Datives in mane.
Next follow datives from nouns in man, van, and an. The suffix man is very common in Sanskrit, for forming verbal nouns, such as kar-man, doing, deed, from kar. Van is almost restricted to forming nomina agentis, such as druh-van, hating; but we find also substantives like pat-van, still used in the sense of flying. An also is generally used like van, but we can see traces of its employment to form nomina actionis in Greek ἀγών, Lat. turbo, etc.
Datives of nouns in man, used with infinitival functions, are very common in the Veda; e.g. I. 164, 6, pṛccâmi vidmane, I ask to know; VIII. 93, 8, dâmane kṛtáḥ, made to give. We find also the instrumental case vidmánâ, e.g., VI. 14, 5, vidmánâ urushyáti, he protects by his knowledge. These correspond to Homeric infinitives, like ἴδμεναι, δόμεναι, etc., old datives and not locatives, as Schleicher and Curtius supposed; while forms like δόμεν are to be explained either as abbreviated, or as obsolete accusatives.
Datives in vane.
Of datives in váne I only know dāvâne, a most valuable grammatical relic, by which Professor Benfey was enabled to explain the Greek δοῦναι, i.e., δοϝέναι.[34]
Datives in ane.
Of datives in áne I pointed out (l.c.) dhûrv-ane and vibhv-áne, VI. 61, 13, taking the latter as synonymous with vibhvế, and translating, Sarasvatî, the great, made to conquer, like a chariot. Professor Roth, s.v. vibhván, takes the dative for an instrumental, and translates “made by an artificer.” It is, however, not the chariot that is spoken of, but Sarasvatî, and of her it could hardly be said that she was made either by or for an artificer.
Locatives in sani.
As we saw before that aoristic bases in s take the datival e, so that we had prák-sh-e by the side of pṛ́c-e, we shall have to consider here aoristic bases in s, taking the suffix an, not however with the termination of the dative, but with that of the locative i. Thus we read X. 126, 3, náyishṭhâḥ u naḥ nesháṇi párshishṭhâḥ u naḥ parsháṇi áti dvíshaḥ, they who are the best leaders to lead us, the best helpers to help us to overcome our enemies, lit. in leading us, in helping us. In VIII. 12, 19, gṛṇîsháni, i.e. gṛ-ṇî-sháṇ-i stands parallel with turv-án-e, thus showing how both cases can answer nearly the same purpose. If these forms existed in Greek, they would, after consonantal bases, be identical with the infinitives of the future.