ending in j, namely mṛj and vṛj. All the examples noted are given below.
a. So far as the middle forms are concerned, this aorist would be fully explained as a transfer of certain s-aorists to an a-inflection. The marked difference in the strength of radical vowel in the active, however, stands in the way of the successful application of such an explanation to the active forms.
920. a. In the indicative, we find, in the active: avṛkṣam; adrukṣas, adhukṣas, arukṣas, akrukṣas, aspṛkṣas (and MBh. adds amṛkṣas); adikṣat, amikṣat, alikṣat, avikṣat, ákrukṣat, aghukṣat, adukṣat and ádhukṣat, árukṣat, avṛkṣat, akṛkṣat, ámṛkṣat, áspṛkṣat; aghukṣatām; arukṣāma, amṛkṣāma, avṛkṣāma; ádhukṣan, apikṣan (√piṣ), arukṣan, aspṛkṣan; — in the middle, only akṛkṣathās (√kṛṣ), ádhukṣata, and amṛkṣanta (and MBh. adds amṛkṣata?).
b. Forms without augment (no true subjunctives occur) are, in the active: dṛkṣam, mṛkṣam; dukṣas, rukṣas, mṛkṣas; dvikṣat; mṛkṣata; dhukṣán and dukṣán; — in the middle, dvikṣata, dukṣata and dhúkṣata, dhukṣánta.
c. There are no optative forms.
d. Imperative are: in the active, mṛkṣatam; in the middle, dhukṣásva.
e. The few accented forms without augment which occur have the tone on the tense-sign sá, in analogy with the a-aorist (2) and the imperfect of the á-class: a single exception is dhúkṣata, which probably needs emendation to dhukṣáta.
f. The aspiration of initial d and g, after loss of the aspirated quality of the root-final (155), is seen in forms from the roots duh and guh, but not from druh (only a single case, AB.); RV., however, has also adukṣat and dukṣas, dukṣán, dukṣata.
Precative.
921. As the so-called precative is allowed by the grammarians to be made in the later language from every root, and in an independent way, without reference to the mode of formation of the aorist from the same root, it is desirable to put together here a brief statement of the rules given for it.
922. The precative active is made by adding the active precative endings (above, 568) directly to the root. But:
a. Of final root-vowels (as before the passive-sign yá: 770), i and u are lengthened; ṛ is usually changed to ri, but to īr and ūr in those roots which elsewhere show ir- and ur- forms (so-called ṝ-roots: 242), and to ar in ṛ and smṛ; ā is changed to e in the roots dā, dhā, sthā, pā drink, gā sing, and a few others, in part optionally.
