Dear Madhav,

This construction is quite common in Pali, for which see the CPD s.v. atthi. Warder mentions it in his Introduction to Pali (but I don’t have a copy at hand, so cannot give you the page reference) and there may be a reference in von Hinüber’s Das ältere Mittelindisch im Überblick. Norman does not seem to discuss it in his critical notes on Sn, Dhp, or Th/Thī where examples are found, except to say in his note on Sn 759 “The use of atthi with a plural subject is so common as to make the cty’s remark about the change of number unnecessary.”

For an example in Gāndhārī, see Richard Salomon Two Gāndhārī Manuscripts of the Songs of Lake Anavatapta (Anavatapta‐gāthā), 2008: 202, where he refers to Bechert “Grammatisches aus dem Apadānabuch.” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, 108, 1958: 315.

Regards

Mark Allon

University of Sydney

From: Indology [mailto:INDOLOGY@liverpool.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Madhav Deshpande
Sent: Friday, 16 November 2012 3:07 AM
To: INDOLOGY@liverpool.ac.uk
Subject: [INDOLOGY] Question on Pali syntax

Hello Colleagues,

     I am reading the Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasutta from the Dīghanikāya with a few students.  In this Sutta, phrases like atthi kāyo, atthi cittam, atthi vedanā are quite frequent, and pose no problems.  However, then comes the phrase atthi dhammā a few times.  It is quite clear from the context that dhammā is nominative plural (other refs in the context in plural: dhammesu dhammānupassī).  I am wondering how to explain the syntax of the phrase atthi dhammā.  Any suggestions?  Perhaps, K.R. Norman might have an explanation.  Does anyone have his email address?  Thanks.

Madhav

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Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor of Sanskrit and Linguistics
Department of Asian Languages and Cultures
202 South Thayer Street, Suite 6111
The University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1608, USA