MacDonnell II - Wilbourhall.org

ISC] CO-ORDINATIVES 209A 1.The most numerous group (about three-fourths of allthe Dvandvas) in(nearly always names of deities)the Rigveda comprises those compoundsin which each member isdual in form and has a separate accent ; e. g. mitra-varunaMttraand Varuna; ma,tar3i--pitsira motJwr and father ; dyavaprthiviheaven and earth. In the RV. the two duals are oftenseparated,as in the line a nakta barhih sadatam usasaletNight and Dawn seat themselves tijjon the litter. The propergenitive of such compounds is e. g. mitrayor varunayoh.But as these co-ordinate duals early came to be regarded asa unit, the commonest ending of the first member, that ofthe N. A., came to be retained unaltered in the other cases:G. mitra-varunayoh, I. mitra-varunabhyam. A furtherstep towards unification is taken in a minority of cases inwhich the first member loses its accent and the last syllableof the final member (irrespectively of its original accent)receives the acute, as surya-candramas-a sun and moon(candra-mas). The last stage in the Rigveda appears infour examples in which the first member assumes the stemform,e. g. indra-vayu Indra and Vdyu. In the later Samhitasand in B. this is the prevailing type in new formations,e. g. daksa-kratu m. vnll and understanding (TB.).2. Another type is represented by the plural Dvandvas *which express pairs of groups.These show the stem-formin the first member and the accent on the final syllable ofthe last. The only examples in the RV. occur in Book X;e.g. aho-ratrani- days and nights, ajavayas goats (aja) andsheep (avi) ;but in the later Sainhitas this type becomesquite general, e. g, bhadra-papah (AV.). the good and the Ijad.^^Cp. Latin su-ove-tauriUa, a later type representing three groups.-This Dvandva shows a double in-egularity: the gender of the firstmember has prevailed over that of the second, and the f. stem ratrlhas been changed to ratra.^Several of the cardinal numerals are old Dvandvas, e.g. dvadasaiicelreQwo and dva ten), being an old dual ; tr&yo-dasa thirteenijliiee and ten).