Page:Vedic Grammar.djvu/128

I. ALLGEMEINES UND SPRACHE. 4. VEDIC GRAMMAR. 'unfriendly', su-prav-i- 'very attentive', rath-i- 'charioteer', á-rath-i- 'not a charioteer'; and the Proper Names nám-i- and pŕth-i-¹. 118 -īka: action and agent. 136. This suffix forms a few neuter substantives and some adjectives: thus án-ika- n. 'face', diś-īka- n. 'aspect', mṛḍ-īká- n. ‘grace', á-sar-īka- (AV.) n. 'rheumatic pains'; -rj-ika-² 'beaming', dybh-ika- m., N. of a demon, urdh- īká- m. 'increaser', ví-sar-ika- (AV.) m., a kind of disease; from a reduplicated stem: par-phar-ika- m. 'filler'. 2 -īyāms : agent. 137. This suffix is used in forming comparatives, being added to the root in the same way as the superlative suffix -istha (133). At least 40 of these derivatives3 occur in the Samhitas. Examples are: jáv-īyāms- ‘quicker', mámh-iyāms- 'more liberal', yáj-iyams-'sacrificing better', téj-iyāms- 'sharper', véd-iyams- 'procuring more', yódh-iyams- 'fighting better', préyams-4 'dearer' (V prī-), śréyāms-5 (śrī-) 'more splendid', -stheyams- 'lasting' (Vstha-). Connected in sense with the corresponding positive are án-iyams- (AV.) 'smaller', beside ánu- 'minute', śás-iyams- 'more frequent', beside sás-vant- 'constant'; and from a derivative form of the root tiksn-iyams- (AV.)5 'sharper', beside tikṣná 'sharp' (tij- 'be sharp'). a. Beside the usual form in -iyams- there appear some half dozen comparatives made with a shorter form of the suffix -yāms: táv-yāms- beside táv-īyāms- 'stronger', náv-yāms- beside náv-īyāms- 'new', pán-yāms- beside pán- īyāms- 'more wonderful', bhi-yams-6 ‘(becoming) more', 'greater', beside bháv- yams- 'more plentiful, rábh-yāms- beside rábh-īyāms- (VS.) 'more violent', sáh-yāms- beside sáh-iyāms- 'stronger'; jyá-yāms- ‘greater', 'older', and sán-yāms- 'older' (sána- 'old') appear without an alternative form beside them. b. With verbal prefixes or particles: ví-kled-īyāṇs- (AV.) ‘moistening more', pári-svaj-īyāms- (AV.) ‘clasping more firmly', práti-cyav-īyāms- ‘pressing closer against'; á-stheyāms- 'not enduring'. -u : agent. 138. This suffix forms a considerable number of agent nouns, both adjectives and substantives. The latter are chiefly masculines, but there are also several feminines and neuters. The suffix is usually accented. The root is generally weak, but sometimes shows Vṛddhi, least often Guņa; it also occasionally appears in a reduplicated form. Medial a usually remains unchanged, but is sometimes lengthened; occasionally it is nasalized or appears as e. Final -ā adds an intervening y, but is occasionally dropped. Gutturals only (not palatals) appear before this suffix. I. Examples of adjectives are: ur-ú- 'wide', rjú- 'straight', prth-i- 'broad', mrd-i- (VS.) 'soft', vidh-ú- 'solitary'; jay-i- 'conquering' (Vji-), dar-i- 'splitting' (Vdr-); say-i- 'lying' (VS), say-i 'lying' (Všī-), cikit-ú- 'shining' (V cit-), jigy-i- 'victorious', sisn-u- 'ready to give' (Vsan-)¹; tak-ú- ‘swift', tan-ú- 'thin', I See below 375 B; LINDNER p. 80; from the adjective stem pāpó-, the radical WHITNEY 355 b. element of which is uncertain. 2 As final member of a few compounds, as bhá-rjīka light shedding'. 3 See LINDNER p. 155; WHITNEY 466- 470. 4 The roots prī- and śrī- being treated as ending in -a: prá-iyāms and śrá-iyāms- as in the superlative. 5 In the TS. páp-īyāms- is formed directly 6 With the radical vowel unchanged as in the superlative. 7 Some other words have the appearance of being reduplicated: babhr-ú- brown', a-rár-u- 'hostile' (ra- give'); malimlu- (VS.) seems to be a mutilated form of malimluca- (AV.) 'robber'.