TRACING VEDIC DIALECTS - People.fas.harvard.edu

The forms in -o- are restricted to the Maitr., Taitt., and Jaiminīya schools.
Unfortunately, the Kaṭha school does not show any case (as with KaṭhA). The
few divergent forms in SVJ must be investigated. Note that AVŚ has forms
only in book 20, all of which come from RV, except for one form in book 14 =
RV 8.1.12. The only quotation from MS which has -u- is also found in the RV
and must have been influenced by this text (MS 4.9.12=RV 8.1.12). 259
It seems, therefore, that this sound change is one of the innovations
emanating from the Central area, the Pañcāla land occupied by the Taitt. and
the Śāṭyāyanins, the later Jaiminīyas.
§8.2 Putting dialect studies to use: A case of religious belief
On the basis of the broad dialectal features established earlier, it will be very
instructive to look at one or two examples which reflect the religious
development of the late Vedic period. One such case, and a very important
one in the development of the idea of rebirth and karma, is punarmṛtyu, "the
recurrent, the second (and third, etc.) death," which is believed to occur after
one's death here on earth.
The distribution of this word is as follows (śBM 10 = 100%):
__________________________________________________________________
Mantra/
early
Saṃh. 0
ABo 0 TB 4 : 4 %
early (TB 3.9.22 and TbK)
Brāhm. 260 TBk 3 : 12 %
TAk 2
259 For the sound change o/u, cf. Ved Var. II § 717, 721; the single -o- in the Kashmir Ms of
PS is negligable, as u and ū are constantly interchanged in Kashmiri MSS; the
pronunciation is, in all three cases, [o].
260 The passages are: KB 25.1; KA 13.1; TB 3.10.10.5, 3.11.8.5 2 , 3.11.8.6; TA 2.14.1, 2.19.1;
VādhS 3.90; BŚS 2.11:22, 28.4:32; JB 1.6, 13, 23 2 , 25 2 , 46, 245, 246; JUB 3.6.7.7-8 2 ,4.12.2.6
; ŚBK 3.1.9 differs from the parallel = ŚBM 2.3.3.9, 10.1.4.14, 10.2.6.19, 10.5.1.4, 10.6.1.4-
9/11, 10.6.5.8, 11.4.3.20, 11.5.6.9, 12.3.4.11, 12.9.3.11-12, 14.4.3.6 2 , 14.6.2.10, 14.6.3.2; BAU
1.2.7, 1.5.2 2 , 3.2.10, 3.3.2; GB 1.1.5, 1.3.22; . KaṭhB (Svādhy.:81.7)
95