present-system, are in their ultimate origin denominative; and that many apparent roots are of the same character. The denominatives which are so called differ from these only in that their origin is recent and undisguised.
1054. The grammarians teach that any noun-stem in the language may be converted, without other addition than that of an अ a (as union-vowel enabling it to be inflected according to the second general conjugation) into a present-stem, and conjugated as such.
a. But such formations are rare in actual use. The RV. has a few isolated and doubtful examples, the clearest of which is bhiṣákti he heals, from bhiṣáj physician; it is made like a form of the root-class; abhiṣṇak seems to be its imperfect according to the nasal class; and pátyate he rules appears to be a denominative of páti master; other possible cases are iṣaṇas etc., kṛpáṇanta, taruṣema etc., vanuṣanta, bhurajanta, vánanvati. From the other older texts are quotable kavyánt (TS.), áçlonat (TB.), unmūlati (ṢB.), svadhāmahe (ÇÇS.). And a considerable number of instances, mostly isolated, are found in the later language: e. g. kalahant (MBh.), arghanti (Pañc.), abjati (Çatr.), gardabhati (SD.), utkaṇṭhate (SD.), jagannetrati (Pras.), keliçvetasahasrapattrati (Pras.).
1055. In general, the base of denominative conjugation is made from the noun-stem by means of the conjugation-sign य yá, which has the accent.
a. The identity of this ya with the ya of the so-called causative conjugation, as making with the final a of a noun-stem the causative-sign aya, is hardly to be questioned. What relation it sustains to the ya of the ya-class (759), of the passive (768), and of the derivative intensive stem (1016), is much more doubtful.
1056. Intermediate between the denominative and causative conjugations stands a class of verbs, plainly denominative in origin, but having the causative accent. Examples, beginning to appear at the earliest period of the language, are mantráyate speaks, takes counsel, (from mantra, √man + tra), kīrtáyati commemorates (from kīrti, √kṛ praise), artháyati or -te makes an object of, seeks (from ártha goal, object), varṇayati depicts (from varṇa color), kathayati or -te gives the how of anything, relates (from katham how?), and so on. These, along with like forms from roots which have no other present-system (though they may make scattering forms outside that system from the root directly), or which have this beside other present-systems without causative meaning, are reckoned by the grammarians as a separate conjugation-class, the cur-class (above, 607, 775).
