MacDonnell II - Wilbourhall.org

69-70] DECLENSION 47lengthening a preceding short vowel, is dropped ;e. g.sah + ta = sa-dha ' overcome ;rih + ta = ri-dha liclced ;muh + ta = mu-dha (AV.) hetvildered ;vah + ta = u-dha ;"vah + dhvam = vo-dhvam (VS.).^d. An exception to c is the root nah hind, in which h istreated as dh : nad-dha hound. An exception to both hand c is the root drh : dr-dha firm (begins with d and hasa short vowel).^CHAPTER IIIDECLENSION70. Declension, or the inflexion of nominal stems bymeans of endings that express the various syntactical relationsrepresented by the cases, is most conveniently treated,owing to characteristic difference of form, meaning, and use,under (1)nouns (including adjectives) ; (2) numerals; (3) pronouns.In Vedic there area. three genders : masculine, feminine, and neuter ;h. three numbers :singular, dual, and plural ;c. eight cases :nominative, vocative, accusative, instrumental,dative, ablative, genitive, locative.^1In all these past participles the dh is in the RV. written as Ih.^^With Samprasarana.Through vazh-dhvam : azh here becoming o just as original as(through az) becomes o (cp. 45 b).*Before this dh the vowel r never appears lengthened, but it isprosodically long (cp. 8, note 2).^This is the order of the eases in the Hindu Sanskrit grammarians,excepting the vocative, which is not regarded by them as a case. Itis convenient as the only arrangement by which such cases as areidentical in form, either in the singular, the dual, or the plural, maybe grouped together.