Pischel §417 mentions the construal of atthi/asti at the beginning of a sentence with a non-singular (and non-third-person) subject and cites a few examples. Cf. also §498.

Andrew

On Thu, Nov 15, 2012 at 11:07 AM, Madhav Deshpande <mmdesh@umich.edu> wrote:
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

--
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