Resolving the Aryan Question: A Comprehensive presentation of Out of India Case – VI
Author’s Note: This article series is an expanded version of a paper presented at ICHR conference in New Delhi, 2018 under the title ‘The Rigveda and the Aryan Theory: A Rational Perspective’.
VI. Appendix 1: The Evidence of the Indo-European Numbers
An unexpected new type of conclusive evidence for the OIT or Indian-Homeland Theory is the evidence of the Indo-European numbers, which I have detailed in my article “India’s Unique Place in the World of Numbers and Numerals“. The relevant evidence is given here in short.
The number system in the Indo-European languages is a decimal system based on 10. This is the case in most languages of the world as a natural consequence of the fact that human beings have 10 fingers to count. Due to a minor variant method of counting on both fingers and toes, many languages of the world also have vigesimal number systems based on 20. Due to the influence of the non-Indo-European Basque language (originally spoken in south-western Europe before the arrival of Indo-European languages in the area), the Celtic languages like Irish and Welsh had developed a vegisimal system, and the Italic French language shows some traces of this influence:
Euskara (Basque):
1-10: bat, biga, hirur, laur, bortz, sei, zazpi, zortzi, bederatzi, hamar
11-19: hameka, hamabi, hamahirur, hamalaur, hamabortz, hamasei, hamazazpi, hamazortzi, hemeretzi
20, 40, 60, 80, 100: hogei, berrogei, hiruetanogei, lauetanogei, ehun
Other numbers: vigesimal + ta + 1-19. Thus:
21: hogei ta bat (20+ta+1), 99: lauetanogei ta hemeretzi (80+ta+19).
Welsh (IndoEuropean-Celtic):
1-10: un, dau, tri, pedwar, pump, chwech, saith, wyth, naw, deg
11-15 un-ar-ddeg, deuddeg, tri-ar-ddeg, pedwar-ar-ddeg, pymtheg
16-19 un-ar-bymtheg, dau-ar-bymtheg, tri-ar-bymtheg, pedwar-ar-bymtheg
20, 40, 60, 80, 100: hugain, deugain, triugain, pedwarugain, cant
The numbers from 21-99 are regularly formed by the numbers 1-19 + ar + vigesimal (here the units come first. Note, in Old English also, the units came first, as in the nursery rhyme “four-and-twenty blackbirds“). Thus:
21: un ar hugain (1+ar+20) and 99: pedwar-ar-bymtheg ar pedwarugain (19+ar+80).
Irish (IndoEuropean-Celtic):
1-10: aon, dō, trī, keathair, kūig, sē, seakht, okht, naoi, deikh
11-19: aon-dēag (1+10), etc.
20, 40, 60, 80, 100: fikhe, dā-fhikhid, trī-fhikhid, kheithre-fhikhid, kēad
Other numbers: the numbers 1-19 + is + vigesimal (here also the units come first). Thus:
21: aon is fikhe, 99: naoi-deag is kheithre-fhikhid (19+is+80).
[But the language also alternatively retains the original Indo-European tens numbers:
10, 20, 30, etc: deikh, fikhe, trīokha, daikhead, kaoga, seaska, seakhtō, okhtō, nōkha, kēad].
French (IndoEuropean-Italic) [but only partially]:
1-10: un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix
11-19: onze, douze, treize, quatorze, quinze, seize, dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf
20-100: vingt, trente, quarante, cinquante, soixante, soixante-dix, quatre-vingts, quatre-vingt-dix, cent
The numbers from 21-99 are generally formed as follows, e.g. 20: vingt, 1: un, 21: vingt et un
The et (“and”) only comes before un, otherwise 22 vingt-deux, etc.
But note the words for 70, 80 and 90 mean “60+10”, “4×20” and “4×20+10” respectively. So, the numbers 71-79 are soixante et onze, soixante-douze, (60+11, 60+12) etc., and the numbers 91-99 are quatre-vingt-onze, quatre-vingt-douze, (4×20+11, 4×20+12) etc. (81-89 are the normal quatre-vingt-un, quatre-vingt-deux, etc.).
However, all the other Indo-European languages have the original decimal system in three stages. There are actually four stages of development of the decimal system, but the first stage is not recorded in any Indo-European language (somewhat like the unrecorded PIE language), however, it is found in certain other non-Indo-European languages in India, and it is logical that the earliest PIE must have had this system.
A. The First Decimal Stage: In the first decimal stage, the language has numbers for 1-10 and a number for 100. The other numbers in between are formed from these eleven words (directly or by some other system). This system is primarily found in the Sino-Tibetan languages (Chinese, Tibetan, Thai, etc.) and in some Austric languages (Vietnamese, etc), including the Santali language in India, and is also found in different individual languages all over the world:
Santali (Austric-KolMunda):
1-10: mit’, bar, pɛ, pon, mɔrɛ, turūi, ēāe, irәl, arɛ, gɛl
tens 20-90: bar-gɛl, etc. 100: mit-sae
Other numbers: tens+khān+unit.
Thus: 11: gɛl khān mit’, 21: bar-gɛl khān mit’, 99: arɛ-gɛl khān arɛ
[Alternately, the other numbers can be formed without inserting the word khān]
[If English had used this system, the following, in its simplest form, would have been the way the other numbers would have been formed: 11=ten-one, 20=two-ten, 21=two-ten-one, 99=nine-ten-nine].
B. The Second Decimal Stage: In the second decimal stage, the language has numbers for 1-10, for the tens numbers 20-90, and for 100. The other numbers in between are formed from these twenty words (directly or by some other system). This system is primarily found in the Altaic languages (Turkish, Mongolian, Manchu, Korean, Japanese) and is also found in different individual languages all over the world.
Among Indo-European languages, this system is found only in Sanskrit, although camouflaged to some extent by the highly inflectional nature (i.e. the rules of sandhi) of the language, and in actual spoken (as opposed to the artificial literary) Sinhalese to the south and Tocharian B to the north:
Sanskrit:
1-9: eka, dvi, tri, catur, pañca, ṣaṭ, sapta, aṣṭa, nava
tens 10-90: daśa, viṁśati, triṁśat, catvāriṁśat, pañcāśat, ṣaṣṭi, saptati, aśīti, navati, śatam
Other numbers: units-form+tens.
[The tens do not undergo any change in combination with the sole exception of the word for 16, where –daśa becomes –ḍaśa in combination with ṣaḍ-. And, by the regular Sanskrit phonetic rules of sandhi or word-combination, in the unit-form+tens combinations for 80-, a-+-a becomes ā, and i-+-a becomes ya, so 81: ekāśīti, 82: dvyaśīti, etc].
Units-forms:
1 eka: ekā- (11), eka- (21,31,41,51,61,71,81,91).
2 dvi: dvā- (11,22,32), dvi- (42,52,62,72,82,92).
3 tri: trayo- (13,23,33), tri- (43,53,63,73,83,93).
4 catur: catur- (14,24,84,94), catus- (34), catuś- (44) catuḥ- (54,64,74).
5 pañca: pañca- (15,25,35,45,55,65,75,85,95).
6 ṣaṭ: ṣo- (16), ṣaḍ- (26,86), ṣaṭ- (36,46,56,66,76), ṣaṇ- (96).
7 sapta: sapta- (17,27,37,47,57,67,77,87,97).
8 aṣṭa: aṣṭā- (18,28,38,48,58,68,78,88,98).
9 nava: ūna- (19,29,39,49,59,69,79,89), nava– (99).
Spoken Sinhalese:
1-9: eka, deka, tuna, hatara, pasa, haya, hata, aṭa, navaya
tens 10-100: dahaya, vissa, tisa, hatalisa, panasa, hɛṭa, hɛttɛɛva, asūva, anūva, siyaya
tens-stems 10-100: daha-, visi-, tis-, hatalis-, panas-, hɛṭa-, hɛttɛɛ-, asū-, anū-, siya–
The other numbers are regularly formed tens-stem + unit.
Thus: 11: daha-eka, 21: visi-eka, 99: anū-navaya
Tocharian B:
1-10: se, wi, trai, śtwer, piś, ska, sukt, okt, ñu, śak
11-19: ten + unit. Thus 11: śak–se.
20: ikäm.
[Being an extinct language found only in documents, nothing is known about the exact form of the other numbers]
[If English had used this system, the following, in its simplest form, would have been the way the other numbers would have been formed: 11=ten-one, 20=twenty, 21=twenty-one, 99=ninety-nine].
C. The Third Decimal Stage: In the third decimal stage, due to influence from neighboring non-Indo-European languages with vigesimal number systems (like Burushaski in the northwest, and Austric languages like Turi and Saora in the east), the numbers from 11-19 came to be formed in a different way from subsequent sets (21-29, 31-39, 41-49, etc.). In this third decimal stage, the language has numbers for 1-10, for the tens numbers 20-90, and for 100. The numbers 11-19 are formed in one way, and the other numbers in between (21-29, 31-39, 41-49, etc.) are formed in a different way (directly or by some other system). This system is primarily found in two language-families of the world: Indo-European and Dravidian, although it is also found in different individual languages all over the world.
The strange thing is that this system is found universally in all the 8 branches of Indo-European languages outside India other than Indo-Aryan and Tocharian and the Celtic languages which, as we saw, have adopted a vigesimal system from Basque (nothing is known about the exact numbers in Hittite); and in Indo-Aryan, it is found in only one language: the one Indo-Aryan language which migrated out of North India: literary Sinhalese.
Consider the following examples from each of these 9 branches and from literary Sinhalese:
Persian (IndoEuropean-Iranian):
1-10: yak, dū, si, cahār, pañj, shish, haft, hasht, nuh, dah
11-19: yāzdah, davāzdah, sīzdah, chahārdah, pānzdah, shānzdah, hīvdah, hījdah, nūzdah
tens 20-100: bīst, sī, chihil, pañjāh, shast, haftād, hashtād, navad, sad
Other numbers: tens+u+unit. Thus 21: bīst u yak, 99: navad u nuh
Armenian (IndoEuropean-ThracoPhrygian):
1-10: mēk, erkou, erekh, chors, hing, veçh, eòthә, outhә, inә, tas
11-19: tasnmēk, tasnerkou, tasnerekh, tasnchors, tasnhing, tasnveçh, tasneòthә, tasnouthә, tasninә
tens 20-100: khsan, eresoun, kharrasoun, yisoun, vathsoun, eòthanasoun, outhsoun, innsoun, hariur
Other numbers: tens+unit. Thus: 21: khsan mēk, 99: innsoun inә
Ancient Greek (IndoEuropean-Hellenic):
1-10: heîs/mía/hen (m/f/n), dúo, treîs, téssares, pénte, héks, heptá, oktṓ, ennéa, déka
11-19: héndeka, dṓdeka, treîs-kaì-déka, téssares-kaì-déka, pentekaídeka, hekkaídeka, heptakaídeka, oktokaídeka, enneakaídeka
tens 20-100: eíkosi, triákonta, tessarákonta, pentḗkonta, heksḗkonta, hebdomḗkonta, ogdoḗkonta, enenḗkonta, hekatón
Other numbers: tens+kaì+unit or unit+kaì+tens. Either form can be used. Thus:
21: eíkosi kaì heîs or heîs kaì eíkosi, 99: enenḗkonta kaì ennéa, or ennéa kaì enenḗkonta
[Note: Greek vowels have a tonal accent, which is marked. A special form for neuter 4: téssara]
Albanian (IndoEuropean-Illyrian):
1-10: një, dy, tre, katër, pesë, gjashtë, shtatë, tetë, nënd, dhjëte
1-18: një-mbë-dhjëte, etc. 19: nëntë-mbë-dhjëte
tens 20-100: njëzet, tridhjet, dyzet, pesë-dhjet, gjashtë-dhjet, shtatë-dhjet, tetë-dhjet, nënd-dhjet, një-qind
Other numbers: tens+e+unit. Thus 21: njëzet e një, 99: nënd-dhjet e nënd
[Note: 20 and 40 seem to be formed on a principle of 1×20, 2×20].
Russian (IndoEuropean-Slavic):
1-10: odin, dva, tri, cyetyrye, pyat’, shyest’, syem’, vosyem’, dyevyat’, dyesyat’
11-19: odin-nadçat’, dvye-nadçat’, tri-nadçat’, cyetyr-nadçat’, pyat-nadçat’, shyest-nadçat’, syem-nadçat’, vosyem-nadçat’, dyevyatnadçat’
tens 20-100: dvadçat’, tridçat’, sorok, pyat’-dyesyat, shyest’-dyesyat, syem’-dyesyat, vosyem’-dyesyat, dyevyanosto, sto
Other numbers: tens+unit: Thus 21: dvadçat’ odin, 99: dyevyanosto dyevyat’
Lithuanian (IndoEuropean-Baltic):
1-10: vienas, du, trys, keturi, penki, šeši, septyni, aštuoni, devyni, dešimtis
11-19: vienuolika, dvylika, trylika,keturiolika, penkiolika, šešiolika, septyniolika, aštuoniolika, devyniolika
tens 20-100: dvidešimt, trisdešimt, keturiasdešimt, penkiasdešimt, šešiasdešimt, septyniasdešimt, aštuoniasdešimt, devyniasdešimt, šimtas
Other numbers: tens+unit. Thus 21: dvidešimt vienas, 99: devyniasdešimt devyni
German (IndoEuropean-Germanic):
1-10: eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn
11-19: elf, zwölf, dreizehn, vierzehn, fünfzehn, sechzehn, siebzehn, achtzehn, neunzehn
tens 20-100: zwanzig, dreissig, vierzig, fünfzig, sechzig, siebzig, achtzig, neunzig, hundert
Other numbers: unit+und+tens (as one word, but eins becomes ein). Thus:
21: einundzwanzig, 99: neunundneunzig
Spanish (IndoEuropean-Italic):
1-10: uno/una, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, séis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez
11-19: once, doce, trece, catorce, quince, dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve
tens 20-100: veinte, treinta, cuarenta, cincuenta, sesenta, setenta, ochenta, noventa, ciento
Other numbers: 21-29: vienti–uno, etc. Others: tens+y+unit. Thus:
31: treinta y uno, 99: noventa y nueve
Literary Sinhalese (IndoEuropean-IndoAryan):
1-9: eka, deka, tuna, hatara, pasa, haya, hata, aṭa, navaya, dahaya
1-9 unit stems: ek-, de-, tun-, hatara-, pas-, ha-, hat-, aṭa-, nava–
11-19: ekoḷaha, doḷaha, teḷaha, tudaha, pahaḷoha, soḷaha, hataḷoha, aṭaḷoha, ekun-vissa
tens 10-100: dahaya, vissa, tisa, hatalisa, panasa, hɛṭa, hɛttɛɛva, asūva, anūva, siyaya
Other numbers: unit-stem+tens. Thus the word-order for all the numbers is unit+tens.
[And, like Sanskrit and Latin (and the other modern Indo-Aryan languages which retain this feature), the number -9 is expressed by a minus-principle, where ekun– is used with the following tens-form (except, as in Sanskrit and most other modern Indo-Aryan languages, for 99)].
Thus: 21: ek-vissa, 89: ekun-anūva. Only 99 is nava-anūva.
To understand how this third stage represents a transformation from the second stage, note the difference between how Sanskrit forms the words for 11 and 12, and the way all other Indo-European and Dravidian languages form the words for 11 and 12:
Sanskrit: 1= eka, 2= dvā, 10= daśa. 11= ekā–daśa, 12= dvā–daśa. (This is a straight combination, and just like later formations: e.g. 21= eka–viṁśati, 22= dvā–viṁśati, from 20= viṁśati).
All Other Indo-European and Dravidian languages (of the third and fourth stages):
English: 1= one, 2= two, 10= ten. 11= eleven, 12= twelve.
Spanish: 1= uno, 2= dos, 10= diez. 11= once, 12= doce.
Persian: 1= yak, 2= dū, 10= dah. 11= yāzdah, 12= davāzdah.
Lit. Sinhalese: 1= eka, 2= deka, 10= dahaya. 11= ekoḷaha, 12= doḷaha.
Telugu: 1= okaṭi, 2= reṇḍu, 10= padi. 11= padakoṇḍu, 12= panneṇḍu.
Hindi: 1= ek, 2= do, 10= das. 11= gyārah, 12= bārah.
In all these languages, the words for 11 and 12 are fused together, sometimes to the extent that the original words for 1, 2 and 10 are not directly recognizable in the combinations. And in all the other Indo-European languages (other than Sanskrit, Tocharian B and Spoken Sinhalese of the second stage, and of course the Indo-Aryan languages of North India of the fourth stage) and all the Dravidian languages, the later formations (21-29, 31-39, etc.) follow a regular pattern of formation, which is different from the pattern of formation of 11-19.
D. The Fourth Decimal Stage: In the fourth decimal stage, found only in the Indo-Aryan languages of North India (i.e. not even in the Indo-Aryan language which migrated out of North India in very ancient times: Sinhalese), the language has numbers for 1-10, for the tens numbers 20-90, and for 100. The numbers 11-19 are formed in one way, and the other numbers in between (21-29, 31-39, 41-49, etc.) are formed in a different way, but not directly or by any regular system. So, unique in the whole world, it becomes necessary to individually learn by heart every single one of the numbers 1-100.
Examine the three following examples, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati. Compare the difference in the forms in the three languages:
Hindi:
1-9: ek, do, tīn, cār, pāñc, chah, sāt, āṭh, nau
11-19: gyārah, bārah, terah, caudah, pandrah, solah, satārah, aṭhārah, unnīs
tens 10-100: das, bīs, tīs, cālīs, pacās, sāṭh, sattar, assī, nabbe, sau
The other numbers are formed by unit-form+tens-form, e.g. 21: ek+bīs = ikk-īs. The word ek here takes the form ikk-, and the word bīs takes the form -īs.
The different changes taking place in the tens forms as well as the units form in the numbers 21-99 must be noted:
Tens forms:
20 bīs: –īs (21,22,23,25,27,28), –bīs (24,26).
30 tīs: –tīs (29,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38).
40 cālīs: –tālīs (39,41,43,45,47,48), –yālīs (42, 46), –vālīs (44).
50 pacās: –cās (49), –van (51,52,54,57,58), –pan (53,55,56).
60 sāṭh: –saṭh (59,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68).
70 sattar: –hattar (69,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78).
80 assī: –āsī (79,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89).
90 nabbe: –nave (91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99).
Unit forms:
1 ek: ikk- (21), ikat- (31), ik- (41,61,71), iky- (81), ikyā- (51,91).
2 do: bā- (22,52,62,92), bat- (32), ba- (42,72), bay- (82).
3 tīn: te- (23), ten- (33,43), tir- (53,63,83), ti- (73), tirā- (93).
4 cār: cau- (24,54,74), ca- (44), caun- (34,64), caur- (84), caurā- (94).
5 pāñc: pacc- (25), paĩ- (35,45,65), pac- (55,75,85), pañcā- (95).
6 che: chab- (26), chat- (36), chi- (46,76), chap- (56), chiyā- (66,96), chiy- (86).
7 sāt: sattā- (27,57,97), saĩ- (37,47), saḍ- (67), sat- (77), satt- (87).
8 āṭh: aṭṭhā- (28,58,98), aḍ- (38,48,68), aṭh- (78,88).
9 nau: un- (29,39,59,69,79), unan- (49), nav- (89), ninyā- (99).
Marathi:
1-9: ek, don, tīn, cār, pāç, sahā, sāt, āṭh, naū
11-19: akrā, bārā, terā, çaudā, pandhrā, soḷā, satrā, aṭhrā, ekoṇīs
tens 10-100: dahā, vīs, tīs, cāḷīs, pannās, sāṭh, sattar, aĩśī, navvad, śambhar
The other numbers are formed by unit-form+tens-form, e.g. 21: ek+vīs = ek-vīs.
The different changes taking place in the tens forms as well as the units form in the numbers 21-99 must be noted:
Tens forms:
20 vīs: –vīs (21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28).
30 tīs: –tīs (29,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38).
40 cāḷīs: –cāḷīs (39,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48).
50 pannās: –pannās (49), –vanna (51,52,55,57,58), –panna (53,54,56).
60 sāṭh: – sāṭh (59), –saṣṭa (61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68).
70 sattar: –sattar (69), –hattar (71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78).
80 aĩśī: –aĩśī (79,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88).
90 navvad: –navvad (89), –ṇṇav (91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99).
Unit forms:
1 ek: ek- (21,31,61), ekke- (41), ekkyā- (81,91), ekkā- (51,71).
2 don: bā- (22,52,62,72), bat- (32), be- (42), byā- (82,92).
3 tīn: te- (23), teha- (33), tre- (43,53,63), tryā- (73,83,93).
4 cār: co- (24), çau- (34,54,64), çavve- (44), çauryā- (74,84,94).
5 pāç: pañc- (25), pas- (35), pañce- (45), pañçā- (55), pā- (65), pañcyā (75,85,95) .
6 sahā: sav- (26), chat- (36), sehe- (46), chap- (56), sahā- (66), śahā- (76,86,96).
7 sāt: sattā- (27,57), sada- (37), satte- (47), sadu- (67), sattyā- (77,87,97).
8 āṭh: aṭṭhā- (28,58), aḍ- (38), aṭṭhe- (48), aḍu- (68), aṭṭhyā- (78,88,98).
9 naū: ekoṇ- (29,39,49,59,69,79,89), navvyā- (99).
Gujarati:
1-9: ek, be, traṇ, cār, pāñc, cha, sāt, āṭh, nav
11-19: agyār, bār, ter, caud, pandar, soḷ, sattar, aḍhār, ogṇis
tens 10-100: das, vīs, trīs, cālīs, pacās, sāīṭh, sitter, ẽsī, nevũ, so
The other numbers are formed by unit-form+tens-form, e.g. 21: ek+vīs = ek-vīs.
The different changes taking place in the tens forms as well as the units form in the numbers 21-99 must be noted:
Tens forms:
20 vīs: –īs (25), –vīs (21,22,23,24,26,27,28).
30 trīs: –trīs (29,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38).
40 cālīs: –tālīs (41,42,43,45,46,47,48), –cālīs (39), –ālīs (44).
50 pacās: –pacās (49), –van (51,52,55,57,58), –pan (53,54,56).
60 sāīṭh: –sāṭh (59), saṭh (61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68).
70 sitter: sitter (69), –oter (71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78).
80 ẽsī: ẽsī (79), –āsī (81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89).
90 nevũ: –ṇu (91,92,93,94,95,97,98,99), –nnu (96).
Unit forms:
1 ek: ek- (21,41,61,71), eka- (31), ekā- (51,91), eky- (81).
2 be: bā- (22,52,62,92), ba- (32), be- (42), b- (72), by– (82).
3 traṇ: te- (23,33), tre- (43,53,63), ty- (83), t- (73), trā- (93).
4 cār: co- (24,34,54,64), cum- (44,74), cory- (84), corā- (94).
5 pāñc: pacc- (25), pāã- (35,65), pis– (45), pañc- (75,85), pañcā- (55,95).
6 cha: cha- (26,36.96), che- (46), chap- (56), chā- (66), chay- (86), ch– (76).
7 sāt: sattā- (27,57,97), saḍa- (37), suḍ– (47), saḍ- (67), sity- (77,87).
8 āṭh: aṭṭhā- (28,58,98), aḍ- (48,68), aḍa– (38), iṭhy- (78,88).
9 nav: ogaṇ- (29,39,49,59), agṇo- (69), ogṇā- (79), nevy- (89), navvā– (99).
The same irregularity or inflectional complexity can be seen in the formation of the numbers between 21 and 99 in all the Indo-Aryan languages of North India (right up to Kashmiri in the extreme north, and going so far westwards as to influence the Pashto language in the northwest which, although it belongs to the Iranian branch, has also been influenced by the Indo-Aryan cerebral sounds), but is found nowhere else outside the sphere of North India. Note that the irregularity of the fusion of the forms in one Indo-Aryan language do not correspond to those in another Indo-Aryan language. Thus, ek (1) has one form (ek-) in Marathi in 21, 31 and 61, but Hindi has three different forms ikk- (in 21), ikat- (in 31) and ik- (in 61), and Gujarati has two forms ek– (in 21,61) and eka– (in 31). Or pāñc (5) has one form (paĩ-) in Hindi in 35, 45 and 65, and Gujarati has two forms pāã– (in 35,65) and pis– (in 45), but Marathi pāç (5) has three different forms pas- (in 35), pañce- (in 45) and pā- (in 65).
We have shown the numbers 21-99 in these three Indo-Aryan languages in classified table form, but obviously it is simpler to learn each individual number by rote than with the help of these classification tables.
This is in sharp contrast with all the other languages in the world other than the Indo-Aryan languages of North India. In all the other languages, it is necessary to learn by heart at the most the numbers from 1-10, or from 1-19, and the tens forms (20,30,40,50,60,70,80,90). All the numbers between 21 and 99 are formed from these numbers by some sort of regular process which does not require all these individual numbers to be learnt by heart. This is the case with all other languages, including all the other non-Indo-European Indian languages (Dravidian, Austric, Sino-Tibetan, Burushaski. The Andamanese languages, as already pointed out, do not have numbers beyond 3 or 5) as well as all the non-Indian Indo-European languages (spoken outside India), including even the Indo-Aryan Sinhalese language (both spoken and literary) spoken to the south of India.
Here we get a clear and irrefutable case for the OIT or the Indian Homeland Theory of Indo-European languages:
1. The earliest form of the original PIE language was probably in the First Decimal Stage, unless it had already evolved to the Second Decimal Stage. As the language is not recorded, we have no definite evidence about how it formed the numbers after 10.
2. The two earliest migrant branches from the Homeland were definitely in the Second Decimal Stage. We have no recorded evidence about Anatolian (Hittite) for numbers above 10, but we have already seen the evidence of Tocharian B. We also have the evidence of the oldest recorded Indo-Aryan language Sanskrit, and of spoken Sinhalese. [As I have always pointed out, Sinhalese is a very archaic Indo-European language, which retains archaisms like the word watura for “water”, lost already even in Sanskrit].
3. All the other nine Indo-European branches (Italic, Celtic, Germanic, Baltic, Slavic, Albanian, Greek, Armenian, Iranian, although Celtic in southwest Europe later adopted a vigesimal system under the influence of Basque) as well as the only Indo-Aryan language emigrating from North India, literary Sinhalese, were in the Third Decimal Stage. Also, the Dravidian languages of South India are in the Third Decimal Stage. This shows that all these languages evolved together into the Third Decimal Stage in India after the emigration in the Second Decimal Stage of Hittite and Tocharian and the standardization of Sanskrit.
4. The Indo-Aryan languages which continued to evolve in North India after the emigration of the other 11 branches, as well as its own Indo-Aryan Sinhalese language, are in the Fourth Decimal Stage.
Special Note: the numeral “One”:
In this connection, let us take one more example, of the Indo-European words for the very first numeral “one”, and see what it indicates. The majority of Indo-European languages have words for “one” which are derived from two reconstructed proto-Indo-European words: *oi-no and *oi-ko, which are prominent in the non-Indo-Iranian and the Indo-Iranian branches respectively (these are the two divisions suggested by linguists for identifying “early Indo-European” words). Thus, the word *oi-no is not represented in the Indo-Iranian languages at all, and the word *oi-ko is not represented in the non-Indo-Iranian languages at all (unless the Armenian word mek is taken to represent it).
But there is one language which has alternate forms comparable to both *oi-no and *oi-ko, and this is the non-Indo-European language Burushaski spoken in northern (Pak-occupied) Kashmir. Burushaski “one”= hin (or hǝn) and hik. Note also that the Dravidian languages generally have forms comparable to *oi-no: Tamil on-ru, Malayalam on-nu, Kannada on-du, Tulu on-ji. But Telugu by contrast has oka-ṭi. Does all this, perhaps, indicate the location of the *oi-no-*oi-ko area where the non-Indo-Iranian branches split away from the Indo-Iranians?
There are some Indo-European words for “one” that are not derived from either *oi-no or *oi-ko. But almost all of these are connected with the Sanskrit words sama and eva, both of which mean “same”. Thus, Tocharian A to the north of Kashmir has sas (masculine) and säm (feminine): Tocharian B has a common se. The Greek heis (masculine) is obviously cognate to the Tocharian sas. Avestan to the west of India had aeva and Old Persian had aiwa; and some modern Iranian languages and a few Dardic languages have eva-forms— e.g. modern Dardic Bashgali, which has ev and Iranian Pashto which has yaw (although most modern Iranian and Dardic languages, including modern Persian yak, Baluchi yak, Tajik yak, Kurdish yek, and Kashmiri akh, have the normal *oi-ko forms). Thus, all the evidence seems to point towards India. But there are still two major Indo-European words which remain: Greek mía (neuter) and the Armenian word mi or mek. Compare the Austric (Kol-Munda) words for “one”: Santali mit, Mundari mií, Korku mīa, Kharia moi, Savara mi, Juang min, Gadaba muirō. Could the Greek and Armenian words be derivatives of the Austric words? The Austric words are certainly the original, for a cognate word môt is attested by the Austric Vietnamese language, andmuǝyby the Austric Khmer (Cambodian) language.
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