The Roots, Verb-Forms and Primary Derivatives of the Sanskrit Language {A Supplement to his Sanskrit Grammar}

$28
Item Code: IDK211
Author: William Dwight Whitney
Publisher: D. K. Printworld Pvt. Ltd.
Edition: 2008
ISBN: 8124604045
Pages: 264
Cover: Hardcover
Other Details 8.7" X 5.7"
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Book Description
Preface

This work is intended especially as a Supplement to my Sanskrit Grammar (Leipzig, 1879), giving, with a fullness of detail that was not then practicable nor admissible as part of the grammar itself, all of the quotable roots of the language, with the tense and conjugation-systems made from them, and with the noun and adjective (infinitival and participial) formations that attach themselves most closely to the verb; and further, with the other derivative nouns and adjective-stems usually classed as primary: since these also are needed, if one would have a comprehensive view of the value of a given root in the language. And everything given is dated, with such accuracy as the information thus for in hand allows – whether found in the language throughout its whole history, or limited to a certain period.

My leading authority has necessarily been that magnificent thesaurus of authentic information respecting the Sanskrit language of every period, the great St. Peters burg Lexicon of Bohtlingk and Roth. This I have gone carefully over, excerpting all the material needed for my purpose. So far, indeed, as concerns the epic and classical literature, the Lexicon has been almost my sole source, since my own collections, for verification or of additional material, though not wholly wanting, have yet been altogether insignificant as compared with it. But in the order language, of Veda and Brahmana and Upanishad and Sutra, I have done much more independent work. I have, namely, gone over all the texts of the earlier period accessible to me, including (by the kindness of Professor Weber) the as yet unpublished Kausitaki-Brahmana and Kathaka, and by the kindness of the late Dr. Burnell the immense Jaimimya or Talavakara-Brahmana, which has as yet hardly been accessible to any one else; and from them I have excerpted all the noteworthy verbal forms and (less completely) the primary derivatives; thus verifying and occasionally correcting the material of the Lexicon, supplying chance omissions, and especially filling in not a few details which it had not lain in the design of that work to present in their entirety.

As a matter of course, no such work as the present can pretend to completeness, especially at its first appearance. The only important texts of which we have exhaustive verbal indexes are the Rig-Veda and the Atharva-Veda, nor is it known that any other is in preparation; and only where such indexes exist can the inclusion of all that a text contains be assured. But I trust it will be found that the measure of completeness here attained is in general proportioned to the importance of the material: that it is the more indifferent forms and derivatives which, having been passed over by the Lexicon, have escaped my gleaning also. I expect to continue the work of verification and addition, and to make an eventual future edition perceptibly nearer to perfection in its details, and possessing such improvements in plan as my own experience and the criticisms of others may suggest. It is unnecessary to add that corrections and additions of any kind will be welcomed by me, and duly acknowledged.

Of the verb-forms which, though not yet found – and, for the most part, destined never to be found – in recorded use, are prescribed or authorized by the Hindu grammarians, a liberal presentation is made under the different roots: such material being always distinguished from the other by being put in square brackets. It is in no part given at first hand, but only as reported by Western authorities: the Lexicon, Westergaard's Radices, and the various European grammars; all of these supplement rather than contradict one another; and any occasional disagreement among them is passed over, as relating to a matter of too little consequence to be worth reporting.

The periods in the life of the language which are acknowledged and distinguished by appropriate notation are six: the Veda (marked with v.), the Brahmana (with B.), the earlier or more genuine Upanishads (with U.), the Sutras (with s.), the epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana (with E.), and the classical or common Sanskrit (with c.), This classification, however, is by no means an absolute one, and calls for certain explanations and limitations, as follows.

Under 'Veda' (v) are included only the indexed texts of the Rig-Veda, Sama-Veda, and Atharva-Veda. In strictness, certain passages of the Atharva-Veda should have been excluded, as being in prose and Brahmana-like; and, what is of much more importance, the older and better part of the mantra-material I the various samhita's of the Yajur-Veda, in the Brahmanas, and even in the Sutras, is quite as good Veda as most of the Atharvan, some of it even as parts of the Rik. In the present condition of things, however, it did not seems to me practicable to draw the division-line otherwise than in the partly arbitrary was in which I have drawn it. When the mantra-material is collected from all places and compared (as it by all means ought soon to be), it will be possible to use the term 'Veda' in a more exact sense, both inclusively and exclusively – though between what is genuinely old and what is in artificially antique style a definite separation will probably never admit of being made.

It is further to be started that in the following lists nothing is intended to be marked with simple v., as 'Vedic', that does not occur in the Rig-Veda: what is not Rig-Vedic. Thought it may be found in both the other collections, is marked AV., or SV., or both, as the case may be. On the other hand, if anything occurring only in the Rik among there three Vedas is found also in later periods, the facts that it does not chance to be et with in the Atharvan or Sasman is too unimportant to notice and (save perhaps in exceptional cases) it is marked V.B. or the like.

Between Brahmana, Aranyaka, and Upanishad, again, the line of division in an evanescent one, and perhaps hardly worth the attempt at drawing. But I have followed the method of distinguishing by a u. the small number of these treatises that have a existence separate form Brahmana or Aranyaka, while not distinguishing the two latter from one another. The sign U. is the one of least importance and least frequency in the system adopted.

The division of Sutras (S.) is a plainer one, except so far as these treatises contain mantra-material in their quoted verses (as already intimated) – ad Brahmana-material also in their quoted formulas. The proper language of the Sutras themselves is a true continuator of that of the Brahmanas.

As epic (E.) are reckoned only the two great poems, the Mahabharata and Ramayana. And in these it has, of course, been impossible to distinguish between the older and the more recent parts: although, beyond a question, a considerable part of both is in no manner distinguishable from the general later literature, except by a degree of archaizing neglect of strict requirements of the native grammar.

Everything else that is Sanskrit falls under the head of classical (c.), or of the language as written under the domination of the native system of grammar. Here the only subdivision which one is tempted to make is to mark separately those forms and words which are found used only in the commentaries, and which are therefore open to a heightened suspicion of artificiality: but this I have not tried to do.

A plus-sign (+) indicates that the given formation is found to occur from the specified period onward, even to the latest or classical period.

Instead of a period, an individual text is sometimes referred to – yet not upon and very definite and consistent plans (except in the case of the Vedas, as explained above). A 'superior' figure (e.g.RV.) indicates the number of times a world or from has been met with – yet this, again, only to exceptional instances, and not in the case of every unique or very rare occurrence.

So far as the present-system is concerned, only so many specimen-forms are given as suffice to illustrate the mode of formation. It would have been space and time thrown away to instance in each case the various sub-formations – modes, participles, imperfect – that occurs, since one form implies clearly enough the possible existence of the rest. The form taken as representative specimen is ordinarily the 3d singular, as being often more characteristic than the 1s; and that person is even occasionally given when, in verbs of infrequent use, t is not itself actually quotable. Irregular or exceptional forms, whether of the earlier or of the later language, are then added in parenthesis. Everywhere, an appended 'etc', means that other forms of the same make occur: yet I find on review that I have not used this sign consistently, and its absence must not be taken always as indicating more than that the variety of forms quotable is comparatively small. The various modes of present-formations are intended to be given in the order of their relative regularity or frequency; to each is prefixed in brackets the number belonging to it in the order of the conjugation-classes as given by the Hindu grammarians – since, however meaningless and unworthy of retention this may be, it is still widely used, not only in the Grammars, but even by general writes on language.

In the other tense-systems, while in the main the same method is followed, the intention nevertheless is to give, on account of their greater infrequency and irregularity, a conspectus of the various tense and mode-formations from the same stem (not, of course, the participles, except for the aorist) Thus, for example, no quotable precative, either active or middle, is designedly omitted under the aorist of to which it belongs; nor any quotable conditional under the first future; nor any pluperfect under the perfect. Moreover, in view of the rarity of the 2d sing. Perfect active, and the useless prolixity of the native rules as to its formations, every example of it is given that has been found to occur. The order in which the aorists are presented is the systematic one, without reference their frequency of use.

Among the verbal adjectives and nouns are included as belonging to the verbal conjugation only the passive participle, the infinitives, and the gerunds (along with that in –am, the distinction of which from an ordinary adverbially used accusative is not always easy to draw); the gerundives are quite too loosely attached to the conjugation-system to be worth treating as part of it, and they are accordingly relegated to be list of derivatives.

Of the secondary or derivative conjugations, only examples enough are given to show the form of the stem unless, indeed, some unusual or irregular forms are met with, in which case they are duly noted. To cite, for example, the innumerable futures and verbals of the causative conjugation, or even its perfects, all of them made upon precisely the same pattern, would have been wholly useless. The causative aorists, however, since they are made directly from the root, are of course put along with the other aorists, save in the exceptional cases where they actually come from the causative stem (as atisthipat, bibhisas, etc.) All the tertiary conjugations, not omitting even the common causative passives (any others are quite rare), are noted so far as found.

In the lists of derivatives are given not only those of genuinely primary character, but also those which have come to assume a primary aspect in the language, even though of incontestably secondary origin: such as the gerundives in –tavya and Vedic –tva (from –tu), and aniya (from –ana) the nomina agentis in –in, and the various formations in ya (among which hardly any, if any, are really primary). These are in general placed next after the forms form which they are presumably derived. Apart from this, the order of arrangement intended to be pursued is in the main the alphabetic order of the suffixes, the radical stems or those without suffix standing at the head; but such an arrangement could not be very strictly carried out, nor does any particular importance belong to it, considering how easily the columns may be glanced over to verify the presence or absence of any given formation; and some inconsistencies will doubtless be found. Reduplicated stems are put after the others, and last of all the quasi-primitive formations from (secondary, or rarely primary or tertiary) conjugation – stems. Notation of the period of occurrence is made I the same way as for the verb-forms. A hyphen put before a stem indicates that it has not been found quotable otherwise than as posterior member of a compound: one following a stem (much more rarely) shows it to occurs only as prior member of a compound, or in derivative stems or in denominative conjugation.

Throughout the whole work, accent-signs are applied only where the word is found actually to marked I accentuated texts.

It is, of course, impossible to draw the line everywhere between the derivatives of a root and words that do not belong to it; since etymology is from beginning to end a matter of balancing probabilities, and thick-set with uncertainties and chances of error. It has been my intention to err rather upon the side of liberality of inclusion than the opposite – and certainly I have in not a few cases put under certain roots words as to whose connection with those roots I have great misgivings; but doubtless also there are words omitted, by oversight or by failure of judgement, which out to have been included. All such errors, it is hoped, will be viewed with a reasonable degree of indulgence, considering the novelty and the extreme laboriousness of the undertaking. Its main intent is to furnish the means of examining in their chronologic entirety the groups of words and forms that cluster about the so called roots in Sanskrit, that they may be studied, and have their relations determined, with more complete understanding; and that intent will be gained in spite of minor omissions and inaccuracies. Regarding it as primarily an assemblage of materials for study, I have not hastened to anticipate the results of comparison by penetrating behind the aspect of things as shows in the Sanskrit language itself, or to reduce the materials to an Indo-European basis and from of statement. A few intimations as to the more obviously probable connections of certain roots are given in brief notes at the end of exposition of forms and derivatives.

The representative form of the roots is naturally that adopted in the grammar to which work is supplement. Although loath to differ from the Petersburg lexicon upon such a point, I cannot regret having adopted the instead of the ar or ra-form (e. g. kr, krp, instead of kar, krap) of the many roots exhibiting both elements in their forms and derivatives. So long as we speak of the Sanskrit root vid, and not ved, so long it seems to follow that we out to speak of the root vrt, and not vart, whatever may be the Indo-European value of the root in the one case or in the other. The meanings added after the roots by no means claim to be exhaustive; they are in general intended only to identify the root.

As a matter of course, not a few matters of doubtful classification present themselves in connection with the verb forms, of which the scope of the work does not allow a discussion. Such are here and there noted by a question mark. The classes of forms that contain the most puzzling problems are the reduplicated ones, and the present stems ending in ya; upon these no new light has been thrown since the publication of the author's Grammar, in which the difficulty of their treatment was noticed.

In the indexes of stems given at the end of the volume, a classification is adopted which is intended to facilitate the historical comprehension of the language, by distinguishing what belongs respectively to its older and to its later periods from that which forms a part of it throughout its whole history.

It may be added that the manuscript left the author's hands complete in July, 1884; the delay in its appearance is owing to his distance from the place of printing and publication.

I desire to express my obligation to Professor Lanman for kindly aiding the accuracy of the work by giving the proof-sheets an additional revision.

From the Jacket

The book is intended especially as a supplement to Sanskrit Grammar of W.D. Whitney and includes all the views comprehensively of a given root in the Sanskrit language. The author has respected the language of every period, and the great St. Petersburg Lexicon of Bohtlingk and Roth have been his greatest source for materials o epic and classical literature. In the older language of Vedas and Brahmanas and Upanishad and Sutras, he has done much more independent work.

The periods in the life of the language which are acknowledged and distinguished by appropriate notation are six: the Veda (v); the Brahmana (b); the Upanishad (u); the Sutras (s); the epic (e); and the common Sanskrit (c). They have all been adequately explained I detail.

The book will be useful to the scholarly community in need of authentic community in need of authentic information on Sanskrit language.

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