ya.m
From: Ole Holten Pind
Message: 2520
Date: 2008-10-14
Dear Pali readers,
ya.m is used in the Pali canon as a temporal conjunction in the sense of
"when". There is reason to mention two particular constructions with ya.m,
one with samayo + ya.m and the other with kaalo + ya.m. Examples with kaalo
+ ya.m are particularly interesting because ya.m is invariably constructed
with a finite verb in the potential, in contrast to samayo + ya.m that is
only recorded without the potential. The use with a finite verb in the
potential reflects a rule in Panini´s Sanskrit grammar III.3.167-68, which
stipulates that samaya and kaala are constructed with the potential if the
verb is preceded by yad. In the language of the Pali canon yad becomes ya.m
as Pali disallows final consonants except /.m/.
Ole Holten Pind
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