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Today's Topics:
1. "Aorist": better to say "Simple past tense" (Jay Vaidya)
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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2004 12:27:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jay Vaidya <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Sanskrit] "Aorist": better to say "Simple past tense"
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
The learned Europeans who rekindled sa.nskR^ita
scholarship did us disservice in naming the "luN^"
tense "aorist", rather than the easier "simple past
tense". Their term was accurate, but it sounds far
more exotic and hence unimportant.
If ever sa.nskR^ita were to be spoken for everyday use
(not just to read long-ago stories), luN^ would be the
workhorse past tense. For example:
(i) kim abhavat? -- What happened, yesterday or
earlier?
(ii) kim babhUva? -- What happened, at some distant
past that I did not personally witness?
(iii) kim abhUt? -- What happened? (anytime in the
past?)
It is obvious that there would be so many more
occasions to use (iii)=luN^, rather than the rather
special (i)=laN^ or (ii)=liT. Is it not?
Most of our literature is stories, where (i) and (ii)
are the right choices. I think, my school education in
sa.nskR^ita very shamefully left out luN^, leaving me
pretty much unable to compose even a single sentence
regarding events I witnessed today.
Why did they leave it? Perhaps because it is difficult
and has many exceptional forms. But by analogy to
currently spoken languages, exceptional forms survive
only in the most heavily used words.
We should familiarize ourselves with this important
tense, and use it more in our conversational messages.
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sa.nskR^itabhAshhA-adhyAyanam punash chetayitavantaH
pAshchAttya-paNDitAH dushchakrUH "luN^" lakArasya
nAmakaraNam #Aorist#-iti, na hi sukaraH "sAmAnyabhUta"
iti | teshhAM sA saMGYA sAdhu, paraM tu shrUyate atIva
vichitrA, tasmach-cha gauNo tatsaMGYI |
yadA kadA sa.nskR^itabhAshhA dainandina-vyApAre
upayujyate (na kevalam AkhyAneshhu), luN^ bhUyad
lakAreshhu vR^ishhabhaH | udAharaNArtham :
(1) kim abhavat -- anadyatane bhUte?
(2) kim babhUva -- mayi paroxe bhUte?
(3) kim abhUt -- kasmiMshchit bhUtakAle?
spashhTam kila yad bhavanti bAhulyena prasa.ngAH (3)
luN^aH vyApArasya, na tu (1) laN^o (2) liTo vA | sAdhu
na vA?
asmAkam gadyapadyam AkhyAnarUpam bAhulyena | tatra
(1), (2) cha rUpayoH vyApAraH sAdhu | tathApi
pAThashAlAyAM shixite mayi varjito luN^ adhyApanAd iti
mahatI me lajjA | ata eva na shaknomi kartum
vakyamAtraM tad AkyAtuM yad abhUt adyaiva |
kasmAn-na adhyApito.asmi luN^am ? syAd eva
tat-klishhTatvAt, niyamAnAm apavAda-bAhuylyAch-cha |
paraM tu adyayAvatInAM bhAshhANAm upamayA dR^ishyate
yat sAmAnyA eva shabdaprayogA apavAdaprachurAH |
ayam mahattvapUrNo luN^-lakAraH GYAtavyaH asmAbhiH,
asmAkaM saMvAdarUpeshhu sandesheshhu
upayojitavyatarash-cha |
bhavadIyo
dhana.njayaH
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End of sanskrit Digest, Vol 17, Issue 31
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