Functional Convergence of Indo-Aryan Infinitives and Gerundives in the Middle Indo-Aryan

The present study offers a comprehensive diachronic analysis of the functional-semantic and syntactic transformations of Indo-Aryan non-finite verbal forms, specifically the infinitive and the gerundive (the passive participle of obligation). The research covers the linguistic transition from Old Indo-Aryan (OIA) to Middle Indo-Aryan (MIA): from Vedic and Classical Sanskrit to Early MIA (Pali, Aśokan edicts), Middle MIA (Ardhamāgadhī, dramatic Prakrits), and Late MIA (Apabhraṃśa). It primarily investigates the gradual neutralization of their original complementary distribution and their subsequent functional-syntactic convergence. Particular attention is paid to the underlying mechanisms driving this convergence, primarily the morphophonological erosion of the infinitive and widespread case syncretism, which irreversibly undermined its ability to govern verbal arguments overtly.The study integrates rigorous diachronic text analysis with comparative-typological methods. Its theoretical framework incorporates modern concepts of grammaticalization and staged analytization in Indo-Aryan languages, elucidating how synthetic non-finite forms progressively transformed into analytic predicative constructions.The scientific novelty of the study lies in its systematic reconstruction of the step-by-step destabilization of the original functional-syntactic dichotomy between the infinitive and the gerundive. This structural evolution unfolded in successive stages: from fundamental changes in the case marking of the logical agent in Early MIA and the analytization of deontic predicates in Middle MIA, to the ultimate breakdown of passive agreement in Late MIA. This multi-level convergence resulted in the morphosyntactic approximation of gerundives and infinitives, alongside the depassivization and demodalization of gerundive constructions. Together, these interconnected processes determined the profound restructuring of syntactic government and argument case coding in New Indo-Aryan (NIA).