- Pluti
Pluti is the term for overlong vowels in
Sanskrit . Pluti vowels are usually noted with a numeral "3" (indicating length of three morae), IAST|ā3, ī3, ū3, ṝ3, ḹ3, also IAST|e3, o3.Pluti is recorded only in two instances in the
Rigveda , representing the intonation of a question, both in the late tenth book.
*10.146.1d IAST|ná tvā bhîr iva vindatī3ṁ "are you not afraid?"
*10.129.5d IAST|adháḥ svid āsî3d upári svid āsī3t "was it above? was it below?"The pluti reaches the peak of its popularity in theBrahmana period of lateVedic Sanskrit (roughly8th century BC ), with e.g. some 40 instances in theShatapatha Brahmana .TheAstadhyayi records rules for pluti in spoken language, for example 8.2.82 IAST|praty-abhi-vādé-á-śūdre " [the last syllable becomes pluti] when replying to the greeting of a non-shudra".Literature
*Klaus Strunk, "Typische Merkmale von Fragesätzen und die altindische 'Pluti' ", Munich (1983).
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