339. Remote past.

Sanskrit lacks a special tense for the so-called re­mote past or plusquamperfectum. The general past tenses are used even then. It must accordingly be inferred exclusively from the context, in what case a Skr. past tense answers to our »remote past.” That f. i. Kathâs. 25, 180 the words yatraiva tamavāptavān… tatraiva mean »on the very spot, where he had got it,” can only be shown by reproducing the whole story, from which they are quoted. — R. 2, 26, 3 Râma has told his mother the cruel order he has just received from his father, to retire into the forest; now he goes to Sîtâ, who did not know anything about it vaidehī cāpi tatsarvaṃ na śuśrāva tapasvinī (the unhappy princess had not yet heard anything of it). — Daç. 92 sa khalu vimardakaḥ… tadahareva prātiṣṭhata = »Vimardaka had indeed already departed that very day.” It is plain, that gerunds are especially fit to signify the remote past.

339. 遠過去

サンスクリットは、いわゆる遠過去（re­mote past, plusquamperfectum）を表すための専用の時制を欠いている。過去時制一般がその場合にも用いられる。
Kathâs. 25, 180の“yatraiva tam avāptavān… tatraiva”は「彼がそれを得た、まさにその場で」を意味するが、それは引用された話の全体を見ることによってのみ示される。
R. 2, 26, 3 Rāmaは父から受け取ったばかりの残酷な命令を母親に伝え、森に隠遁するように言った；今、彼は「そのことについて何も知らなかったSītā」のもとへ行く：
vaidehī cāpi tatsarvaṃ na śuśrāva tapasvinī（不幸な姫は未だそれを何も聞いていない; the unhappy princess had not yet heard anything of it）
Daç. 92 sa khalu vimardakaḥ… tadahareva prātiṣṭhata（Vimardaka had indeed already departed that very day）

動名詞（gerund）が遠過去を表すのに特に適していることは明白である。