The accusative is usually the same as the nominative, but when definiteness is required the dative is employed instead. The termination Tie, with its plural ni, is really the oblique form, by origin a locative, of the lid or no. The suffix nd of the dative plural is derived from the same word. The post-position la is probably a corruption of the Sanskrit labhe, for the benefit (of). The locative termination at is a contraction of the Pr. (into, Skt. antar, within. The genitive gharatsd is really an adjective mean ing "belonging to the house," and agrees in gender, number and case with the noun which is possessed. The suffix tsa, ci, ce, is derived from the Sanskrit suffix tyakas, Pr. cao, which is used in much the same sense.
Strong adjectives, including genitives, can be declined like substantives, and agree with the qualified noun in gender, num ber and case. When the substantive is in an oblique case, the adjective is put into the general oblique form without any de fining post-position, which is add6d to the substantive alone. Weak adjectives are not inflected in modern prose, but are in flected in poetry. Comparison is effected by putting the noun with which comparison is made in the ablative case.
The pronouns closely follow the Prakrit originals. There is no pronoun of the third person, its place being supplied by the demonstratives. In all the plural is employed honorifically in stead of the singular.
Conjugation.—Marathi has two conjugations. The first as a rule consists of intransitive verbs, and the second, corresponding to the e–or causal–class, of transitive verbs, but there are nu merous exceptions.
In Marathi the present has lost its original meaning and is now a habitual past. It is also the base of the Marathi future, which is formed by adding 1, or in the first person singular n, to the old present. In the second person singular the 1 has been added to a form derived from the Pr. ut thasi, which is also the origin of the old present utiles. The remaining tenses are modern forms derived from the participles. The conjunctive participle is de rived from the Apabhramia form utthiu, to which the dative suffix n. (old Marathi ni, niyd) has been added.
Various tenses are formed by adding personal suffixes to the present, past or future passive participle. When the subject of the verb is in the nominative the tense so formed agrees with it in gender, number and person. In the present, the terminations are relics of the verb substantive, and in the other tenses of the personal pronouns.
The present tense is formed by compounding the present parti ciple with the verb substantive. Further tenses are similarly made by suffixing, without compounding, various tenses of the verb substantive to the various participles.
Literature.—The modern vernacular literature of the Maratha country arose under the influence of the religious reformation inaugurated by Ramanuja early in the 12th century. The earliest writer is Namdev (13th century), whose hymns in honour of Vithoba, a personal form of Vishnu, are found in the Sikh Adi Granth. DnyanOba, a younger contemporary, wrote a paraphrase of the Sanskrit Bhagavad Gild, which is still much admired. Sivaji was a disciple of Ramdas, 0608-1680, who exercised great influence over him, and whose Dasbadh, a work on religious duty, is a classic. Contemporary with Ramdas and Sivaji was Tub:ram (1608-1649), a udra by caste, the greatest writer in the language. Being unsuccessful both in his business and in his family relations, he abandoned the world and became a wander ing ascetic. His Abhangs or "unbroken" hymns are famous in the country of his birth, but do pot rise to any great height as poetry. Other Marathi poets are Sridhar (1678-1728), who trans lated the Bhagavata Purdzia, and the learned Mayura or MorO pant (1729-94). Mahipati (1715-9o) was an imitator of Tukaram, who collected the popular traditions about national saints. Lavaiiis, or erotic lyrics, by various writers, are popular, but are often more passionate than decent. The Pawadas or war ballads, mostly by nameless poets, are sung everywhere through out the country. There is a small prose literature consisting of narratives of historical events (the so-called Bakhars), moral maxims and popular tales.
Konkani once had a literature of its own, which is said to have been destroyed by the Inquisition at Goa. Temples and manu scripts were burnt wholesale. Under Roman Catholic auspices a new literature arose, the earliest writer being an Englishman, Thomas Stephens (Thomaz Esteydo), who came to Goa in 1579, wrote the first Konkani grammar, and died there in 1619. Amongst other works, he was the author of a Konkani paraphrase of the New Testament in metrical form.