--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Nina van Gorkom <vangorko@...> wrote:

>
> Dear Jim,
> Could you give an example of the genetive of the -to suffix? And
> what does this suffix especially do? This suffix always interested
> me. It must have a special fucntion.
> I ask this in case you have not gone to your lonely cottage?
> Nina.

Dear Nina,

I have not gone yet so I can respond now.

An example of -to in the sense of a genitive (or the 6th case) is the
one provided by the Saddaniiti as follows:

"na caaha.m eta.m icchaami ya.m parato daanapaccayaa" eva.m
cha.t.thiyatthe, "parassa daanapaccayaa" ti attho. --- Sadd III 681,3-
5 (H. Smith's ed.).

For the above quotes, Smith gives two references to Ja VI 128 (PTS
ed.).

See Jaataka verse (Suva.n.nasaamajaataka):
586. 'na caaham etam icchaami, ya.m parato daanapaccayaa;
saya.mkataani pu~n~naani, ta.m me aave.nika.m dhana.m.

Excerpt from the commentary (also on page 128):
tattha ya.m parato daanapaccayaati ya.m parato tassa parassa
daanapaccayaa tena dinnattaa labbhati, ta.m yaacitakasadisa.m hoti,
tasmaa naaha.m eta.m icchaami.

It's hard to say why the suffix -to would be chosen over a regular
inflectional termination. The special uses of this suffix is that it
can function as either a 3rd, 5th, 6th, or 7th case termination,
singular or plural. One would have to determine which from the
context --- not always easy. I think its function as a 5th case
termination is probably the most frequent and the one to consider
first.

Best wishes,
Jim