Re Sanskrit t & d

[Peter &/or Graham]

On final t and d in Sanskrit:

If it's any help, even W S Allen ("Sandhi in Sanskrit") is little use.   He
reaffirms that there is absolutely no difference in practice between words
ending in t and d.   He says that this allows analysis either as -t# or
as -d# (not his wording - and of course there are further possible analyses
as well, such as -th or -dh).   Then the significant bit:  he seems to
suggest that Panini analysed some forms as word final -d, but others as -t.
Presumably then later writers simply followed Panini.   But Allen doesn't
help us see any basis for Panini's analysis.

Peter