159 
1872.] Hoernle — Essays on the Gaurian Languages. 
nouns unit, Wwrr, etc., form an oblique form, gen. wru ^T, etc., just as 
gTfl m, *?i#| 'erT. (In the Hindi-class Gaurian , it must be remembered, 
all these nouns are unchangeable ; thus Hindi gen. fb<TT 3>r, ^m?r 'fiT, vitit 
^>T, fu^Pfrr, etc.). Again the Sanskritic nouns *n#f, HTHt, etc. (nom. 
sing, of etc.) form the gen. sing. KTWr^T, ^TUJT m, gTUJT 
^T, by the analogy of the Prdkrittc words etc., which form 
gen. wn^jj rfT TlTrHr m Here, however, an option is possible, for the 
proper Gaurian noun vfTf), gen. mdT m, also affords an analogy. According- 
ly we find that some Sanskritic words have chosen to follow the analogy of 
and such like Gaurian words and, according to the Gaurian law, do not 
admit an oblique form. Such are the Samkritic nouns ^rt, «RT), ^t, ^wiT, 
etc., and the foreign nouns mspi), qfT^t, etc. Here a great deal 
of arbitrariness seems to prevail as to the analogy which should be 
followed. As regards the nouns in X and ^ (whether masc., fern, or neuter), 
they appear to be all Sanslcritic; at least if Dadoba’s grammar represents 
the case fairly ; for none of the instances given by him (pp. 7G, 78, 79, 86, 
87, 89, 94, 95,) need bo a word derived from the Prakrit ; they are such as 
^f%, ^ftr, (masc.), wf%, ajfs, VW, mg (fem.) ; Uifr, 
(neuter). It should be remembered that according to the Gaurian law 
explained formerly, the final visarga of the Sanskrit nom. sing, is dropped 
in the Gaurian ; hence the nouns just mentioned are modifications of the 
Sanskrit nom. sing. «tfP'*:,'3if%:,'3lf5rb etc., etc. Now all these Sanslcritic nouns 
are treated by the law of the Prukritic elements and admit an oblique form 
in long x or It is not very difficult to see the analogy which they follow. 
There are in Marathi a good number of feminine nouns in "W which belong 
to the Prakritic element and form an oblique form in long X. The reason of 
this is simply this, that they are really feminine nouns in short X, which X, 
however, according to the Gaurian law explained before, becomes quiescent 
and, being also suppressed in writing, is thus apparently changed to * 
In an older state of Marathi, no doubt, the original final ? was both written 
and spoken (similarly as it has been proved already in the case of Hindi) ; 
e. g., fire in Marathi is ^rrfl (which is th o proper Gaurian form of the word, 
beside which the Sanskritic form is also used) ; in reality it is 
standing for the Prakrit which (by the Gaurian law of shortening 
* This law applies strictly only to words derived from Prakrit. In words derived 
from Sanskrit the final x (or ^) is often pronounced and, as a rule, always written. 
This explains the fact, why all Marathi nouns in ^ (or \3) appear to be Sanslcritic. 
Exceptionally, however, the final x ma y dropped in Sanskritic words ; e. g., 3f rf 3fTrT, 
^<T occurs besides 3|ffr, StlffT, (of* Dadobas Grammar, p. 94), and the truth 
of the theory stated in the text is confirmed by these nouns, which all form tlioir 
■ oblique form in long as gen. Jifft m, Ml- 
