b. The peculiar Vedic forms have been sufficiently instanced above; the only ones of other than sporadic occurrence being the nom. etc. du. dātā́rā, svásārā, pitárā, and the gen. pl. of nṛ, narā́m.
c. The nom. pl. forms pitaras and mātaras etc. are found used also as accus. in the epics.
374. The stem kroṣṭṛ́ m. jackal (lit'ly howler) substitutes in the middle cases the corresponding forms of króṣṭu.
375. Neuter forms. The grammarians prescribe a complete neuter declension also for bases in tṛ, precisely accordant with that of vā́ri or mádhu (above, 339, 341). Thus, for example:
| Sing. | Du. | Plur. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| N. A. | dhātṛ́ | dhātṛ́ṇī | dhātṝ́ṇi |
| I. | dhātṛ́ṇā | dhātṛ́bhyām | dhātṛ́bhis |
| G. | dhātṛ́ṇas | dhātṛ́ṇos | dhātṝṇā́m |
| V. | dhā́tṛ, dhā́tar | dhā́tṛṇī | dhā́tṝṇi. |
a. The weakest cases, however (as of i- and u-stems used adjectively: 344), are allowed also to be formed like the corresponding masculine cases: thus, dhātrā́ etc.
b. No such neuter forms chance to occur in the Veda, but they begin to appear in the Brāhmaṇas, under influence of the common tendency (compare Germ. Retter, Retterin; Fr. menteur, menteuse) to give this nomen agentis a more adjective character, making it correspond in gender with the noun which it (appositively) qualifies. Thus, we have in TB. bhartṛ́ and janayitṛ́, qualifying antárikṣam; and bhartṝ́ṇi and janayitṝ́ṇi, qualifying nákṣatrāṇi; as, in M., grahītṝṇi, qualifying indriyāṇi.
c. When a feminine noun is to be qualified in like manner, the usual feminine derivative in ī is employed: thus, in TB., bhartryàs and bhartryāù, janayitryàs and janayitryāù, qualifying ā́pas and ahorātré; and such instances are not uncommon.
d. The RV. shows the same tendency very curiously once in the accus. pl. mātṝ́n, instead of mātṝ́s, in apposition with masculine nouns (RV. x. 35.2).
e. Other neuter forms in RV. are sthātúr gen. sing., dhmātárī loc. sing.; and for the nom. sing., instead of -tṛ, a few more or less doubtful cases, sthātar, sthātúr, dhartári.
Adjectives.
376. a. There are no original adjectives of this declension: for the quasi-adjectival character of the nouns composing it, see above (375 b). The feminine stem is made by the suffix ī: thus, dātrī́, dhātrī́.
b. Roots ending in ṛ (like those in i and u: 345) add a t to make a declinable stem, when occurring as final member of a com-
