TRACING VEDIC DIALECTS - People.fas.harvard.edu

ones in other case forms: sāyāt, sāye. 59 In another late Br. text, ŚB, a large
number of the so-called hyper-characterised subjunctives occur. 60 Finally,
some of the later portions of the older Upaniṣads (ChU 6) show the
considerable influence of a more popular form of spoken Sanskrit. 61
§ 4.3.5 SŪTRA LANGUAGE
This last level of Vedic comprises the bulk of the Śrauta and Gṛhya Sūtras.
In some of them, the content rather than the language is Vedic. The
Upaniṣads that are later than BAU, ChU, JUB, KauṣU, TU, AitU also belong
here (i.e., texts like the Kaṭh U, Maitr.U, etc.). Late Up.s (of Sectarian origin)
have to be excluded, of course, since they are definitely post-Vedic. 62
The change from late Vedic to early classical Sanskrit must be investigated
separately, as well as the similar forms occuring in Epic Sanskrit. What
language did the authors of the Sūtras have in mind? Certainly, the grammar
of these texts has been 'corrected' later on, to some extent, according to
Pāṇini's rules, as these texts were regarded only as the work of human
authors, as Smṛti, in opposition to the revealed texts, Śruti; however, even
some earlier forms of Vedic, e.g., RV Sandhi, were changed by later
redactors. - Some of the Upaniṣads, like the famous Kaṭhopaniṣad, exhibit a
larger number of forms based on Middle Vedic, like a pronunciation [bhoti]
for bhavati, as the metre indicates.
§ 4.3.6 EPIC, PĀṆINEAN SKT., OTHER DIALECTS
Finally, after the last level of Vedic, there is Epic Sanskrit, with its loss of the
subjunctive, the complete breakdown of the Vedic verb system, etc. 63 Its
59 On yatkāma-, see K.Hoffmann, Aufs.133 sq.; on sāyam, p.344, ann. 2.
60 See K. Hoffmann, Aufs. p. 30-31, and cf. the investigation by L. Renou, Monogr. Skt.; for
ŚB, cf. also Minard, Trois enigmes I § 2, who sums up the "stylistic/linguistic differences"
of its 14 books.
61 Cf. P. Tedesco Lg.19, p. 12 sqq.: smāryase > (ni.)bhālayase.
62 For the Muṇḍ.Up., see R. Salomon, WZKS 25,1981, p. 91 sqq.; and the same, in another
article of the present volume. Cf. also Epic forms like vṛṇute < vṛṇoti in later Up.s: KU,
MaṇḍU, ŚvetU, see J.Narten, Sprache 14, p.127. Cf. further the Vedic viz. post-Vedic
features in four newly publ. Up.s: N. Tsuji in Fs. Belvalkar.
63 See Holtzmann's gramm. investigation of the Mahābhārata and K. Meenakshi, Epic
Syntax. New Delhi (Mehar Chand) 1983, pp.XI , 231; cf. Review of H.H. Hock in IIJ
(forthcoming).
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