concerned, a unity with the vocative: thus (all the examples from RV.), at the beginning of a pāda, with first syllable of the combination accented, índra bhrātaḥ O brother Indra! rā́jan soma O king Soma! yáviṣṭha dūta most youthful messenger! hótar yaviṣṭha sukrato most youthful skilled officer! ū́rjo napāt sahasvan mighty son of strength! — in the interior of a pāda, without accent, sómāsa indra girvaṇaḥ the somas, O song-loving Indra! tā́v açvinā bhadrahastā supāṇī ye, O Açvins of propitious and beautiful hands! ā́ rājānā maha ṛtasya gopā hither, ye two kingly guardians of great order!
e. On the other hand, two or more independent or coördinate vocatives at the beginning of a pāda are regularly and usually both accented: thus, pítar mā́taḥ O father! O mother! ágna índra váruṇa mítra dévāḥ Agni! Indra! Varuṇa! Mitra! gods! çátamūte çátakrato thou of a hundred aids! of a hundred arts! vásiṣṭha çúkra dī́divaḥ pā́vaka best, bright, shining, cleansing one! ū́rjo napād bhádraçoce son of strength, propitiously bright one! But the texts offer occasional irregular exceptions both to this and to the preceding rule.
f. For brevity, the vocative dual and plural will be given in the paradigms below along with the nominative, without taking the trouble to specify in each instance that, if the latter be accented elsewhere than on the first syllable, the accent of the vocative is different.
315. As regards the other cases, rules for change of accent in declension have to do only with monosyllables and with stems of more than one syllable which are accented on the final; for, if a stem be accented on the penult, or any other syllable further back — as is sárpant, vā́ri, bhágavant, sumánas, sahásravāja — the accent remains upon that syllable through the whole inflection (except in the vocative, as explained in the preceding paragraph).
a. The only exceptions are a few numeral stems: see 483.
316. Stems accented on the final (including monosyllables) are subject to variation of accent in declension chiefly in virtue of the fact that some of the endings have, while others have not, or have in less degree, a tendency themselves to take the accent. Thus:
a. The endings of nominative and accusative singular and dual and of the nominative plural (that is to say, of the strong cases: 311) have no tendency to take the accent away from the stem, and are therefore only accented when a final vowel of the stem and the vowel of the ending are blended together into a single vowel or diphthong. Thus, from dattá come dattāú (= dattá + āu) and dattā́s (= dattá + as); but from nadī́ come nadyāù (= nadī́ + āu) and nadyàs (= nadī́ + as).
b. All the other endings sometimes take the accent; but those beginning with a vowel (i.e. of the weakest cases: 311) do so more readily than those beginning with a consonant (i.e. of the middle cases: 311). Thus, from nāús come nāvā́ and nāubhís; from mahánt, however, come mahatā́ but mahádbhis.
