Achtung!
Dies ist eine Internet-Sonderausgabe des Aufsatzes„Towards a Historical Phonology of Maldivian“von Sonja Fritz und Jost Gippert (1999).
Sie sollte nicht zitiert werden. Zitate sind der Originalausgabe in
125 Jahre Indogermanistik in Graz(ed. M. Ofitsch / Chr. Zinko), Graz 2000, 139-152
zu entnehmen.
Attention!
This is a special internet edition of the article“Towards a Historical Phonology of Maldivian”
by Sonja Fritz and Jost Gippert (1999).
It should not be quoted as such. For quotations, please refer to the original edition printed in
125 Jahre Indogermanistik in Graz(ed. M. Ofitsch / Chr. Zinko), Graz 2000, 139-152.

Alle Rechte vorbehalten / All rights reserved:
Jost Gippert, Frankfurt 2001-2011

Towards a Historical Phonology of Maldivian
Sonja FRITZ – Jost GIPPERT, Frankfurt a.M.
Among the modern Indo-Aryan languages, Dhivehi, the language of the Maldive
Islands, is peculiar in many respects. Although it has been generally accepted that
Maldivian is most closely related to Sinhalese, both the mutual relationship of these
two languages and their position within the Indo-Aryan phylum are still far frombeing clear1. Given that there are no reliable records whatsoever that could tell us
about the migration(s) leading to the inhabitation of the Maldive Islands, and giventhat written tradition within the Maldives begins as late as the 12th century A.D.
only2, many centuries after the period when the first settlement must have taken place,historical linguistics is the only field of investigation that we can expect togain evidence from. In the present article, we shall try to demonstrate to what extent
the historical development of Maldivian word forms can be traced back to their Old
Indo-Aryan bases by assuming regular sound changes arranged in a relative chronology, and what obstacles we meet with while trying to establish this.
One set of Dhivehi words the etymological background of which is especially easy toreveal is the names of the days of the week. In today’s standard language, their list is
as follows3:
Sunday Monday

Tuesdayādı̄ttaan̆gārahōmaWednesday Thursdaybudaburāsfati

FridaySaturdayhukuruhonihiru

There can be no doubt that these forms reflect the names of the sun, the moon and thefive visible planets which were used, in compounds containing -vāra- “time of”, todenote the seven days of the week in Sanskrit as well4 and which we find, e.g.,
beautifully arranged in the second book of the Mahābhārata (M 2,11,19-22):

3

4

ṙ

2

A first account of the etymology of Dhivehi words was published by W. GEIGER (Etymological Vocabulary of theMāldivian Language, in: JRAS 1902, 909-938) who also wrote the first grammar of the language (Máldivian
Linguistic Studies, trl. by J.C. WILLIS, ed. by H.C.P. BELL, in: JCBRAS 27, Extra Number, 1919 / Repr. Male1986). The present study is the result of field work which was carried out by us during several trips to theMaldives between 1987 and 1999. An exhaustive treatise of the Maldivian language and its dialects, based on a
habilitation thesis of Heidelberg, 1997, with the German title “Deskriptive Grammatik des Maledivischen[Dhivehi] und seiner Dialekte unter Berücksichtigung der sprachhistorischen Entwicklung”, will soon be
published by S. FRITZ.
The first survey about Maldivian written documents was published by H.C.P. BELL in: The Maldive Islands.
Monograph on the history, archeology, and epigraphy. Colombo 1940. For a short account cf. J. GIPPERT, in:Studia Iranica, Mesopotamica et Anatolica 2, 1996 [1997], 77 ff. A corpus of Maldivian epigraphical andmanuscript sources is at present being prepared for publication.
The list is given, e.g., in H.A. MANIKU / J.B. DISANAYAKA, Say it in Maldivian (Dhivehi), Colombo 1990, 131,in a simplified romanized spelling and with the word duvas “day” added to each of the names.
MONIER-WILLIAMS, 943 s.v. 2.vāra gives the following list: Āditya-, Soma-, Maṅgala-, Budha-, Guru, Śukra-,
and Śani-v(āra-); aṅgāraka-vāra “Tuesday”, b h aspati-vāra “Jupiter’s day, Thursday”, and Śanaiś-cara-vāra“Saturday” are nevertheless registered in the dictionary (s.vv. aṅgāraka- “charcoal” / Mars, b´ h as-páti-, śanaiścara “walking or moving slowly” / Saturn).
ṙ

1

140

Sonja FRITZ – Jost GIPPERTāyānti tasyām sahitā
gandharvāpsarasas tathāvi śati saptacaivānye
lokapālāśca sarvaśaśukro brhaspatiścaiva
budho ’ṅgāraka eva caśanaiścaraśca rāhuścagrahā sarve tathaiva cahmantro rat a t araścaiva
harimān vasumān apiādityāh sādhirājānonānā dvamdvair udāhrtāh“To it (the heavenly Assembly Hall), Gandharvas and Apsarās go together
as do the twenty seven other guardians of the world (i.e. the naksatras, cf. below),(and) Venus and Jupiter, as well as Mercury and Mars,and Saturn as well as Rāhu5, all the planets in the same way,(and) also the (Vedic) Mantra and the Rathantara (Sāman)
as well as Harimat and Vasumat,(and) the Ādityas with their ruler (Āditya, the sun-god), (and) those (gods) that are
called by double-names ...”
˙

ḣ

˙

ḣ

ṁ

ḣ

˙ ˙

ṁ

˙

˙

˙

Confronting the Dhivehi words with the Sanskrit names as present in this arrangement,
we will immediately note some typical divergences that can be regarded as regularsound correspondences. This holds true, e.g., for the treatment of word-initial sibilants
which in Dhivehi are replaced by h- throughout:
Moon

Mars

Mercury

Jupiter

Venus

Saturn(āditya )(soma )aṅgārakabudha

b h aspatiśukraḣśanaiścaraādı̄ttahōmaaňgārahukuruhonihiruṙburasfati

ḣ

ḣ

buda

ḣ

Sun

ḣ

ḣ

ḣ

The same treatment will be seen in the Dhivehi outcome of Skt. sapta “seven”, whichis hay in today’s standard language.
There are many other features of the names in question, however, which prove thatthey do not reflect a plain, undisturbed development from Old Indic via some Middle
Indo-Aryan (Prakrit) stage into modern Dhivehi but that they must have been(re)introduced secondarily as learned sanskritisms. This holds true, e.g., for the longā-vowel present in ādı̄tta and aňgāra. The preservation of this vowel is contradictory
to a great mass of words which show that Old Indic long vowels must have beenshortened at a very early stage of the development of Dhivehi6 so that they arereflected by short vowels in this language regularly; cp. the following examples: Skt.
grāma- “village” > Dh. gan (in older records gamu), Skt. rāstra- “country” > Dh. ra’“land, island” (older ra u ), Skt. rājā “king” > Dh. ras, Skt. sthāna- “place” > Dh. tan(older tanu), Skt. catvārah “four” > Dh. hataru, Skt. sı̄ma- “boundary” > Dh. in(older himu, imu), Skt. ksı̄ra- “milk” > Dh. kiru. Wherever Dhivehi has long vowels
today, these can have arisen secondarily only, by contraction as in mā “huge” < mahā(with loss of -h-), dū “island” < dvı̄pa- (via older divu, duvu)7, gū “excrements” <
˙˙

ṫ

˙

˙

7

According to Indic astronomy, this is a demon planet causing eclipsis.
S.P. PARANAVITANA has shown that the same assumption has to be made for Sinhalese: Sigiri Graffiti, Oxford e.a.
1956, vol. I, LXI ff.
Dh. dū is no longer used as a common noun but occurs in very many names of islands and atolls such as a ū,name of the southernmost atoll, lit. “eight-island(-atoll)”, < *a a -dvı̄pa-.
ṫ ṡ

6

ḋ ḋ

5

Towards a Historical Phonology of Maldivian

141

gūtha- (via *guvu), or rı̄ti “beautiful” < rieti << *rūpa- asti(-), lit. “there is beauty”.
On this basis, Dh. rājjē meaning the “state” or “country” can clearly be seen to be a
mot savant too (< rājye, L. of rājya-, or from a Prakrit Nom. rājye?).
Another peculiarity of the names in question is the treatment of final syllables. As canbe seen from the counterexamples cited above, the usual reflex of Sanskrit final
syllables is Dh. -u, disappearing after nasals and voiceless consonants within the
period of written tradition. This is true for the ending -am of Skt. thematic neutres
which must be seen in, e.g., gamu > gam > gan, << grāmam, or ratu > rat > ra’, <<rā r a , as well as for other stems and endings such as -o (or -a ?) to be assumed
for hataru (< catvāro / -a ) or -ā as present in nom. rājā which must be the basis ofras. There are only very few conditions under which Dh. re-developed a wordfinal -a;
Dh. hiya “100” < śatam and diya “sea (level)” < Skt. udakam show that thishappened where *-iyu would have to be expected in wordfinal position. Considering
all this, only hukuru (from śukrah, śukro) and honihiru (from śanaiścarah, -o) seem
to attest the expected development of final vowels within our list.
˙

˙

˙

˙

ḣ

ṁ

ṫ ṡ

ḣ

˙

˙

˙

˙

˙

The names for Wednesday and Thursday reveal another peculiarity in showing theplain (non-geminate) stops of Skt. budha- and (b h as-)pati- unaltered. Although Dh. fis the regular outcome of word-initial p- as in fay < older patu < Skt. pattra- “leaf”
or fen < older penu < Skt. pānı̄ya- “(drinking) water”, we find a clear counterexample
showing that burasfati does not correspond to the sound laws, in the title of thehighest military rank, henevi, which reflects Skt. senāpati- and which shows no
consonantal reflex of Skt. -t- at all. The general rule can be stated as follows: Old
Indic single stops in intervocalic position were, by lenition, first reduced to y, v, or
nothing (leaving hiatus), later leading to vowel contraction as in the examples dū (<dvı̄pa-, via divu) or gū (< gūtha-, via *guvu) cited above. There is only one class of
stops that escapes this rule, viz. cerebrals: The - - we find in Skt. kukku a - “cock” ispreserved as a retroflex in kuku u “hen”.
ṙ

ṫ

ṫ

l̇

l̇

This latter word witnesses to another general rule as well: Where Dhivehi shows
single intervocalic stops, these must have resulted from earlier geminates. In thisway, we find a “correct” Dh. budu resulting from Old Indic buddha- (and thus
contrasting with secondary buda “Wednesday” which substitutes a regular *bū <*buvu < budha-), but also a great lot of examples with secondary geminates such as
ratu (> modern ra’) < rāstra- via Middle Indic *ratto, atu “hand” (> modern ay) <hasta- via Middle Indic *hattho, or eti “there is, there being” < *asti(-) via Middle
Indic *atthi(-). Considering these latter examples, we can assume that Skt. b h aspatiwould first have developed into something like *buhappayi8 which, if treated regularly, would most probably have led to Dh. *bofi; this means that in burasfati, the -fcan be taken as regular (reflecting the secondary geminate -pp-), but not the -t-9.
˙˙

˙˙

˙

ṙ

In order to gain further insight into the sound changes leading to Dhivehi and theirrelative chronology, let us have a look into another field of words that is quite
peculiar in this respect, viz. the names of the so-called lunar mansions, i.e. asterisms
8
9

Cp. Prakrit forms such as buhappaï mentioned in Pischel-Jha, § 212.
For the other sound changes involved cf. below.

142

Sonja FRITZ – Jost GIPPERT

used for lunar-based time-reckoning in India since Vedic times. The generaldesignation of these asterisms in Dhivehi is nakay, a regular outcome of Skt.
naksatram (via *nakkhatta > *nakatu). The list which is in use at present can beestablished as follows10:
˙

˙

Dh.

keti

rōnu

miaheliaadafunōsfus

ahulihamā

fura

begins

6.5.

20.5.

3.6.

17.6.

1.7.

15.7.

29.7.

11.8.

24.8.

Dh.

utura

ata

hita

hei

vihā

nora

dośa

mula

furaha a

begins

7.9.

21.9.

4.10.

18.10.

1.11.

14.11.

27.11.

10.12.

23.12.

Dh.

uturaha ahuvan

dinaśahiyavihā

furabaduruva

fasbaduruva

rēva

assidaburunubegins

6.1.

19.1.

1.2.

14.2.

27.2.

12.3.

26.3.

8.4.

22.4.

l̇

l̇

By comparing this with the several lists of lunar mansions preserved in Vedic
tradition (AV 19,7,1-5 with the so-called Nak a tra Kalpa; TS 4,4,10,1; MS 2,13,20,
KS 39,13; TB 1,5,1; ŚaṅkhGS 1,26)11, it can easily be shown that Dhivehi preserved
both the sequence and the names in a peculiar way. The list that is most similar to theone we have in Dhivehi is that of the Atharvaveda where the names are arranged ina versified environment12:
ṡ

˙

˙

ḣ

ṙ

ṁ

˙

ḣ

˙ ˙˙

˙

˙

˙˙

˙

ṫ ṡ

ṁ

ḣ

˙

˙˙

ṫ ṡ

ḣ

˙

ṅ

˙

˙

˙

˙

ṅ

ṙ

˙

˙

˙˙

ṁ

ṁ

˙ ˙

˙
ṅ

ṅ

˙

˙

ṁ

˙

10

´ |
sarı̄srpā´ ni bhúvane javānih´áhāni gı̄rb íh saparyāmi nākam||1||_ástu bhadrá m g áśira śám ārdrā´ |bhānúr āślesā´ áyanam maghā´ me ||2||
citrā´ śivā´ *svātí sukhó me astu |´jyésthā sunáksatram *áristam mūlam||3||´ūrjam *yé *hy *uttara ā´ vahantu |śráva a śrávi hā uk rvatā us pu m
í ||4||ā´ me dvayā´ prósthapadā suśárma |ā´ me rayím bháranya ā´ vahantu ||5||˙´
citrā´ ni sākám diví rocanāni´*astāvimśám sumatím icchámānosuháva *me k´ t tikā róhi ı̄ ca_´ pusyò
púnarvasū sūn´rtā cāru´´
phálgunyau cātrahástaśpú y a pūrvā
h
h
h
´
´
*rād o viśāk e suhávānurād ā´´ánnam pūrvā
rāsantām me asādhā´hab ijín me rāsatā pú y am eváā´ me mahác chatábhisag várı̄yaā´ revátı̄ cāśvayújau bhágam ma

A first comprehensive treatise of the Dhivehi lunar mansions was published by Hassan Ahmed MANIKU under thetitle Nakaiy as vol. 2 of the series Vanavaru, Māle’ 1988 (cp. also H.A. MANIKU / J.B. DISANAYAKE, Say it in
Maldivian (Dhivehi), Colombo 1990, 135). The list given below was verified with the help of Mr. Hassan SAEED,
Hitadū, during field work in 1993 and 1999. H.A. MANIKUs list begins with assida, the first lunar mansion of thehu a n̆gu season, i.e. the season of South-West Monsoon (April to December); it was rearranged here to match with
the Old Indic lists treated below. The transfer of the beginning of the series by two asterisms (to the west)
represents a (younger) tradition shared by Indic and Arabic astronomy, cf. W.D. WHITNEY, Oriental and Linguistic
Studies, vol. 2, 421.
For a survey of Vedic traditions on the naksatras, cf. A.A. MACDONELL / A.B. KEITH, Vedic Index of Names andSubjects, London 1912 / Repr. Delhi 1982, vol. 1, 413 ff. For easy convenience, the lists of TS, MS, KS, TB, andŚaṅkhGS are reproduced in transcription at the end of the present article. The list contained in the so-called
Nak a tra-Kalpa, one of the Pariśi a s of the Atharva-Veda, is basically identical with the one given in the Sa h itā(Śaunaka) text; cf. the edition in The Pariśi a s of the Atharvaveda, ed. G.M. BOLLING / J.v. NEGELEIN, vol. I,
Leipzig 1909, 3 ff. (Pariśi a I).
Text according to the edition in Atharva Veda Sanhita, hrsg.v. R. ROTH / W.D WHITNEY, 3. Aufl., Bonn 1966, 356(with editors’ emendations marked with an asterisk); translation according to Atharva-Veda-Sa h itā, trl. withcritical and exegetical commentary by W.D. WHITNEY, rev. and ed. by Ch.R. LANMAN, Cambridge, Mass. 1905
/ Repr. Delhi 1984, 2nd half, 906 ff. (the spelling of the Sanskrit words contained in the translation was adapted
to present-day transcription usage).
l̇

˙

ṁ

ṡ

ṫ ṡ

ṫ ṡ

12

ṁ

ṫ ṡ

11

Towards a Historical Phonology of Maldivian

143“Seeking favor of the twenty-eight-fold (?) wondrous ones, shining in the sky together,ever-moving, hasting in the creation, I worship with songs the days, the firmament.
Easy of invocation for me [be] the Krttikās and Rohinı̄; be Mrgaśiras excellent, [and]Ārdrā healthful; be the two Punarvasus pleasantness, Pushya what is agreeable, theĀślesās light, the Maghās progress [for me].
Be the former Phalgunı̄s and Hasta here auspicious; be Citrā propitious, and Svāti easy
for me; be the two Viśākhās bestowal, Anurādhā easy of invocation, Jye h a a goodasterism, Mūla uninjured.
Let the former A ā h ās give me food; let the latter ones bring refreshment; let Abhijit
give me what is auspicious; let Śravana [and] the Śravisthās make good prosperity.
Let Śatabhisaj [bring] to me what is great widely; let the double Prosthapadās [bring] tome good protection; let Revatı̄ and the two Aśvayuj [bring] fortune to me; let the
Bharanı̄s bring to me wealth.”
˙

˙

˙

˙

ṫ ṡ

˙˙

ḋ

˙

ṡ

˙˙

˙

On the basis of this list, we can establish the following equivalences in comparison
with the items of the other Vedic lists indicated13:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Dh.

keti

rōnu

miahelia

funōsfus

AVk´ t tikā

adaārdrā´

púnarvasū

pu y à

ahulihaāśle ā´ārdrā´

púnarvasūttisyàhḣṅm g áśira

k´rttikāh˙róhinı̄MSk´rttikāhróhinı̄˙mrgaśı̄rsám
invagā´bāhúh˙

púnarvasuh

tísyahKSk´ t tikā
ḣ

ṅ

bāhú
bāhū´

tí y ak´ t tikā

invakā´
invakā´

púnarvasu

TBróhi ı̄rohi ´ı̄ŚGS

krttikāhrohinı̄mrgaśirah

8

9

10

fura

utura

ḣ

róhi ı̄

TS

ṡ

ḣ

ṡ

āśresā´ hāślesā´ h
˙ ˙

˙

˙ ˙
ḣ

˙

˙

āśle ā´āśre ā´
ṡ

ḣ

˙
ṡ

ḣ

˙

ḣ

púnarvasū

ti y à

ārdrāhpunarvasū

pusyahaślesāh

11

12

13

14

˙ ˙
ḣ ṡ

ḣ

ṡ

˙

˙

˙

˙ ˙
ḣ

ṙ

˙

˙

ṙ

˙

˙

ṅ

˙

˙

˙

ḣ

˙
ṙ
ṙ

˙

˙

Dh.

mā

ata

hita

hei

vihā

AV

maghā´ h´
pūrvāphálgunyau

hástah˙

citrā´svātíh˙´ heviśākTSphálgunı̄phálgunı̄

hásta

víśākhe˙hp álgunı̄h˙hp álgunı̄h˙hástah˙

citrā´
citrā´svāt´ı̄MSmaghā´maghā´ hnístyam˙

víśākham

KSmaghā´ hphálgunı̄húttarāhphálgunı̄

hástaucitrā´

nístyā˙˙víśākham

TB

maghā´ h´
pūrvehástahcitrā´

nístyāvíśākhe

˙
˙

˙˙

˙˙

ḣ

ḣ

˙

˙

˙

úttarep álgunı̄

˙
ḣ

˙
˙

h

13

The names are given in their respective nominative forms (singular, dual, or plural) which are not always easy toestablish, however, because of the sandhi conditions met with in their attestations.

144

Sonja FRITZ – Jost GIPPERT

17

18

19
uturahalauttareasādhā´ hasādhā´ h

ab ijít˙

asād ā´ hh˙úttarāasādhā´ hanūrād ā´jyest ā´

´ m
mūla

TB

anūrādhā´ h˙rohin´ı̄mūlavárhanı̄

ŚGS

anurādhā

jye ha

mūla

22

23

˙

˙ ˙ ˙
˙

˙

˙

˙

˙
˙
˙

˙

˙˙

˙

˙

ṡ

ḣ

ḋ

ṡ

ṁ

ṁ

ṫ ṡ

MS
KS

śrávisthāh śatábhisak prosthapadā´ hhabhijitśrava

26

27

28

rēva

assida

ḋ

˙

˙ ˙

25

hiyavihāhśronā´˙a ā hāfurabaduruva fasbaduruva´ hśrávist āh śatab isakpūrvāúttarāhh
pro apadā´hhhśrávist āh śatáb isak prost apadā´ h prosthapadā´ hśrávi hā *śatábhi a k pro hapadā´ pro hapadā´AVdinaśaaśvattháh(abhíjitam)

ḣ

˙˙

Dh.

24

ab ijít

˙

˙˙

˙

˙

´
pūrvāúttarā´
asādhāha ā hāśronā´śronā´

˙

˙

h

˙ ˙ ˙

h

h

a
ṅ

KS

asād ā´ hasādhā´ hhḣ

vic´rtau´ mmūlaśrávanah˙rohin´ı̄jyesthā´˙MSanūrādhā´anūrādhā´

huvan
h

˙

TS

furahala´ hpūrvāasādhā´ hasādhā´ hh˙jyést ā

mula
´ m
mūla

dośa

˙

anurād ā´
h

˙

nora

AV

21

˙

Dh.

20

˙ ˙

16

˙

15

burunuhrevátı̄aśvayújau b áranyah

revátı̄aśvayújau apabháranı̄hḣ

revátı̄aśvayújau

úttareprosthapadā´ hrevátı̄aśvayújau apabháranı̄h´pūrveúttarepro h apadā´
ŚGS dhanisthāh śatabhisak prosthapadāh prosthapadāhrevátı̄aśvayújau apabhára ı̄

ḣ

˙ ˙

ṅ

˙ ˙

˙

ṅ

˙

ṫ ṡ

˙˙

ḣ

˙

˙˙
ṫ ṡ

˙

˙ ˙˙

ṡ

˙ ˙˙
ḣ
ṫ ṡ

˙

˙˙

ṡ

ḣ

revatı̄aśvinı̄bharanı̄h
˙ ˙

˙ ˙˙

ṫ ṡ

˙˙

˙

˙

śatábhi a k

ḣ

˙

˙

ḣ

āh

bhára ı̄ḣ

˙śrávi

˙

ṫ ṡ

TB

˙

TS

ṫ ṡ

˙˙

˙

˙˙

˙

˙ ˙˙

There are but a few divergences between the list of the AV and modern Dhivehi
usage, which can easily be accounted for:First, there is no explicit equivalent of Dh. utura (no. 10) in the AV but this can withno doubt be restored as *úttarā phálgunyau (cp. úttarāh phálgunı̄h in KS)14. A
peculiarity of Dhivehi consists in the fact that both Dh. fura (no. 9) and utura (no. 10)´
reflect the adjectival elements of pūrvā
and úttarā phálgunyau (“first” and “later ph.”)only while in Vedic tradition, it is mostly the adjectives that are not mentioned
explicitly (phálgunı̄ [Du.] 2x TS; phálgunı̄h [Pl.] 2x MS; phálgunı̄ [Du.] 2x ŚaṅkhGS;´´besides úttarā phálgunı̄ , TB has pūrve
phálgunı̄,
KS has phálgunı̄ without pūrvā
then plain úttare)15. In this respect, there is also a striking difference between the
Dhivehi tradition and the Sinhalese which has puvapal and uturupal, respectively.
˙

˙

˙

ḣ

ḣ

ḣ

ḣ

Second, an equivalent of AV abhijít is missing in the Maldivian list. This is true formodern standard Dhivehi, but the obvious counterpiece of abhijít is still used in the

˙

15

Cf. W.D. WHITNEY who in his commentary (in the AV-translation, 908) “wonders whether uttara is not somehow
hidden in the awkwardly redundant átra”.
The Naksatra Kalpa has, in its introductory list (AVPś I,1,2), phālgunı̄ besides phalgunyau; in other parts of it, wefind pūrve phālgunyau besides uttare (I,3,1), pūrvayo phalgunyor besides uttarayor (I,4,3), pūrve phalgunyau(I,12,1) besides uttare phalgunyau (I,13,1), and the like.
ḣ

14

Towards a Historical Phonology of Maldivian

145

southernmost dialect of the Maldivian language, i.e. the Addū-dialect, where it iscalled avihi16. The divergence thus met with within the Dhivehi dialects reflects thefact that abhijít was not recognized as an authentic member of the list even in Vedic
times, as can be seen in the Yajurveda tradition where only MS and TB mention it
while TS and KS do not, thus reducing the number of nak a tras to 2717. This same
number occurs also in the Mahābhārata in the passage quoted above (M. 2,11,19)
where it is obviously the nak a tras that are meant. The special treatment of abhijít
may well be due to the fact that it was introduced in the list as an intercalary item
only, in order to align the lunar calendar with the solar year18.
˙˙

ṡ

ṡ

A third divergence between the AV and the Dhivehi list consists in the name of the
22nd nak a tra. While the AV agrees with the YV texts in calling it śrávi hā ,Dhivehi dinaśa (as well as Sinhalese denata) obviously reflects a different name,dhanisthāh, which is first met with in the ŚaṅkhGS list (1,26). The assumption that
this reflects a later tradition is supported by the fact that dhani hā , not śravi hā , isused in Varāhamihira’s B h atsa h itā19.
ḣ

ṫ ṡ

ṡ

˙

˙ ˙˙

ḣ

ṫ ṡ

ḣ

ṫ ṡ

ṁ

ṙ

Another divergence concerns the names of the 24th and 25th naksatras. As against´and úttarā ) pro hapadā´ throughout, Dhivehi
the Vedic tradition which has (pūrvā
uses the names furabaduruva and fasbaduruva which are obviously connected with alater eponym of the nak a tras in question, viz. (pūrvā and uttarā ) bhadrapadā .
These names are first met with in some commentary works on Vedic Sūtras such as
the Yājñavalkya Śāntikalpa, and they represent normal usage in some better known
Sanskrit texts like Varāhamihira’s B h atsa h itā again20. In having bhadrapadā astheir basis, the Dhivehi names of the 24th and 25th naksatras are also the only ones
where Dhivehi differs considerably from Sinhalese (neglecting purely phonetic
divergences), for Sinh. puvapu u pa and uturupu u pa are clearly derived from the
pro hapadā-names prevalent in Vedic21. Lastly, Dhiv. fasbaduruva is peculiar withrespect to its first element: As against utura- reflecting Skt. uttara- in the names of
the 10th and 19th naksatras, utura < *uttarāh (phalgunı̄h) and uturahala < uttarāasādhāh, fasbaduruva contains an element fas which can only represent Skt. paścā˙

ḣ

ḣ

ṫ ṡ

ḣ

ḣ

ḣ

ḣ

ḣ

ṡ

ṁ

˙

ṙ

ṫ

ṫ

ṫ ṡ

˙

˙

˙

˙

˙ ˙ ˙

16
17

H.A. MANIKU mentions avihi in his treatise (Nakaiy, 16) but states that it “is no longer in use”.
Note that the number of 28 present in the AV passage is based on WHITNEY’s emendation of turmíśa only, but´
this emendation is strongly supported by the following AV hymn, where the text has a āvi śāni;
cf. thetranslation, 907.
Cf. H.A. MANIKU, Nakaiy, 16.
E.g., 101, 5-6. — In the Mahābhārata, dhani hā- occurs three times (3,219,10; 13,63,29; 13,89,12) while śravi hāis met with but once (14,44,2) where, astonishingly, it is named the beginning of the k a s, i.e. asterisms or lunar
mansions:
aha pūrva tato rātrirmāsā śuklādaya sm t āt ava śiśirādayaśravi hādı̄ni k ā i“First the day, then the night,
the months, remembered beginning with Śukla (i.e. Vaiśākha, ≈ April-May),
the constellations, beginning with Śravisthā,the seasons, beginning with Śiśira (the cold season) ...”
ṁ

ṫ ṡ

ṫ ṡ

ṡ

19

ṁ

18

ṫ ṡ

ṙ

ḣ

ṙ

ḣ

ḣ

ḣ

ṁ

ḣ

ṙ

ṅ

ṡ

ṙ

ḣ

ṫ ṡ

˙˙

E.g., bhadrapadādvayam 7,10; dve bhadrapade 9,2; and once bhadrapadām uttarām 7,5.
The Sinhalese-English Dictionary by Rev. B. CLOUGH (Colombo 1892) contains the Sanskrit forms
pūrvabhādrapadā and uttarabhādrapada as the names of the 26th and 27th (!) lunar asterisms (p. 372 / 75) but nocorresponding “colloquial” or “Elu” forms, whereas for pūrvapro hapadā, puvapu u pē is registered as the “Eluform”. The equivalents of uttarā pro hapadā are missing in this dictionary.
ṫ

ṫ ṡ

ḣ

ṫ ṡ

ḣ

21

˙

20

146

Sonja FRITZ – Jost GIPPERT“after, behind, backward”. In today’s Dhivehi, this is preserved as a separate word in
the ablative form fahun used as a quasi-postposition “after” (quasi < instr. *paścena).
The usage of paśca- instead of uttara- seems to be unknown within Sanskrit in thiscontext, but we can compare prācı̄na-pro hapadayo , with prācı̄na- derived fromprāc- “forward”, appearing once instead of pūrvā pro hapadau in the Nak a tra Kalpa(I,10,8). The “later” prosthapadā are called uttarā here too.
ḣ

ṡ

ṫ ṡ

ṫ ṡ

˙˙

As against the other old lists of naksatras, the most striking agreement between the
Dhivehi list and that of the Atharvaveda consists in the fact that here, the 21st lunar
mansion is named śráva a -, the form clearly reflected by Dhivehi huvan, while the
Yajurveda tradition has either śro ā´ (TS, MS), or aśvatthá (KS). It is quite evident,
however, that śrávana-, must represent a younger stratum, because this form is also
found in the later Sūtra texts (ŚaṅkhGS 1,26). We can even assume that within the AVverse in question, śrávanah reflects not the original wording but a later (redactional)
remodelling of *śronāh, for with tri-syllabic śrávanah the given tristubh verse has one
exceeding syllable; but note that the Naksatra Kalpa has, in its metrical parts,
trisyllabic śrava a - throughout (I,4,6; I,5,4; I,10,6 etc.22).
˙

ṅ

ḣ

ṅ

˙

˙ ˙

˙˙

˙ ˙

˙ ˙

˙

ṅ

Another noteworthy coincidence between the AV list and present Dhivehi usage
consists in the name of the 6th nak a tra, which is pu y à- as against the YV tradition
which has tisyà- (TS) / tísya- (MS, KS) instead. As both these features (śravana-,
pu y a-) reoccur in the list of the Śāṅkhāyana-G h ya-Sūtra, they can be regarded aslater developments within Vedic tradition23, a view which is further supported by thefact that the name of the 21st nak a tra is used in a play of words in Rājaśekhara’s
Prakrit drama Karpūra-Mañjarı̄ (I, 20,31): Here, the name of “the asterism that
follows Latter Ashā āh ” is used to denote a “pair of parts” of the body that might be“torn off”, and it is clear that this must mean the ears which are called śravana- in
Sanskrit, not the buttocks (śro ı̄) which might be associated with śro ā´ (lit. “lame”):
ṡ

˙

ṡ

˙

˙

ṙ

ṡ

ṡ

ḋ

˙

ṅ

ṅ

annam ca uttarāsādhāpurassaranakkhattanāmaheam aṅgajualam uppādia ghallissam“And, what’s more, I’ll tear off from you the pair of parts [your ears] that go by the nameof the asterism that follows Latter Ashādhā, and chuck ’em away.”24
˙

˙

˙

˙

˙

˙

˙

˙ ˙˙

˙

With regard to the position of the Dhivehi names of the naksatras within All-Indic
tradition, their Sinhalese correspondences must not be neglected. For this comparison,
it is not the plain Sanskrit forms, used as such in Sinhalese until present times,that have to be considered but the forms belonging to the colloquial language25. In
˙

22
23

I,11 is a quotation of the AV hymn in question.
This conclusion seems hard for the AV hymn, but we have to consider that it has no counterpart in the Paippalādarecension. A later origin of the AV hymn is also suggested by the fact that it is included as such in the Nak a tra
Kalpa; cf. Ch.R. LANMAN in the AV-translation, p. 907. We fail to understand the view expressed by BOLLING andNEGELEIN in their edition of the Nak a tra Kalpa according to which “it seems probable that this pariśi aoriginated in the Paippalāda school, and that this is the reason for its citation of AV. 19. 7 and 8 in full” (p. 2).
Cf. Rāja-Çekhara’s Karpūra-Mañjarı̄, ed. by Sten KONOW and trl. by Ch.R. LANMAN, Cambridge, Mass. 1901
(Harvard Oriental Series, IV) / Repr. Delhi 1963, 21 / 233 f. LANMAN’s reasoning (ib., 2341) according to which“strictly speaking, Abhijit (containing a Lyrae) comes next after Latter Ashā h ā, but it is so far from the ecliptic
as hardly to count”, fails to meet the essential point: abhijit did simply not figure in the presumable list, just as it
is missing in the TS and KS (and modern Dhivehi and Sinhalese) traditions.
For the following discussion, several Sinhalese dictionaries were consulted; most of the forms given are taken from
A Dictionary of the Sinhalese Language, compiled under the direction of W. GEIGER by D.B. JAYATILAKA a.o.,
ṡ

ṡ

ḋ

25

ṫ ṡ

24

Towards a Historical Phonology of Maldivian

147

the following list, the Sanskrit names as used in Sinhalese are also contrasted for easy
reference26:
Dh.

keti

rōnu

miaheliaadafunōsfus

ahulihaSh.

käti27rehena˙muvasirasa

adē28punāvasa

pusē

aslisa29Skt.

krttikarōhinı̄˙mrgaśiras
˙ārdrapunarvasu

pusya
˙aślesā

Dh.

mā

fura

utura

ata

hita

hei

vihā

Sh.

h

mag a

puvapaluturupal

hata

sita

sā

visā

Skt.

maghā

pūrvaphalgunı̄¯˘uttaraphalgunı̄
¯˘

hasta

citrā

svātiviśākhā30

Dh.

nora

dośa

mula

furaha auturaha ahuvan

dinaśaSh.

anura31

deta

mula

puvasalauturusalasuvanadenataSkt.

hanurād āhjyest a

mūla

h

h

pūrvāsād ā uttarāsād ā śravana
˙dhanisthaDh.

hiyavihā

furabaduruva

fasbaduruva

rēva

assidaburunuavihi

Sh.

siyavasa

puvaputupa32

uturuputupa

rēvatı̄asvidaberana33˙abijitSkt.

śatabhisā pūrvaprōsthapadā uttaraprōsthapada34

rēvatı̄aśvayujā35bharanı̄abhijit

˙

˙

˙˙

˙

l̇

˙

˙ ˙

l̇

˙

˙ ˙

˙

˙

˙˙

˙

˙˙

˙˙

˙

˙

When comparing the lists given above, it is obvious at a first glance that most of theSinhalese forms are much closer to the Sanskrit than their Maldivian counterparts.
This is true not only for the treatment of sibilants which are, as a rule, preserved as sin Sinhalese whereas Maldivian shows h regularly; cp. miahelia vs. muvasirasa (vs.
Skt. m g aśiras) or ahuliha vs. aslisa (vs. Skt. aśle ā). Dhivehi has s only in wordfinal position (cp. funōs vs. punāvasa vs. Skt. punarvasu or fus vs. pusē vs. Skt.
pu y a) and in assida (vs. asvida vs. aśvayujā) where we have a geminate, ss. Anotherdivergence of this type can be seen in rōnu vs. rehe a (vs. rōhi ı̄) and ata vs. hata(vs. hasta) where Maldivian shows no reflex of the original h which is still present in
the Sinhalese form. h does occur, however, in Dhivehi where it reflects an original
ṡ

ṙ

ṡ

ṅ

ṅ

Colombo 1935- (“DSL”), the Siṅhala Śabdakosayā (ed. by) D.B. JAYATILAKA, Colombo 1937- (SŚ) and The
Sinhalese-English Dictionary by Rev. B. CLOUGH, Colombo 1892 (“Clough”). An Elu list is also given in H.A.
MANIKU’s Nakaiy, p. 3.
Different from the lists printed above, Sanskrit names are here given not in their nominative but in their stem
forms.
For this and several other nak a tras, the dictionaries mention a compound name containing näkata = nak a tra(käti-näkata) only.
The DSL (p. 192) has ada (and the definite form adaya) besides adē.
The alternate name ahi noted in DSL (p. 981) is not connected with aslisa (p. 958) etymologically but reflects Skt.
ahi- “serpent”, used as a name for the constellation in question too.
Besides the “correct” Sanskrit form given here, visākhā and visākha also occur.
The DSL (p. 282) notes, besides anura and its definite form, anuraya, also anure and anurē.
Clough (p. 368) has puvapu u pē.
Clough (p. 430) gives the alternate form bera i too.
In DSL (p. 1683), this is erroneously identified with uttaraphalgunı̄. — CLOUGH (p. 75) has uttarabhādrapada (sic)as the name of the 27th lunar mansion; see above.
As a Sanskritism, the alternate name aśvinı̄ is also used.
˙

ṡ

29

30
31
32
33
34

35

ṫ

28

ṅ

27

ṡ

26

148

Sonja FRITZ – Jost GIPPERTpalatal affricate; cp. hita vs. sita (vs. Skt. citrā), but also avihi vs. abijit (vs. abhijit).
As for Sinhalese, these features lead to the assumption that the names of thenaksatras do not belong to the colloquial (i.e. “Elu”) language proper but to theregister of the literary language which is characterized by phonological conservativism.
As for Dhivehi, however, the regulations observed can be recognized as regular if we
assume an unbroken tradition from Old Indic times. For the several developments
envolved here, we find quite a lot of examples such as hay (representing hat, still
written 〈hat〉) “seven” < Skt. hapta (Sinhalese has literary sat- as against colloquialhat-), hiya “hundred” < Skt. śata(m) (Sinh. siya-), han “skin” < śarma (Sinh.
sam-/ham-), hiy 〈hit〉 “mind” < Skt. cittam (Sinh. sit-/hit-); for the treatment of wordinternal and word-final s cp. diha “ten” < daśa (Sinh. dasa-/daha-); bas “language”< Skt. bhā ā (Sinh. bas-) with the indefinite form bahe’, quasi < *bhā ā ĕkkā “onelanguage”; fas “five” < Skt. pañca (Sinh. pas-), indef. fahe’, quasi < *pañca ĕkkā
“one five”; fas “soil” < Skt. pāmsu(h) (Sinh. pas-) with ablative fahun < pāmsuna;and fas “after”, contained in fasbaduruva, < paścā(t) (Sinh. pas-), abl. fahun
substituting *fahen36 < *paścena. Note that the consonant ś appearing in dinaśa anddośa reflects not an older sibilant but the retroflex stop t we still find in Sinhalese(denata / deta); this had emerged regularly from older -tth- (< Skt. -sth-: dhanistha- /jye ha-).
˙

˙

˙

ṡ

ṡ

˙

˙

˙˙

˙

˙˙
˙

˙˙

˙

˙

ṫ ṡ

The regular treatment of word-internal j can be found in ras “king” < rājā (Sinh.
rada37); rihi “silver” < rajata(m) (Sinh. ridı̄-); bis “egg” < bı̄ja(m) (Sinh. biju-) withindef. bihe’. For the regular loss of h we can adduce examples like mā “great, big” <Skt. mahā(n) (Sinh. mahā / mā); hās “thousand” < sahasra(m) (Sinh. dahas-/dās-),) ; and ran “gold” < hira y a( )indef. hāhe’; bo u “big” < b h anta( ) (via *b h a a(Sinh. ran-) which shows that after the loss of h, word-initial short vowels in open
syllables were dropped altogether as in diya “water” < udaka( ) or in the name of
the 15th naksatra, nora < anurādhā. bēs “medicine” < bhaisaj(y)am (Sinh. behet/-/bēt-)shows that secondary h sounds that had emerged from sibilants or palatals alsotended to get lost, at least next to high vowels (bēs < *behes); cp. in “boundary” <sı̄mā (Sinh. sim-/him-/im-), iru “sun” < sūriya( ) (Sinh. hira / ira), or ū “thread” <sūtra(m) (Sinh. hū-).
˙

˙

˙

ṁ

ṅ

ṁ

ṁ

˙

ṫ ṅ

ṙ

ṁ

ṙ

˙

ḋ

˙

ṁ

˙

Nevertheless, there are some indications in the Maldivian list of naksatras whichsuggest that even in this language, they were secondarily influenced by learned
tradition. This is especially true for the name rēva which is irregular in at least two
respects: Dhivehi -ē- does not continue plain Sanskrit -e- normally which developed
into short e in Dhivehi as in hen < senā; long -ē- arose secondarily only, bycontraction of two syllables as in bēs < *behes < baisajya(m). And in the secondsyllable, we should expect an indirect reflex of the final -tı̄ which should have caused
umlaut as in henevi < senāpati. Thus, we should expect something like *revi insteadof rēva as the name of the 25th naksatra.
˙

˙

˙

˙

36

37

This form is still preserved in the dialect of Fua’ Mulaku. The same dialect has substituted word-final -s by -h+ vowel throughout as in baha “language”; note that in fahã “five” it has even preserved a trace of the Old Indicnasal.
The striking divergence of Dhivehi and Sinhalese in the development of word-internal j was first drawn attention
to by M.W.S. SUGATHAPALA DE SILVA (in: Some Observations on the History of Maldivian; TAPS 1970, 137162).

Towards a Historical Phonology of Maldivian

149

Another crucial case is the names ending in -a. On the basis of more usual words, weshould expect all final syllables first to have been reduced to some unspecified(shewa-like?) short vowel which was later dropped after nasals and voiceless consonants but developed into -u in most other environments38. Many of the examples ofcommon words quoted above attest this treatment, and we can easily adduce further
examples such as ko’ “having made” (absolutive) < older ko ( u) < Skt. k t vā (via*k v ā, *ku v ā, *ku ā, *ko ā; Sinh. ko a ) or hen “sort, kind, type, crowd” < Skt.
senā (Sinh. sen-). It is only in peculiar constellations that we find word-final a regularly, viz. after -iy- as in diya “water” < udaka(m) or hiya “hundred” < śata(m) (andpossibly -ih- in diha “ten”). Considering the list of nak a tra names ending in -a, wemight assume that this ending was reintroduced by influence of the Sanskrit equivalents; and indeed it seems that Dhivehi has -a wherever the Sanskrit names are stems
in -a- or -ā-. But there are some exceptions to this “rule”: The correspondent form ofketi, Skt. krttikāh, is an ā-stem, but the word-final -i of keti, just like Sinh. käti, may
well reflect the regular outcome of -ika- as in mehi “fly” < maksikā (via macchikā,Sinh. mäsi-/mähi-) or even -aka- as in mati “top, surface” < mastaka(m) (via matthaka
as against Sinh. mata- < masta(m)?)39. Similarly, the name of the 20th naksatra,
huvan, shows no secondary influence of the Sanskrit a-stem, śravana-. Here,however, we have to note that the vowel of the second syllable is surprising: As withburunu (older buru u 40) < bhara ı̄, we should expect huvun; but this may be due tothe special environment (*-uvu- > -uva- as *-iyu- > -iya-?).
ṙ

ṫ

ṫ

˙

ṫ ṫ

ṫ ṫ

ṫ

ṫ ṙ

˙

ṡ

˙

˙

˙

˙

˙

˙

˙

ṅ

ṅ

If Dhivehi thus preserves “regular” continuants for some of the stems in -a/-ā at least,
it is advisable to consider other solutions of the problem as well. One solution seems
to suggest itself by the fact that many of the naksatra names were not singular but
dual or plural forms in Sanskrit. Although even Vedic tradition was not always
unanimous in this respect, the Dhivehi names in -a might reflect pluralic forms endingin -ā originally. As there are no other traces of Old Indic nominative plural forms ofthis type41, there is no way to prove this, however. Some further investigations into
the historical phonology of Maldivian are necessary to solve this problem.
˙

ḣ

ḋ

ḋ

ḋ ḋ

˙

ṫ ṡ ṙ

ṙ

ṡ

ṡ

ṡ

ṅ

ḋ ḋ

ṁ

41

ṅ

40

ṙ

39

In the treatment of the assumed shewa-like word-final vowel, the Dhivehi dialects differ to a large extent: theA ū dialect has -a throughout, while Fua’ Mulaku has -o as in bon̆ a / bon̆ o “great” vs. standard Dhivehi bo u .
The first vowel of both Dhiv. keti and Sinh. käti will rather reflect a full grade a, *karttikā-, than a syllabic ; for
Dhiv. e / Sinh. ä is the regular outcome of umlauted a as in e’ 〈et〉 “elefant” < hastı̄ via hatthı̄while r would have
led to u or i in this position; cp. fuśi “sandbank, island, ridge, back” < p haka-, but also the name of the third
nak a tra, miahelia < m g aśirasa- (this name is, by the way, attested in one of the lōmāfānus in a copperplate
inscription of 1194 A.D. in the Sanskritizing form mr(a)ggası̄ra nak a tra; an edition of the copperplate in question
is presently being prepared by us). The regular umlaut can also be seen in the name of the 13th nak a tra, hei <svāti-.
The merger of retroflex with dental n can be shown to have occurred only recently in standard Dhivehi: The
southern dialects still preserve the distinction, and the Tāna script originally possessed a character of its own todenote the retroflex sound. The A ū equivalent of burunu is buru a .
Standard Dhivehi has a plural ending in -ta’ 〈-tak〉 < *tāvatka- “so much/many” as well as a plural ending -un
appearing with some nouns denoting human beings. The latter ending might reflect a former genitive plural ending-ūnā .
ḋ

38

150

Sonja FRITZ – Jost GIPPERTAppendix I: The lists of naksatras contained in the Yajurveda Samhitās˙˙k´ t tikā nák a tram |agnír devátā_ |agné rúcah stha |´prajāpate
h sómasya dhatúr |c é tvā |rucé tvā |KS 39,13agnír devátā_k´rttikā náksatram
˙

ṡ

ṙ

˙
˙

ṙ

bhāsé tvā |jyótise tvā |téna chándasā téna bráhma ātáyā devátayā__aṅgirasvád dhruvā´ sı̄da |´rohin´ı̄ náksatram |prajāpatir
devátā´
prajāpatir
devátā_ |rohi ´ı̄ nák a tram
marúto devátā__invagā´ náksatram |marúto devátā |_invakā´ nák a tra˙
rudró devátābāhúr náksatram̆ |rudró devátā |bāhúr náksatramáditir devátā
púnarvasur nák a tram |áditir devátā |púnarvasur náksatram
tí y o nák a tram |b´ h aspátir devátā_b´rhaspátir devátā_ |tísyo náksatram̆˙´˙_āślesā náksatram̆ |sarpā´ devátā_
sarpā´ devátā |_āśle ā´ nák a trapitáro devátāmaghā´ náksatram |pitáro devátā |maghā´ nák a trahbhágo devátāp álgunı̄r náksatram |hb ágo devátā |phálgunı̄r náksatramhp álgunı̄r nák a tram |aryamā´ devátā_´aryamā devátā |_úttarāh phálgunı̄r náksatram̆˙hásto náksatram̆˙ |savitā´ devátāsavitā´ devátā |hástau nák a tracitrā´ náksatram |tvástā devátā
tvá ā devátā |citrā´ nák a tra˙nístyam náksatram̆ |vāyúr devátāvāyúr devátā |nístyā náksatram
víśākha nák a tram |indrāgn´ı̄ devátā
indrāgn´ı̄ devátā_ |víśākham náksatramh´
anūrād ā náksatram |mitró devátā_
mitró devátā |_anūrādhā´ náksatramh´
˙
jyest ā náksatram̆ |índro devátā
váru o devátā |jye hā´ nák a tra´
mūlam náksatram |nírrtir devátā´ m náksatram
nírrtir devátā_ |mūla´ devátā__āsādhā´ náksatram |āpo´ devátā_|āpo_asādhā´ náksatramh´˙víśve devā´ devátā_a ā ā nák a tram̆ |´víśve devā devátā_ |_úttarā asādhā´ náksatramh
ab ijín náksatram |˙k´ t tikā nák a tram
agnír devátā__agné rúcah stha´
prajāpaterdhātúh sómasyarcé tvārucé tvā
dyuté tvābhāsé tvā
jyótise tvāMS 2,13,20

˙

TS 4,4,10,1-2
ṡ

ṙ

˙

˙

˙

ṅ

˙

ṡ

ṁ

ṅ

˙

˙

˙

ṡ

˙

˙

˙

ṡ

˙

˙

ṙ

˙

ṡ

ṡ

˙

ṁ

ṡ

ṡ

ṁ

˙

˙

˙

ṡ

˙

˙

˙

ṡ

˙

˙

ṁ

ṡ

˙˙

ṁ

˙

ṡ

˙

˙

˙

˙

ṫ ṡ

˙

ṡ

˙

ṁ

˙

˙

˙

ṁ

ṡ

˙

˙

ṫ ṡ

˙

˙

˙

˙

˙˙

˙

˙

ṅ

˙ ˙
˙

˙

˙

˙

˙˙

˙˙

˙

˙

˙

˙ ˙

ṡ

˙ ˙

˙

ḋ

˙

ṡ

rohin´ı̄ náksatram´
prajāpatir
devátānák a tram̆˙
m g aśı̄r á
sómo devátā__ārdrā nák a tram̆˙
rudró devátā
púnarvasū náksatramáditir devátātisyò náksatramb´ h aspátir devátā__āśresā´ náksatram̆˙
sarpā´ devátāmaghā´ nák a tram
pitáro devátā
phálgunı̄ nák a tram ||2 aryamā´ devátā
phálgunı̄ náksatrambhágo devátā
hásto nák a tram̆˙savitā´ devátā
citrā´ náksatramíndro devátāsvāt´ı̄ náksatramvāyúr devátā
víśākhe náksatram
indrāgn´ı̄ devátāanūrādhā´ náksatram
mitró devátārohin´ı̄ náksatramíndro devátā
vic´ t au nák a tram
pitáro devátā__asādhā´ náksatram´ devátā_āpo_asādhā´ náksatramvíśve devā´ devátā
˙

ṡ

˙

ṁ

ṡ

ṙ

ṡ

˙

˙

˙

˙
ṙ

˙

ṡ

ṡ

˙

ṡ

˙

˙

˙

˙

˙

˙

ṡ

˙

˙

˙

˙

ṙ

˙ ˙
˙ ˙

Towards a Historical Phonology of Maldivian

brahmā´ devátā |śro ā´ nák a tram̆˙ |vísnur devátā |śrávi hā nák a tram̆˙ |vásavo devátā |śatábhisaṅ42 náksatram |índro devátā |prosthapadā´ náksatram |áhir budhnyò devátā |prosthapadā´ náksatram |ajá ékapād devátā |revátı̄ nák a tra |pūsā´ devátā_ |aśvayújau nák a tram |aśvínau devátā_ |bháranı̄r náksatram̆˙ |yamó devátā |brāhma ó nák a tram̆˙ |sómo devátā_ |_agné rúcah stha |´prajāpate
sómasya dhātúr |ví u r devátā__aśvatthó náksatram
vásavo devátā
śrávisthā náksatramváruno devátāśatábhi ṅa nák a tramajá ékapād devátā
pro hapadā´ nák a tramáhir budhnyò devátā__úttare prosthapadā´ náksatram
˙

˙

˙

˙

ṅ ṡ

ṫ ṡ

˙

˙˙
ṡ

˙

˙˙

˙

˙˙

˙

ṡ

˙

ṡ

˙

ṡ

˙

ṁ

pūsā´ devátā
revátı̄ nák a tramaśvínau devátā__aśvayújau náksatram
yamó devátā__apabhára ı̄r nák a tram̆˙
˙

˙˙

ṫ ṡ

˙

ṡ

ṡ

ṅ

ṡ

˙
˙˙

ṡ

˙

ṡ

ṅ

˙

˙

ṡ

ṁ

śro ā´ nák a travísnur devátā
śrávisthā náksatram
vásavah 3 devátāśatábhi ṅa nák a tramíndro devátā
prosthapadā´ náksatram
ajá ékapād devátā
prosthapadā´ náksatramáhir budhníyo devátā
revátı̄ nák a trampūsā´ devátā__aśvayújau náksatramaśvínau devátā__apabhára ı̄r nák a trayamó devátā

151

ṁ

ṡ

˙

ṅ

˙

˙˙

˙˙

˙

ṡ

ṡ

˙

˙˙

˙

˙˙

ṡ

˙

˙

ṡ

ṅ

ṅ

˙

agné rúcas stha´
prajāpatessómasya dhātúrh´b ūyāsam prájanisı̄yaḣ

rcé tvā |rucé tvā |bhāsé tvā |jyóti e tvā |téna chándasā téna bráhmanātáyā devátayā_t é n a b r á h m a n ā t é n a
cchándasā táyā devátayā__aṅgirasvád dhruvā´ sı̄da´ sı̄data ||13||_aṅgirasvád dhruvās
˙

˙

˙

ṡ

˙

˙

Appendix II: The list of nak a tras contained in Taittirı̄ya Brāhma a (1,5,1,1-5)
ṅ

ṡ

´
1 agnéh k´rttikāh |aryamnáh pūrve
phálgunı̄ |jāyā´ parástāda bhò ’vástāt |śukrám parástāt_ jyótir avástāt |h´b ágasya_úttare |prajāpaterohin´ı̄ |´ h parástād ósadhayo ’vástāt |vahatáva parástād váhamānā avástāt ||āpa
3 devásya savitúr hástah |sómasya_invakā´ |vítatāni parástād váyanto ’vástāt |prasavá parástāt sanír avástāt |rudrásya bāhū´ |índrasya citrā´ |t á parástāt satyám avástāt ||m g ayáva parástād vik ārò ’vástāt |ádityai púnarvasū |vāyór nístyā |´ h parástād ārdrám avástāt ||vāta
vratátih parástād ásiddhir avástāt |2 b´rhaspátes tisyàh |indrāgniyór víśākhe |´ parástāt krsámānā avástāt |yugānijúhvata parástād yájamānā avástāt |´´mitrásya_anūrādhā´ |sarpānām āśresāh |hhh´ dham avástāt ||ab yāgácc antah parástād ab yān´rtyanto ’vástāt| abhyāróhat parástād abhyārū
h4 índrasya rohin´ı̄ |pitrnām mag ā´ h |˙ ’vástāt |rudántah parástād apabhram̆śòśrnát parástāt pratiśrnád avástāt |
˙ ˙

˙

˙ ˙

˙

ṡ ṙ

˙

˙

ḣ

˙

˙

ḣ

ṁ

˙˙

ṙ

ṡ

ḣ

ṙ

˙

˙

˙

˙
˙

˙

˙˙
ḣ

˙

˙

˙

ṁ

˙˙

˙

˙ ˙˙

˙

ṡ

Variant reading of B (BÜHLER’s manuscript), preferrable as against śatabhi a

˙˙

ḣ

˙
˙
˙ ˙

42

in L.v. SCHROEDER’s text.

152

Sonja FRITZ – Jost GIPPERT´
nírrtyai mūlavárhanı̄ |ajásya_ékapadah pūrve
prosthapadā´ h |hpratib añjánta parástāt pratiś á nto ’vástāt| vaiśvānará
parástād vaiśvāvasavám´
apā´ m pūrvā
avástāt |asādhā´ h |áher budhníyasya_úttare |várca parástāt sámitir avástāt |´víśvesām devānāmabhisiñcántah parástād abhisunvánto ’vástāt |úttarāh |hh
ab ijáyat parástād ab íjitam avástāt |pūsnó revátı̄ |´
ví o śro ā´ |gāva
parástād vatsā´ avástāt |prcchámānāh parástāt pánthā avástāt ||aśvínor aśvayújau |´grāmaparástāt sénā_avástāt |5 vásūnām̆˙ śrávi hā |hh´yamásya_apabháranı̄h |b ūtám parástād b ūtir avástāt |apakársantah parástād apaváhanto ’vástāt |índrasya śatábhi a k |´ yát te devā´ ádadhu ||pūr ā´ paścādviśvávyacā parástād viśvák i tir avástāt |
˙

˙˙

˙

˙

ṁ

˙ ˙

ṅ ṙ

˙

˙

˙ ˙ ˙
ḣ

˙˙
˙

˙ ˙
ḣ

˙

ḣ

˙

ḣ

˙ ˙

˙

˙

ḣ

ṅ

ḣ

ṫ ṡ

ṅ ṡ

˙

˙

˙

ṡ

ḣ

ṅ

ṡ

ḣ

Appendix III: The list of naksatras contained in Śāṅkhāyana Grhya Sūtra (1,26)
˙

˙

mitrāyānurādhāyā
indrāya jye hāya
nirrtyai mūlāyā__adbhyo ’sādhābhyo
viśvebhyo devebhyo ’ ā hābhyo
brahmane ’bhijite
vi a ve śrava āyavasubhyo dhanisthābhyo
varunāya śatabhisaje’jāyaikapade pro hapadābhyo’hirbudhnyāya prosthapadābhyahpū e revatyāaśvibhyām aśvinı̄bhyāmyamāya bharanı̄bhyah
ṫ ṡ

˙

˙ ˙

ḋ

ṡ

˙

˙˙

˙

˙

˙˙

ṅ

ṅ ṡ

˙

ṫ ṡ

ṅ ṡ

˙

˙

˙

_ūrdhva sa v atsarād g h ye ’gnau juhoti
agnaye k t tikābhya
prajāpataye rohinyai
somāya mrgaśirase
rudrāyārdrābhyo’ditaye punarvasubhyāmb h aspataye pu āy ya
sarpebhyo ’ślesābhyah
pitrbhyo maghābhyo
bhagāya phalgunı̄bhyāmaryamne phalgunı̄bhyāmsavitre hastāya
tvastre citrāyaivāyave svātaya
indrāgnibhyā viśākhābhyā
ṙ

ṁ

ḣ

ṁ

ṙ

˙

˙

˙

˙

ṡ

ṙ

˙

˙

˙

˙

˙˙

ṁ

ṁ

Jost Gippert

Digital unterschrieben von Jost Gippert
DN: cn=Jost Gippert, o=Universität Frankfurt,
ou=Vergleichende Sprachwissenschaft,email=gippert@em.uni-frankfurt.de, c=DE
Datum: 2012.01.02 17:13:37 +01'00'