Well, parame vyoman: some dilettante speculation, just for fun! (Part 1)

[tocky]

Rgveda I 164, 39 (part):

Rco akSare parame vyoman [richaw aksharay paramay vyawmun, LOL!]

INTRODUCTION

In Sanskrit, the adverbial relations between words of a sentence
are mostly expressed using inflectional cases, as opposed to many
modern IE-languages, where the same are expressed mostly using
prepositions.

Sanskrit has seven (in Western view, eight, as the vocative is
considered a separate case, not a "subtype" of the nominative)
cases, which are:

nominative/vocative (prathamaa, viz. vibhakti: first [case])
accusative (dvitiiyaa: second)
instrumental (tRtiiyaa: 3rd)
dative (caturthii: at this point you can, hopefully, guess...)
ablative (pañcamii)
genitive (SaSThii)
locative (saptamii)

The basic ending of the locative case is 'i': div (heaven) - divi (*in*
heaven).

In many cases that 'i' changes to 'e' due to the operation of
([in this case] internal) sandhi or euphonic combination of words or (in
this case) parts of word (the stem + the ending), for instance, as
the sandhi for 'a' (short: [a] or long: [A]) + 'i'(ditto) results to
'e' (example of *external* sandhi: mahA + Ishvara > maheshvara):

yoga + i > yoge (in yoga)
parama + i > parame (in the highest [whatever])

[tocky]

Post by tocky
Rco akSare parame vyoman [richaw aksharay paramay vyawmun, LOL!]
INTRODUCTION
In Sanskrit, the adverbial relations between words of a sentence are
mostly expressed using inflectional cases, as opposed to many modern
IE-languages, where the same are expressed mostly using prepositions.
Sanskrit has seven (in Western view, eight, as the vocative is
considered a separate case, not a "subtype" of the nominative) cases,
nominative/vocative (prathamaa, viz. vibhakti: first [case]) accusative
(dvitiiyaa: second)
instrumental (tRtiiyaa: 3rd)
dative (caturthii: at this point you can, hopefully, guess...)
ablative (pañcamii)
genitive (SaSThii)
locative (saptamii)
The basic ending of the locative case is 'i': div (heaven) - divi (*in*
heaven).
In many cases that 'i' changes to 'e' due to the operation of ([in this
case] internal) sandhi or euphonic combination of words or (in this
case) parts of word (the stem + the ending), for instance, as the sandhi
for 'a' (short: [a] or long: [A]) + 'i'(ditto) results to 'e' (example
yoga + i > yoge (in yoga)
parama + i > parame (in the highest [whatever])

Now, the asyavaamasya-suukta has at least four different metres,
e.g. jagatii and triSTup (triSTubh). The "famous" Rco akSare -verse
is "written" in triSTup (4 * 11 syllables). If we divide the first
line according to the devanaagarii character of the saMhitaa-paaTha,
we get:

R-co-a-kSa-re pa-ra-me vyo-man

which makes 10 syllables! Wassup, Doc!?

The pada-paaTha reading reveils the truth:

R-caH; a-kSa-re pa-ra-me *vi-o-man*,

which means, that some words containing the semivowel 'y' (as
in English 'yes'), followed by a vowel - in this case 'o' -
are actually recited so that the semivowel
changes to a "genuine" vowel, producing a hiatus between that
vowel and the next, because in Sanskrit there is no diphthong
'io'.

[tocky]

Post by tocky
Rco akSare parame vyoman [richaw aksharay paramay vyawmun, LOL!]
INTRODUCTION
In Sanskrit, the adverbial relations between words of a sentence are
mostly expressed using inflectional cases, as opposed to many modern
IE-languages, where the same are expressed mostly using prepositions.
Sanskrit has seven (in Western view, eight, as the vocative is
considered a separate case, not a "subtype" of the nominative) cases,
nominative/vocative (prathamaa, viz. vibhakti: first [case]) accusative
(dvitiiyaa: second)
instrumental (tRtiiyaa: 3rd)
dative (caturthii: at this point you can, hopefully, guess...)
ablative (pañcamii)
genitive (SaSThii)
locative (saptamii)
The basic ending of the locative case is 'i': div (heaven) - divi (*in*
heaven).
In many cases that 'i' changes to 'e' due to the operation of ([in this
case] internal) sandhi or euphonic combination of words or (in this
case) parts of word (the stem + the ending), for instance, as the
sandhi for 'a' (short: [a] or long: [A]) + 'i'(ditto) results to 'e'
yoga + i > yoge (in yoga)
parama + i > parame (in the highest [whatever])

Now, the asyavaamasya-suukta has at least four different metres, e.g.
jagatii and triSTup (triSTubh). The "famous" Rco akSare -verse is
"written" in triSTup (4 * 11 syllables). If we divide the first line
R-co-a-kSa-re pa-ra-me vyo-man
which makes 10 syllables! Wassup, Doc!?
R-caH; a-kSa-re pa-ra-me *vi-o-man*,
which means, that some words containing the semivowel 'y' (as in English
'yes'), followed by a vowel - in this case 'o' - are actually recited
so that the semivowel changes to a "genuine" vowel, producing a hiatus
between that vowel and the next, because in Sanskrit there is no
diphthong 'io'.

So, let's "study" the first phrase, 'Rco akSare'. The first word in
pada-paaTha would read like 'RcaH' (~ richaha). That is the nominative
plural from the "basic" form, Rk (the lemma or dictionary form is
actually 'Rc', because most of the oblique cases are based on that
stem, like 'RcaH' above).

The word 'Rg' in 'Rgveda' is actually
the "same" word as 'Rk'. The reason why the letter 'k' changes to
'g' is sandhi or euphonic combination of words (external sandhi)
or parts of words (internal sandhi). (An example in English of
internal sandhi would be the s-sound in, say, cats and dogs. Although
English spelling does not indicate that, the s-sound in 'dogs' is
actually a voiced variant of the dental sibilant, in phonetic
spelling usually indicated by 'z': dogz.)

The difference in this
case between English and Sanskrit is, that in the latter the sandhi
phenomenon is regressive assimilation: the last sound of the first
word (k) sort of anticipates the voicing of the first sound of the
second word, namely 'v', which is a *voiced* bilabial stop. Therefore,
the last sound of 'Rk', which is 'k' changes to its voiced counterpart,
namely 'g'.

We think most cases of Sanskrit external sandhi are instances of
regressive assimilation.

Monier-Williams (Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionary) gives the
following meanings for Rk (Rc):

Rc 2 %{k} f. praise , verse , esp. a sacred verse recited in praise
of a deity (in contradistinction to the Sa1man [pl. Sa1ma1ni] or verses
which were sung and to the Yajus [pl. Yaju1n6shi] or sacrificial words ,
formularies , and verses which were muttered) ; sacred text RV. AV. VS.
S3Br. &c. Mn. &c. ; the collection of the R2ic verses (sg. , but usually
pl. %{R4cas}) , the R2ig-veda AitBr. A1s3vS3r. and Gr2. Mn. i , 23 , &c.
(cf. %{Rg-veda} above) ; the text of the Pu1rvata1pani1ya , Ra1mat Up.
[225,2]

Böhtlingk Sanskrit-Wörterbuch
Schmidt Nachträge
ऋच् [Rc -- tocky]
1-261 (click to see original page)
f.
1) Glanz.
2) heiliges Lied , — Vers ; insbes. im Unterschied vom gesungenen ( सामन्)
und von der Opferformel ( यजुस्).
3) der Vers , so v.a. der Text , auf welchem eine Handlung beruht oder
auf welchen eine Erklärung sich beruft.
4) die Sammlung der Rc , der Ṛgveda ; gewöhnlich Pl.
5) der Text des Pūrvatāpancya.
PW21337 1.261-1

[tocky]

Post by tocky

Post by tocky
Rco akSare parame vyoman [richaw aksharay paramay vyawmun, LOL!]
INTRODUCTION
In Sanskrit, the adverbial relations between words of a sentence are
mostly expressed using inflectional cases, as opposed to many modern
IE-languages, where the same are expressed mostly using prepositions.
Sanskrit has seven (in Western view, eight, as the vocative is
considered a separate case, not a "subtype" of the nominative) cases,
nominative/vocative (prathamaa, viz. vibhakti: first [case])
accusative (dvitiiyaa: second)
instrumental (tRtiiyaa: 3rd)
dative (caturthii: at this point you can, hopefully, guess...)
ablative (pañcamii)
genitive (SaSThii)
locative (saptamii)
The basic ending of the locative case is 'i': div (heaven) - divi
(*in* heaven).
In many cases that 'i' changes to 'e' due to the operation of ([in
this case] internal) sandhi or euphonic combination of words or (in
this case) parts of word (the stem + the ending), for instance, as the
sandhi for 'a' (short: [a] or long: [A]) + 'i'(ditto) results to 'e'
yoga + i > yoge (in yoga)
parama + i > parame (in the highest [whatever])

Now, the asyavaamasya-suukta has at least four different metres, e.g.
jagatii and triSTup (triSTubh). The "famous" Rco akSare -verse is
"written" in triSTup (4 * 11 syllables). If we divide the first line
R-co-a-kSa-re pa-ra-me vyo-man
which makes 10 syllables! Wassup, Doc!?
R-caH; a-kSa-re pa-ra-me *vi-o-man*,
which means, that some words containing the semivowel 'y' (as in
English 'yes'), followed by a vowel - in this case 'o' - are actually
recited so that the semivowel changes to a "genuine" vowel, producing a
hiatus between that vowel and the next, because in Sanskrit there is no
diphthong 'io'.

So, let's "study" the first phrase, 'Rco akSare'. The first word in
pada-paaTha would read like 'RcaH' (~ richaha). That is the nominative
plural from the "basic" form, Rk (the lemma or dictionary form is
actually 'Rc', because most of the oblique cases are based on that stem,
like 'RcaH' above).
The word 'Rg' in 'Rgveda' is actually the "same" word as 'Rk'. The
reason why the letter 'k' changes to 'g' is sandhi or euphonic
combination of words (external sandhi) or parts of words (internal
sandhi). (An example in English of internal sandhi would be the s-sound
in, say, cats and dogs. Although English spelling does not indicate
that, the s-sound in 'dogs' is actually a voiced variant of the dental
sibilant, in phonetic spelling usually indicated by 'z': dogz.)
The difference in this
case between English and Sanskrit is, that in the latter the sandhi
phenomenon is regressive assimilation: the last sound of the first word
(k) sort of anticipates the voicing of the first sound of the second
word, namely 'v', which is a *voiced* bilabial stop. Therefore, the last
sound of 'Rk', which is 'k' changes to its voiced counterpart, namely
'g'.
We think most cases of Sanskrit external sandhi are instances of
regressive assimilation.
Monier-Williams (Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionary) gives the
Rc 2 %{k} f. praise , verse , esp. a sacred verse recited in praise

of

Post by tocky
a deity (in contradistinction to the Sa1man [pl. Sa1ma1ni] or verses
which were sung and to the Yajus [pl. Yaju1n6shi] or sacrificial words ,
formularies , and verses which were muttered) ; sacred text RV. AV. VS.
S3Br. &c. Mn. &c. ; the collection of the R2ic verses (sg. , but usually
pl. %{R4cas}) , the R2ig-veda AitBr. A1s3vS3r. and Gr2. Mn. i , 23 , &c.
(cf. %{Rg-veda} above) ; the text of the Pu1rvata1pani1ya , Ra1mat Up.
[225,2]
Böhtlingk Sanskrit-Wörterbuch
Schmidt Nachträge
ऋच् [Rc -- tocky]
1-261 (click to see original page)
f.
1) Glanz.
2) heiliges Lied , — Vers ; insbes. im Unterschied vom gesungenen (
सामन्) und von der Opferformel ( यजुस्). 3) der Vers , so v.a. der Text
, auf welchem eine Handlung beruht oder auf welchen eine Erklärung sich
beruft. 4) die Sammlung der Rc , der Ṛgveda ; gewöhnlich Pl. 5) der Text
des Pūrvatāpancya.
PW21337 1.261-1

Now, in Sanskrit, the present tense forms of the verb to be are often
omitted, as e.g. in Russian: ya aktyor -- I (am) an actor.

For instance in 'aham brahmaasmi'(brahma; asmi), the first person active
indicative present tense form 'asmi' is expressed, whereas in
'sarvaM khalvidaM brahma', the corresponding 3rd (Sanskrit: 1st) person
form 'asti' is "omitted" (...'brahmaasti', would be analogous to
'brahmaasmi').

In 'Rco akSare' the verb 'to be' is also omitted; thus, it prolly "means"
'Rk-s [of *Rg*-veda: Rk + veda?] (exist, or stuff) in akSara(m)'.
As we told earlier, the basic ending of da locative ("in-at-on, etc -
case") is 'i', but if we combine the stem 'akSara' with the ending
'i', we get, by (vowel-)sandhi 'akSare', thus: 'akSara + i -> akSare'.

[tocky]

Post by tocky

Post by tocky

Post by tocky
Rco akSare parame vyoman [richaw aksharay paramay vyawmun, LOL!]
INTRODUCTION
In Sanskrit, the adverbial relations between words of a sentence are
mostly expressed using inflectional cases, as opposed to many modern
IE-languages, where the same are expressed mostly using prepositions.
Sanskrit has seven (in Western view, eight, as the vocative is
considered a separate case, not a "subtype" of the nominative) cases,
nominative/vocative (prathamaa, viz. vibhakti: first [case])
accusative (dvitiiyaa: second)
instrumental (tRtiiyaa: 3rd)
dative (caturthii: at this point you can, hopefully, guess...)
ablative (pañcamii)
genitive (SaSThii)
locative (saptamii)
The basic ending of the locative case is 'i': div (heaven) - divi
(*in* heaven).
In many cases that 'i' changes to 'e' due to the operation of ([in
this case] internal) sandhi or euphonic combination of words or (in
this case) parts of word (the stem + the ending), for instance, as
the sandhi for 'a' (short: [a] or long: [A]) + 'i'(ditto) results to
yoga + i > yoge (in yoga)
parama + i > parame (in the highest [whatever])

Now, the asyavaamasya-suukta has at least four different metres, e.g.
jagatii and triSTup (triSTubh). The "famous" Rco akSare -verse is
"written" in triSTup (4 * 11 syllables). If we divide the first line
R-co-a-kSa-re pa-ra-me vyo-man
which makes 10 syllables! Wassup, Doc!?
R-caH; a-kSa-re pa-ra-me *vi-o-man*,
which means, that some words containing the semivowel 'y' (as in
English 'yes'), followed by a vowel - in this case 'o' - are actually
recited so that the semivowel changes to a "genuine" vowel, producing
a hiatus between that vowel and the next, because in Sanskrit there is
no diphthong 'io'.

So, let's "study" the first phrase, 'Rco akSare'. The first word in
pada-paaTha would read like 'RcaH' (~ richaha). That is the nominative
plural from the "basic" form, Rk (the lemma or dictionary form is
actually 'Rc', because most of the oblique cases are based on that
stem, like 'RcaH' above).
The word 'Rg' in 'Rgveda' is actually the "same" word as 'Rk'. The
reason why the letter 'k' changes to 'g' is sandhi or euphonic
combination of words (external sandhi) or parts of words (internal
sandhi). (An example in English of internal sandhi would be the s-sound
in, say, cats and dogs. Although English spelling does not indicate
that, the s-sound in 'dogs' is actually a voiced variant of the dental
sibilant, in phonetic spelling usually indicated by 'z': dogz.)
The difference in this
case between English and Sanskrit is, that in the latter the sandhi
phenomenon is regressive assimilation: the last sound of the first word
(k) sort of anticipates the voicing of the first sound of the second
word, namely 'v', which is a *voiced* bilabial stop. Therefore, the
last sound of 'Rk', which is 'k' changes to its voiced counterpart,
namely 'g'.
We think most cases of Sanskrit external sandhi are instances of
regressive assimilation.
Monier-Williams (Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionary) gives the
Rc 2 %{k} f. praise , verse , esp. a sacred verse recited in praise

of

Post by tocky
a deity (in contradistinction to the Sa1man [pl. Sa1ma1ni] or verses
which were sung and to the Yajus [pl. Yaju1n6shi] or sacrificial words
, formularies , and verses which were muttered) ; sacred text RV. AV.
VS. S3Br. &c. Mn. &c. ; the collection of the R2ic verses (sg. , but
usually pl. %{R4cas}) , the R2ig-veda AitBr. A1s3vS3r. and Gr2. Mn. i ,
23 , &c. (cf. %{Rg-veda} above) ; the text of the Pu1rvata1pani1ya ,
Ra1mat Up. [225,2]
Böhtlingk Sanskrit-Wörterbuch
Schmidt Nachträge
ऋच् [Rc -- tocky]
1-261 (click to see original page)
f.
1) Glanz.
2) heiliges Lied , — Vers ; insbes. im Unterschied vom gesungenen (
सामन्) und von der Opferformel ( यजुस्). 3) der Vers , so v.a. der Text
, auf welchem eine Handlung beruht oder auf welchen eine Erklärung sich
beruft. 4) die Sammlung der Rc , der Ṛgveda ; gewöhnlich Pl. 5) der
Text des Pūrvatāpancya.
PW21337 1.261-1

Now, in Sanskrit, the present tense forms of the verb to be are often
omitted, as e.g. in Russian: ya aktyor -- I (am) an actor.
For instance in 'aham brahmaasmi'(brahma; asmi), the first person active
indicative present tense form 'asmi' is expressed, whereas in 'sarvaM
khalvidaM brahma', the corresponding 3rd (Sanskrit: 1st) person form
'asti' is "omitted" (...'brahmaasti', would be analogous to
'brahmaasmi').
In 'Rco akSare' the verb 'to be' is also omitted; thus, it prolly
"means" 'Rk-s [of *Rg*-veda: Rk + veda?] (exist, or stuff) in
akSara(m)'. As we told earlier, the basic ending of da locative
("in-at-on, etc - case") is 'i', but if we combine the stem 'akSara'
with the ending 'i', we get, by (vowel-)sandhi 'akSare', thus: 'akSara +
i -> akSare'.

As has been told by us before, there are several types of compounds
in Sanskrit (e.g. tatpuruSa, karmadhaaraya, bahuvriihi, etc.).

Well, tatpuruSa is the basic type of determinative compounds,
where (in two-component-compounds) the first part somehow modifies(?)
the second part. In English, tatpuruSa seems to be "translated" to
*dependent* determinative compound ('tat-puruSa' actually means 'his
servant', and is an example of...uh... tatpuruSa compounds...sigh!).
That means that the relationship between the components prolly is
adverbial or -- Lawd have mercy!-- possessive?? OTOH, in 'karmadhaaraya
compounds', which in our understanding are considered a subtype of
'tatpuruSa-s', the relationship between the components is primarily
attributive.