First of all I just want to say thank you to everyone who is chipping
in. The matter of Rta has been a topic of interest on a number of IE
religion lists I am on. It is my hope that with all of your
assistance, the role of Rta and possible correlates may be clarified
somewhat.
Secondly I would like to apologize for my use of simple layman's
terminology; as I have often remarked, I have no background in
linguistics and am struggling to keep my head above water.
I understand that *ar- is also designated *H2er- but I find myself
tripping over my own thoughts if I try to use the proper laryngeal
script, hence opting to follow the AHDIER and just say *ar-.
Hopefully my use of the remedial terminology won't make this too much
more difficult.
As I understand it, David Watson suggests that Rta, Arta, and Asha
all develop from a zero grade form which is the Proto-Indo-Iranian
*rta-.
I had *assumed* that as the leading "A" is preserved in both Asha and
Arta, the root from which the various terms developed would have been
some sort of suffixed version of the full grade form (such as *ar-ti-
or *ar-tu, etc) so as to explain the preservation of the leading "A".
I had thought only the Sanskrit form had dropped the initial "A" and
thus revealed it had undergone further change after the suffixed
form. My theory is most likely incorrect as I really am out of my
league here and if forced to choose between a theory based on my own
poor comprehension and that of Mr. Watson... I'm going to listen to
my betters.
Having stated that, I would love to understand more of how the
various terms developed such as: *ar- > *??? > Proto-Indo-Iranian
*rta- > Sanskrit Rta > ??asha???
Mr. Watson also pointed out:
"Some Scythian and Sarmatian names contain the element 'ard-', which
is thought to be cognate, and which is also found in Ossetic with
special religious or mystical connotations besides its mundane
meaning of "oath"."
I am again *assuming* that these Scythian and Sarmatian terms are
later developments and that 'ard-' developed out of the earlier
terms 'arta' or 'asha'???
(I'd also like to thank David for the educational link to the pages
on Asha)
Piotr Gasiorowski stated:
Seemed to suggest that the development began as *ar- which then
developed into the suffixed forms *ar-to- and *ar-tu- which then
became the zero grade forms *h2r.-to- and *h2r.-tu-
(did I get that right or did the zero grade predate the suffixed
form??)
Piotr further clarifies the development of the Iranian terms:
"Avestan <s^.> is a development of *rt following an accent, so both
<ar&ta-> and <as^.a-> (the latter used as the name of a divinity)
correspond to Skt. r.ta-"
Sean Whalen added some information about the development of the
Avestan terms which I have yet to fully digest LOL
I hope I did not mess things up too badly and that you will be able
to point out where I am in error.
As always, I am truly indebted to you all!
Sincerely,
Aydan