9 .. i 4. Hiatus is not avoided internally or exter- nally although the Pada text often disguises it. Thus : dáivya - (i 35 5)=dáivia- ; kvà=kúa; svá pāḥ (i 85.9)= sué pāḥ; tvám=tuám (cf. Old Persian tuvam); gām (often)=gāam<*gāvam): góḥ (often)
- gávaḥ; saptāsye (iv 51 5)=sa ptá-āsye; híranyahasto
ásu raḥ; etc. There is much freedom in Sandhi as is expected in a language not remote from the spoken tongue. 5. Cerebralisation of a dental occurs in external sandhi also; e.g. pári ștha (vii 1037); prá ņa āyur jīváse soma tārīḥ (viii 48 4). 6. There is a marked tendency of dropping the initial sibilant in an initial consonant-group; e.g., candra, paśyati, tāyu, tārā, tisthsti; but hariscandra-, spasta“, steya-, str., sthäsyathi etc. The sibilant is however retained when the conjunct contains an aspirate or a liquid. Thus : sthāna-, sphärä-, śrīmant-, slīla., etc. 7. The palatals 6, ch, j, jh, are still prepalatal stops and not affricates as later. 8. A final conjunct is simplified (unless it is protected or medialised in a phrase or word-group): gacchan (but gacchamsca), akar (for *akart), etc. But -rk, -rt, and -rt (when -g- belong to a root) are retained : vark (<vrj- ; *varkt), urk (<urj-s), amārt (<amarj-t), āvart (<vrt-t). 9. Root nouns are very common; e. g., dā-, bhid,- vrdh-, stu-t-, spas, etc. 10. Action and agent nouns in -man also are numerous : mánman-, ájman-, jániman-, vidmán-, jeman-, dáman-, etc.