Page:The Indian Antiquary Vol 2.djvu/50

42 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. [Fibbuart, 1873. Hindi rejects these short rowels, and Bidyapati seems to follow this rule, changing riti into rtf, and vayu into bdy or bdo. Nouns ending in long % and d frequently follow the Bengali mode, and shorten those vowels : so we see dhani for dhani, badhu and bahu for vadhd. The pronoun, especially in the 1st and 2nd persons, is singularly Hindi in its general type, leaning towards the Bhojphri dialect. The 1st person has lost its real singular, which would probably have been either Aaun or mu, and instead thereof the plural hdm is always found. This is the case in Bhojpuri, and is introductory to the universal employment in Bengali of ami for 11/ though this is really a plural, the genuine singular mui being now considered vulgar and banished from polite speech. Thus we have Nari janame hdm na karinu bhagi— “ Bom a woman, I have not been fortunate.” J&ti goyalini hdm matihin— “ 1 am by caste a cowherdess, without wisdom.” Aju bujhaba hdm taya chaturai— “ To-day I shall understand thy craftiness.” Of the oblique case in its most usual crude form, there are several variations :— Ki kahasi mohe nidan— u What dost thou say to me after all ? ” Mo bine swapane na herabi an— “ Even in sleep thou shalt see no other but me.*' Ingite bedan na janayabi moy— “ (Even) by a sign thou shalt not show fo me thy pain.” We even get a form closely approaching modern Bengali in Bihi more darupa bhel— " Fate has been harsh to me” Here the text has probably been modernized ; the poet perhaps wrote mohe. The genitive exhibits the Bengali form. Ki lagi badanas jhapasi sundari, Ilarala chetana mor— u Wherefore dost cover thy face, 0 fair one ? It has snatched away my senses.” Kata rOpe minati karala pahun mor— “ In how many ways did he intreat me ! ” (Literally “ make supplication of meminati— vinati). Sugandhi chandana ange lepala mor— “ He rubbed fragrant sandal on my body.” In order to avoid lengthening this paper too much, 1 will for the rest merely give the words which I have found, omitting quotations :— 1st Person. Sing. Norn. ham. Plural, him. [h am e.] ham ah in.] Nom. ham. Obi. m o. moy. mohe. [more.] m u j h . Gen. mor. himar. hamari. The oblique form used as in the noun for all cases, with or without postpositions. 2nd Person. Sing. Nom. tuhun. tunhi. Obi. t o, t o r e to h e. Gen. tuy a. toy. tuj h. tor. 3rd Person. Plural, t u m, t u m h i tumahin. tuhunk a. Plural, [t i n i.] tah ari. Sing. Nom. so, 8 e. Obi. ta, tay. tah e. Gen. takar. tar. Leaving the subsidiary pronominal forms, which exhibit no striking peculiarities, I proceed to the verb, all the tenses of which have not yet been found, though the principal parts can either be pointed to in various passages, or inferred by analogy. The latter are inclosed in brackets. Root D h a r a p a—‘ holding.* Present Tense. I hold. thou holdest. he holds. 1. [dharu], 2. aharasi, 3. dharai, dhare, dharaye, dhara, ) All four forms of the 3rd person are found, and sometimes even a sort of double form in eye, as mageye. Poet Tense. l- aIIIIV’11 held, dnaralu, ) 2. dharali, thou heldest. 3. dharala, he held. Future Tense. 1. dharaba, I shall hold. 2. d h a r a b i, thou shalt hold. 3. dharaba, he shall hold. Imperative. 2. d h a r a, ) dharaha, >hold thou, dharahu,) 3. dharuk, let him hold.