I always thought this was the self-benefactive use of the middle voice, just as dā in the parasmaipada is to give and dā in the ātmanepada is to give to oneself, and thus to take, dhīmahi as 1st pl middle optative to dhā as wishing "may we place/establish X for ourselves" = "may we requisition X" ? -- C

On Mon, Jul 19, 2021 at 1:12 PM Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

Some time ago, we had a discussion on the syntax of dhīmahi. But when I search the archives, nothing shows up. Can someone help me?

Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies
Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India

[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]

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