Thirdly, the fact that the initial short a, if following upon a word ending in o or e, is frequently not to be elided, is clearly recognised by the authors of the Prâtisâkhya (see p. xlviii). Nay, that they wished it to be pronounced even in passages where, in accordance with the requirements of the Prâtisâkhya, it had to disappear in the Samhitâ text, we may conclude from Sûtra 978. It is there stated that no pâda should ever begin with a word that has no accent. The exceptions to this rule are few, and they are discussed in Sûtras 978-987. But if the initial a were not pronounced in I, 1, 9, sáh nah pitâ´-iva sûnáve ágne su-upâyanáh bhava, the second pâda would begin with ऽgne, a word which, after the elision of the initial a, would be a word without an accent b.

Fourthly, the fact that other long vowels, besides e and o, may under certain circumstances be used as short in the Veda, is not merely a modern theory, but rests on no less an authority than Pânini himself.

Pânini says, VI, I, 127, that i, u, ri (see RV. Bh. IV, 1, 12) at the end of a pada (but not in a compound a) may remain unchanged, if a different vowel follows, and that, if long, they may be shortened. He ascribes this rule, or, more correctly, the first portion of it only, to Sâkalya, Prâtisâkhya 155 seq. b Thus kakrî atra may become kakrĭ atra or kakry atra. Madhû atra may become madhŭ atra or madhv atra. In VI, 1, 128, Pânini adds that a, i, u, ri may remain unchanged before ri, and, if long, may be shortened, and this again according to the teaching of Sâkalya, i. e. Prâtisâkhya 136 c. Hence brahmâ rishih becomes brahmă rishih or brahmarshih; kumârî risyah becomes kumârĭ risyah or kumâry risyah. This rule enables us to explain a number of passages in which the Samhitâ text either changes the final long vowel into a semivowel, or leaves it unchanged, when the vowel is a pragrihya vowel. To the first class belong such passages as I, 163, 12; IV, 38, 10, vâgî´ árvâ, Samh. vâgyárvâ; VI, 7, 3, vâgî´ agne, Samh. vâgyãgne; VI, 20, 13, pakthî´ arkaíh, Samh. pakthyãrkaíh; IV, 22, 4, sushmî´ â´ góh, Samh. sushmyâ´ góh. In these passages î is the termination of a nom. masc. of a stem ending in in. Secondly, IV, 24, 8, pátnî ákkha, Samh. pátnyákkha; IV, 34, 1, devî´ áhnâm, Samh. devyáhnâm; V, 75, 4, vâ´nîki â´-hitâ, Samh. vâ´nîkyâ´hitâ; VI, 61, 4, avitrî´ avatu, Samh. avitryãvatu. In these passages the î is the termination of feminines. In X, 15, 4, ûtî´ arvâ´k, Samh. ûtyãrvâ´k, the final î of the instrumental ûtî ought not to have been changed into a semivowel, for, though not followed by íti, it is to be treated as pragrihya; (Prâtis. 163, 5.) It is, however,