Dear list members,I've wondered for a long time why sanskrit sandhi has any dependence on grammar and is not solely determined by preceding or following letters/sounds.
For example why should internal sandhi have any differences from external sandhi. As MacDonell says, "The
most notable divergence from external sandhi is the unchangeableness
of the final consonans of verbal and nominal stems before
terminations beginning with vowels, semivowels and nasal
Or why should ī ,ū or e when dual terminations (and only when dual terminations) remain unchanged before vowels.
In other words, in these cases why should grammar and not just adjacent sounds determine whether sandhi occurs.