more usually without, a copula expressed: thus,
agnír iva ná pratidhṛ́ṣe bhavati (TS.) like fire, he is not to be
resisted; mahimā́ te anyéna ná saṁnáśe (VS.) thy greatness is not to
be attained by another; nákim índro níkartave ná śakráḥ páriśaktave
(RV.) Indra is not to be put down, the mighty one is not to be
overpowered.
d. Sometimes an infinitive so used without a copula has quite nearly
the value of an imperative: thus, tyā́ me yaśásā... āuśijó huvádhyāi
[asti] (RV.) these glorious ones shall the son of Uśij invoke for
me; sūktébhir vaḥ... índrā nv àgnī́ ávase huvádhyāi [staḥ] (RV.)
with your hymns shall ye call now on Indra and Agni for aid;
vandádhyā agníṁ námobhiḥ [asmi] (RV.) let me greet Agni with
homage; asmā́kāsaś ca sūráyo víśvā ā́śās tarīṣáṇi (RV.) and let our
sacrifices cross all regions; tán nāí ’váṁ kártavāí (MS.) that must
not be done so; brahmadvíṣaḥ śárave hántavā́ u (RV.) let the arrow
slay the brahma-haters. The infinitives in dhyāi and ṣaṇi (which
latter is in all its uses accordant with datives) are those in which the
imperative value is most distinctly to be recognized.
e. In the Brāhmaṇas and Sūtras (especially in śB.) the dative in
tavāi is not seldom used with a verb signifying speak
(brū, vac, ah), to express the ordering of anything to be done: thus,
tásmād óṣadhīnām evá mū́lāny úcchettavāí brūyāt (śB.) therefore let
him direct the roots of the plants to be cut up (speak in order to
their cutting up: cf. yé vaśā́yā ádānāya vádanti who dissuade from
giving the cow: AV.).
983. The ablative infinitive — which, like the accusative, is made only
from the root-noun and that in tu — is found especially with the
prepositions ā́ until and purā́ before.
a. Thus, ā́ támitoḥ (TS. etc.) until exhaustion;
purā́ vācáḥ právaditoḥ (TS.) before utterance of the voice. In the
Brāhmaṇa language, this is the well-nigh exclusive construction of the
ablative (it occurs also with prāk, arvāk, etc.); in the Veda, the
latter is used also after ṛté without, and after several verbs, as
trā and pā protect, yu separate, bhī, etc.
b. In a few instances, by an attraction similar to that illustrated
above for the dative (982 a), a noun dependent on this infinitive is put
in the ablative beside it: thus, purā vāgbhyaḥ sampravaditoḥ (PB.)
before the utterance together of the voices;
trā́dhvaṁ kartā́d avapádaḥ (RV.) save us from falling down into the
pit; purā dakṣiṇābhyo netoḥ (Āpast.) before the gifts are taken
away.
984. The genitive infinitive (having the same form as the ablative) is
in common use in the Brāhmaṇa language as dependent on īśvará lord,
master, employed adjectively in the sense of capable or likely or
exposed to.
a. Examples are: tā́ [devátāḥ] īśvarā́ enam pradáhaḥ (TS.) they
are likely to burn him up;
átha ha vā́ īśvarò ‘gníṁ citvā́ kíṁcid dāuritám ā́pattor ví vā hválitoḥ
(śB.) so in truth he is liable, after piling the fire, to meet with
some mishap or other, or to stagger;
iśvaraṁ vāi rathantaram udgātuś cakṣuḥ pramathitoḥ (PB.) the
rathantara is liable to knock out the eye of the chanter.
b. The dative is used in śB. instead of the genitive in a single phrase
(īśvarāú jánayitavāí); and, in the later language, sometimes the
accusative in turn. In a case or two the masc. sing. nom. īśvaraḥ is
used, without regard to the gender or number of the word which it
qualifies: thus, tásye ”śvaráḥ prajā́ pā́pīyasī bhávitoḥ (śB.) his
progeny is liable to deteriorate. And in a very few instances the word
īśvara is omitted, and the genitive has the same value without it:
thus, dve madhyaṁdinam abhi pratyetoḥ (AB.) two may be added to the
noon libation; táto dīkṣitáḥ pāmanó bhávitoḥ (śB.) then the
consecrated is liable to get the itch.
c. This construction with īśvara, which is the only one for the
genitive infinitive in the Brāhmaṇa, is unknown in the Veda, where the
genitive is found in a very small number of examples with madhyā́, and
with the root īś: thus, madhyā́ kártoḥ (RV.) in the midst of
action; ī́śe rāyó dā́toḥ (RV.) he is master of the giving of wealth;
ī́śe yótoḥ (RV.) is able to keep away.
985. Unless the infinitives in ṣaṇi and tari are locative in form
(their uses are those of datives), the locative infinitive is so rare,
and has so little that is peculiar in its use, that it is hardly worth
making any account of. An example is uṣáso budhí (RV.) at the
awakening of the dawn.
986. In the Veda, the dative infinitive forms are very much more
numerous than the accusative (in RV., their occurrences are twelve times
as many; in AV., more than three times); and the accusative in tum is
rare (only four forms in RV., only eight in AV.). In the Brāhmaṇas, the
accusative has risen to much greater comparative frequency (its forms
are nearly twice as many as those of the dative); but the
ablative-genitive, which is rare in the Veda, has also come to full
equality with it. The disappearance in the classical language of all
excepting the accusative in tum (but see 968 h) is a matter for no
small surprise.
987. The later infinitive in tum is oftenest used in constructions
corresponding to those of the earlier accusative: thus,
na vāṣpam aśakat soḍhurn he could not restrain his tears;
taṁ draṣṭum arhasi thou oughtest to see it; prāptum icchanti they
desire to obtain; saṁkhyātum ārabdham having begun to count. But
also, not infrequently, in those of the other cases. So, especially, of
the dative: thus, avasthātuṁ sthānāntaraṁ cintaya devise another
place to stay in; tvām anveṣṭum ihā ”gataḥ he has come hither to
seek for thee; — but likewise of the genitive: thus, samartho gantum
capable of going; saṁdhātum īśvaraḥ able to mend. Even a
construction as nominative is not unknown: thus, yuktaṁ tasya mayā
samāśvāsayitum bhāryām (MBh.) it is proper for me to comfort his
wife; na naptāraṁ svayaṁ nyāyyaṁ śaptum evam (R.) it is not suitable
thus to curse one’s own grandson; tad vaktuṁ na pāryate (śatr.) it
is not possible to say that.
988. In the later language, as in the earlier, the infinitive in
certain connections has what we look upon as a passive value. Thus,
kartum ārabdhaḥ begun to be made; śrotuṁ na yujyate it is not fit
to be heard (for hearing). This is especially frequent along with the
passive forms of √śak: thus, tyaktuṁ na śakyate it cannot be
abandoned; śakyāv ihā ”netum they two can be brought hither;
na ca vibhūtayaḥ śakyam avāptum ūrjitāḥ nor are mighty successes a
thing capable of being attained.
Gerunds.
989. The so-called gerund is a stereotyped case (doubtless instrumental) of a verbal noun, used generally as adjunct to the logical subject of a clause, denoting an accompanying or (more often) a preceding action to that signified by the verb of the clause. It has thus the virtual value of an indeclinable participle, present or past, qualifying the actor whose action it describes.
a. Thus, for example: śrutvāi ’va cā ’bruvan and hearing (or
having heard) they spoke;
tebhyaḥ pratijñāyā ’thāi ’tān paripapraccha having given them his
promise, he then questioned them.
990. The gerund is made in the later language by one of the two
suffixes त्वा tvā and य ya, the former being used with a simple
root, the latter with one that is compounded with a prepositional prefix
— or, rarely, with an element of another kind, as adverb or noun.
a. To this distribution of uses between the two suffixes there are
occasional exceptions. Thus, gerunds in ya from simple roots are not
very rare in the epic language (e. g. gṛhya, uṣya [√vas dwell],
arcya, īkṣya, cintya, tyajya, lakṣya; also from causatives and
denominatives, as vācya, yojya, plāvya), and are not unknown elsewhere
(e. g. arcya and īkṣya M., prothya AGS., sthāpya śvU.). And
gerunds in tvā from compounded roots are met with in considerable
numbers from AV. (only pratyarpayitvā́) down: e. g. samīrayitvā́ MS.,
virocayitvā́ TA., utkṣiptvā U., pratyuktvā E., pratyasitvā S.,
prahasitvā MBh., saṁdarśayitvā MBh., vimuktvā R., nivedayitvā
R., proktvā Pañc., anupītva VBS.: the great majority of them are
made from the causative stem.
b. The prefixion of the negative particle, a or an, does not cause
the gerund to take the form in ya: thus, akṛtvā, amīrayitvā (but R.
has acintya). Of compounds with other than verbal prefixes, RV. has
punardā́ya, karṇagṛ́hya, pādagṛ́hya, hastagṛ́hya, araṁkṛ́tya, akkhalīkṛ́tya, mithaspṛ́dhya;
AV. has further namaskṛ́tya.
991. The suffix त्वा tvā has the accent. It is usually added directly
to the root, hut often also with interposition of the auxiliary vowel इ
i — with regard to which, as well as to the form of the root before
it, the formation nearly agrees with that of the participle in त ta
(952 ff.).
a. Examples of the general accordance of passive participle,
infinitive, and gerund in regard to the use of i were given above, 968
a; farther specifications are called for, as follows:
b. The quotable roots in variable ṛ (242) change it to īr: thus,
tīrtvā́, stīrtvā́ (also stṛtvā́); and car makes also cīrtvā (like
cīrṇa); — roots in ā show in general the same weakening as in the
participle; but from dhā put is quotable only dhitvā́, from mā
measure mitvā́ and mītvā, from dā give only dattvā́, from
chā chāyitvā; — of roots in am, kram and bhram and yam make
forms both with and without i (as in the infinitive), but ram has
ratvā́ and raṁtvā, and dam and vam make damitvā and vamitvā.
c. The auxiliary vowel is taken by roots gras, muṣ, śap, and śās
(śāsitvā) (whose participles have both forms); also by cāy, nṛt
(nartitvā), lag, and svaj (against analogy of pple); and śuc
makes śocitvā. On the other hand, from ruj (rugṇa) and vraśc
(vṛkṇa) come ruktvā́ and vṛṣṭvā́. And both forms are made (as also
in infinitive or participle) from car, vas dwell (uṣṭvā, uṣitvā́),
nī (nītvā́, nayitvā), and mṛj (mṛṣṭvā́, mārjitvā).
d. While the formation is in general one requiring, like the passive
participle (e. g. uptvā, like uptá; uditvā́, like uditá), a weak
or weakened root, there are some cases in which it is made from a strong
or strengthened root-form. Thus (besides the instances already given:
chāyitvā, raṁtvā, śāsitvā, cāyitvā, śocitvā, nayitvā, mārjitvā), we
find charditvā (Āpast.), daṅṣṭvā, and spharitvā, and, from a
number of roots, a second strong form beside the more regular weak one:
namely, an̄ktvā, bhan̄ktvā, bhun̄ktvā, syanttvā (beside aktvā́ etc.);
cayitvā, smayitvā, smaritvā (beside citvā́ etc.); roditvā (beside
ruditvā), and siñcitvā (beside siktvā). The last shows the
influence of the present-stem; as do also mārjitvā (above) and
jighritvā (√ghrft). The form ṣṭhutvā (Āpast.) is doubtless a false
reading, for ṣṭhyūtvā.
992. The suffix य ya is added directly to the root, which is
accented, but has its weak form. A root ending in a short vowel takes
त्य tya instead of य ya: thus, जित्य -jítya, स्तुत्य -stútya,
कृत्य -kṛ́tya.
a. Roots in variable ṛ (242) change that vowel to īr or ūr: thus,
kīrya, gī́rya, tīrya (and tū́rya), dī́rya, pūrya, śī́rya, stī́rya (also
stṛtya); — roots in ā have for the most part -āya; but dhā
suck makes dhīya, and double forms are found from gā sing
(gāya, gī́ya), pā drink (pā́ya, pīya), dā give
(dā́ya, dádya), dā divide (dā́ya, ditya), mā measure, exchange
(mā́ya, mítya), sā bind (sā́ya, sya); lī cling has lā́ya or
līya, as if an ā-verb; and khan and dham make khāya and
dhmā́ya, from their ā-forms; — the roots in an and am making
their participle in ata (954 d) make the gerund in atya, but also
later in anya, amya (e. g. gátya, gamya; hátya, hanya; but tan
makes as second form tāya, and from ram only ramya is quotable); —
the roots in īv add ya to their īv-form: thus, ṣṭhīvya, sī́vya; —
a few roots in i and u add ya to the lengthened vowel besides
adding tya: thus, i go (īya, ítya; also ayya), ci gather
(cīya, cítya), and plu, yu unite, su, stu (plū́ya, plutya,
etc.); while kṣi destroy has only kṣī́ya.
b. This gerund, though accented on the root-syllable, is generally a
weakening formation: thus are made, without a strengthening nasal found
in some other forms,
ácya, ájya, idhya, údya, ubhya, grathya, tácya, daśya, bádhya, bhajya, lípya, lúpya, vlágya, śrabhya, sajya, skábhya, stábhya, syadya, svajya;
with weakening of other kinds, gṛ́hya and gṛ́bhya,
pṛcchya, úcya, udya, úpya, úṣya (vas dwell),
úhya, vidhya, vī́ya, vṛścya, spṛ́dhya, hū́ya; — but from a number of
roots are made both a stronger and a weaker form: thus, manthya and
máthya, mārjya and mṛ́jya, rundhya and rúdhya, śaṅsya and
śásya, śāsya and śiṣya, skándya and skádya, sráṅsya and srasya;
— and only strong forms are found from roots arc, av, cāy, śī
(śayya), as well as from certain roots with a constant nasal: e. g.
uñch, kamp, nand, lamb, śan̄k; isolated cases are oṣya (√uṣ
burn), prothya (also prúthya).
c. Other special cases are úhya and ūhya (√ūh remove), gurya
and gū́rya, gúhya and gūhya, rúhya and rūhya, bhramya and
bhrāmya, áyya (beside ítya, īya), ghrāya and jighrya; and
ūrṇutya (beside vṛ́tya).
993. The older language has the same two gerund formations, having the same distinction, and used in the same way.
a. In RV., however, the final of ya is in the great majority of
instances (fully two thirds) long (as if the instrumental ending of a
derivative noun in i or ti). In AV., long ā appears only once in a
RV. passage.
b. Instead of tvā alone, the Veda has three forms of the suffix,
namely tvā́, tvā́ya, and tvī́. Of these three, tvī́ is decidedly the
commonest in RV. (thirty-five occurrences, against twenty-one of tvā);
but it is unknown in AV., and very rare elsewhere in the older
language; tvā́ya is found nine times in RV. (only once outside the
tenth Book), twice in AV., and but half-a-dozen times elsewhere (in śB.,
once from a causative stem: spāśayitvā́ya). The historical relation of
the three forms is obscure.
c. Two other gerund suffixes, tvānam and tvīnam. are mentioned by
the grammarians as of Vedic use, but they have nowhere been found to
occur.
994. The use of this gerund, though not changing in its character, becomes much more frequent, and even excessive, in the later language.
a. Thus, in the Nala and Bhagavad-Gītā, which have only one tenth as many verb-forms as RV., there are more than three times as many examples of the gerund as in the latter.
b. In general, the gerund is an adjunct to the subject of a sentence,
and expresses an act or condition belonging to the subject: thus,
vajreṇa hatvā́ nír apáḥ sasarja (RV.) smiting with his thunderbolt, he
poured forth the waters; pītvī́ sómasya vāvṛdhe (RV.) having drunk of
the soma, he waxed strong;
tē yajñásya rásaṁ dhītvā́ vidúhya yajñáṁ yūpéna yopayitvā́ tirò ‘bhavan
(śB.) having sucked out the sap of the offering, having milked the
offering dry, having blocked it with the sacrificial post, they
disappeared; śrutvāi ’va cā ’bruvan (MBh.) and having heard, they
said; taṁ ca dūre dṛṣṭvā gardabhī ’yam iti matvā dhāvitaḥ (H.) and
having seen him in the distance, thinking ‘it is a she-ass’, he ran.
c. But if the logical subject, the real agent, is put by the
construction of the sentence in a dependent case, it is still qualified
by the gerund: thus, stríyaṁ dṛṣṭvā́ya kitaváṁ tatāpa (RV.) it
distresses the gambler (i. e. the gambler is distressed) at seeing a
woman; táṁ hāi ’naṁ dṛṣṭvā́ bhī́r viveda (śB.) fear came upon him (i.
e. he was afraid) when he saw him; vidhāya proṣite vṛttim (M.)
when he stays away after providing for her support;
kiṁ nu me syād idaṁ kṛtvā (MBh.) what, I wonder, would happen to me
if I did this; — and especially, when a passive form is given to the
sentence, the gerund qualifies the agent in the instrumental case (282
a): thus, tataḥ śabdād abhijñāya sa vyāghreṇa hataḥ (H.) thereupon he
was slain by the tiger, who recognized him by his voice;
tvayā sa rājā śakuntalām puraskṛtya vaktavyaḥ (ś.) presenting
śakuntalā, thou must say to the king;
haṅsānāṁ vacanaṁ śrutvā yathā me (gen. for instr.) nāiṣadho vṛtaḥ
(MBh.) as the Nishadhan was chosen by me on hearing the words of the
swans: this construction is extremely common in much of the later
Sanskrit.
d. Occasionally, the gerund qualifies an agent, especially an
indefinite one, that is unexpressed: thus,
tadā ’trāi ’va paktvā khāditavyaḥ (H.) then he shall be eaten [by
us] cooking him on the spot;
yad anyasya parijñāya punar anyasya dīyate (M.) that, after being
promised (lit. when one has promised her) to one, she is given again
to another; sucintya co ’ktaṁ suvicārya yat kṛtam (H.) what one says
after mature thought, and does after full deliberation. Hence, still
more elliptically, after alam: thus, alaṁ vicārya (ś.) enough of
hesitation; tad alaṁ te vanaṁ gatvā (R.) so have done with going to
the forest.
e. Other less regular constructions are met with, especially in the
older language: thus, in the manner of a participle with man and the
like (268 a), as táṁ hiṅsitvè ’va mene (śB.) he thought he had hurt
him; tā adbhir abhiṣicya nijāsyāi ’vā ’manyata (AB.) having
sprinkled them with water, he believed himself to have exhausted them;
— in the manner of a participle forming a continuous tense with √i
(1075 a), as indram evāi ’tāir ārabhya yanti (AB.) by means of them
they keep taking hold of Indra; — as qualifying a subordinate member of
the sentence, as puroḍā́śam evá kūrmám bhūtvā́ sárpantam (śB.) to the
sacrificial cake creeping about, having become a tortoise;
ayodhyām . . . saphenām sasvanām bhūtvā jalormim iva (R.) into
Ayodhyā, like a surge that had been foamy and roaring; — even
absolutely, as ātithyéna vāí devā́ iṣṭvā́ tā́nt samád avindat (śB.) when
the gods had sacrificed with the guest-offering, strife befel them.
f. As in the two examples before the last, a predicate word with
bhūtvā is put in the same case with the subject: thus, further,
tád iyám evāì ’tád bhūtvā́ yajati (śB.) so having thus become this
earth he makes offering; yena vāmanenā ’pi bhūtvā (Vet.) by whom,
even when he had become a dwarf. The construction is a rare one.
g. A number of gerunds have their meaning attenuated sometimes to the
semblance of a preposition or adverb: such are adhikṛtya making a
subject of, i. e. respecting, of; ādāya, upāgṛhya taking, i. e.
with; uddiśya pointing toward, i. e. at; āsādya, arriving
at, i. e. along, by; ārabhya beginning, i.e. from; sambhūya
being with, i. e. with; saṁhatya striking together, i. e. in
unison; prasahya using force, i. e. violently;
tyaktvā, parityajya, muktvā, vihāya, uddhṛtya, varjayitvā leaving
out etc., i. e. excepting, without; and others. Examples are:
śakuntalām adhikṛtya bravīmi (ś.) I am speaking of śakuntalā;
tam uddiśya kṣiptalaguḍaḥ (H.) having thrown the cudgel at him;
nimittaṁ kiṁcid āsādya (H.) for some reason or other.
h. The gerund is in the later language sometimes found in composition,
as if a noun-stem: e. g. prasahyaharaṇa taking with violence;
pretyabhāva existence after death; vibhajyapāṭha separate
enunciation; sambhūyagamana going together. It is also often
repeated (1260), in a distributive sense: e. g.
sá vāí sammṛ́jya-sammṛjya pratápya-pratapya prá yacchati (śB.) in each
case, after wiping and warming them, he hands them over;
gṛhītvā-gṛhītvā (KśS.) at each taking; unnamyo’nnamya (Pañc.)
every time that they arise.
Adverbial Gerund in am.
995. The accusative of a derivative nomen actionis in a, used
adverbially, assumes sometimes a value and construction so accordant
with that of the usual gerund that it cannot well be called by a
different name.
a. No example of a peculiar gerundial construction with such a form
occurs either in RV. or AV., although a dozen adverbial accusatives are
to be classed as representing the formation: thus,
abhyākrā́mam, pratán̄kam, praṇódam, nilā́yam, abhiskándam, etc. This
gerund is found especially in the Brāhmaṇas and Sūtras, where it is not
rare; in the epics it is extremely infrequent; later, also, it occurs
very sparingly.
b. A final vowel has vṛddhi-strengthening before the suffix: thus,
nāyam, śrāvam, kāram; final ā adds y: thus, khyāyam, yāyam; a
medial vowel has guṇa (if capable of it: 240): thus,
kṣepam, krośam, vartam (but īkṣam, pūram); a medial a before a
single consonant is lengthened: thus, krāmam, cāram, grāham, svādam
(but grantham, lambham). The accent is on the radical syllable. No
uncompounded examples are found in the older language, and extremely few
in the later.
c. Examples are: kā́maṁ vā́ imā́ny án̄gāni vyatyā́saṁ śete (śB.) he lies
changing the position of these limbs at pleasure;
úttarām-uttarāṁ śā́khāṁ samālámbhaṁ róhet (śB.) he would climb, taking
hold of a higher and ever a higher limb;
aparī́ṣu mahānāgám ivā ’bhisaṁsā́raṁ didṛkṣitā́raḥ (śB.) hereafter,
running together as it were about a great snake, they will wish to see
him; nā́māny āsām etā́ni nāmagrā́ham (śB.) with separate naming of
these their names; yó viparyā́sam avagū́hati (śB.) whoever buries it
upside down; bāhūtkṣepaṁ kranditum pravṛttā (ś.) she proceeded to
cry, throwing up her arms (with arm-tossing);
navacūtapallavāni darśaṁ-darśam madhukarāṇāṁ kvanitāni śrāvaṁ-śrāvam paribabhrāma
(DKC.) he wandered about, constantly seeing the young shoots of the
mango, and hearing the humming of the bees. Repeated forms, like those
in the last example, are approved in the later language; they do not
occur earlier (but instead of them the repeated ordinary gerund: 994 h).