sayitum bhāryām (MBh.) it is proper for me to comfort his wife; na naptāraṁ svayaṁ nyāyyaṁ çaptum evam (R.) it is not suitable thus to curse one's own grandson; tad vaktuṁ na pāryate (Çatr.) it is not possible to say that.
988. In the later language, as in the earlier, the infinitive in certain connections has what we look upon as a passive value. Thus, kartum ārabdhaḥ begun to be made; çrotuṁ na yujyate it is not fit to be heard (for hearing). This is especially frequent along with the passive forms of √çak: thus, tyaktuṁ na çakyate it cannot be abandoned; çakyāv ihā ”netum they two can be brought hither; na ca vibhūtayaḥ çakyam avāptum ūrjitāḥ nor are mighty successes a thing capable of being attained.
Gerunds.
989. The so-called gerund is a stereotyped case (doubtless instrumental) of a verbal noun, used generally as adjunct to the logical subject of a clause, denoting an accompanying or (more often) a preceding action to that signified by the verb of the clause. It has thus the virtual value of an indeclinable participle, present or past, qualifying the actor whose action it describes.
a. Thus, for example: çrutvāi ’va cā ’bruvan and hearing (or having heard) they spoke; tebhyaḥ pratijñāyā ’thāi ’tān paripapraccha having given them his promise, he then questioned them.
990. The gerund is made in the later language by one of the two suffixes त्वा tvā and य ya, the former being used with a simple root, the latter with one that is compounded with a prepositional prefix — or, rarely, with an element of another kind, as adverb or noun.
a. To this distribution of uses between the two suffixes there are occasional exceptions. Thus, gerunds in ya from simple roots are not very rare in the epic language (e. g. gṛhya, uṣya [√vas dwell], arcya, īkṣya, cintya, tyajya, lakṣya; also from causatives and denominatives, as vācya, yojya, plāvya), and are not unknown elsewhere (e. g. arcya and īkṣya M., prothya AGS., sthāpya ÇvU.). And gerunds in tvā from compounded roots are met with in considerable numbers from AV. (only pratyarpayitvā́) down: e. g. samīrayitvā́ MS., virocayitvā́ TA., utkṣiptvā U., pratyuktvā E.[errata 1], pratyasitvā S., prahasitvā MBh., saṁdarçayitvā MBh., vimuktvā R., nivedayitvā R., proktvā Pañc., anupītvā VBS.: the great majority of them are made from the causative stem.
