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RETENTION OF MEDIAL CONSONANTS IN THE GRAMMAR OF ARDHAMĀGADHĨ BY HERMANN JACOBI
The outline of the Jaina Prakrit (= Ardhamāgadhī) given by Hermann Jacobi' has special message of guide-line for Prakrit Scholars and particularly for the future editors of Śwetambara Jain canonical works. When we compare the texts of two editions of the Acaranga, Part I, one by H. Jacobi and the other by W. Schubring2 there is a great difference between the phonological aspects of the language. In the later edition the phonology of language is strictly regulated by the rules of Mahārāṣṭrī Prakrit, whereas in the former edition there are several usages retaining medial consonants like Pali. There is a clear indication of this fact in the grammar of the Jaina Prakrit given by Jacobi.3
K.R.CHANDRA*
Below we are reproducing the usages of Ardhamāgadhi quoted by Jacobi explaining its grammatical rules. They support the opinion of Muni Shri Punyavijayji' along with Prof. Ludwig Alsdorf that the medial consonants of the Amg. usages were not changed phonologically to that much extent (as in Mahārāṣṭrī Prakrit) as they are found in modern editions. Ardhamăgadhi is considered to be nearers and more akin to Pali. According to its time of prevalence and the place of origin it should resemble the dialect of Ashokan inscriptions of East India. Both Pali and Ashokan dialects are the oldest MIA dialects and in them the elision of the element of occlusion is perhaps very very rare. In this context the rule of usually always elision of medial consonants framed by Prakrit gram
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marians for Mahārāștrī Prakrit but applied in the case of modern editions of Amg. texts does not seem to be proper and justified and therefore the usages of Amg, quoted by Jacobi in his grammars are worth serious consideration for linguistically re-editing Amg. texts.
Usages quoted by Jacobi in his grammar (distinct from the usual Mahārāstrī usages found in his text of Ācārānga):
क् = क् : एकारस, पडिकूल, सहसाकारे ग् = ग् : भगवता, भगवति, भगिणी ज् = ज् : अभिजाणति, पजाहिति For medial - T- see further द् = द्:अप्पमादो, एगदा, दायादा, पडिसंवेदयति, वदंति, वदासि, वेदेति,
समादाणं
[R
थ् = ध्' : तधा (तथा) ध् = ध् : मधूणि न = 110 : निउण, नियत्ति
- न् : नाता न्य = न् : अन्न, कन्ना1 Neuter forms in Nom. and Acc. plurals फलाणि, सप्पीणि, मधूणि Medial - I - in various positions and contexts असीति, ततीय, बितिय (numerals) पिता, माता, पितरं, मातरं, पितरो, मातरो (nouns) भगवता (Inst. Sg.) धम्मातो, कन्नातो, देवीतो (Abl. Sg.) भगवति (Loc. Sg.) एतं, एतेहि, ततो (Pronouns) करेति, कारेति, खामेति, गच्छति, गिण्हति, देति, सुणेति, सेवते (Present Tense, III Sg.)
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Prefa, ailela, confefa (Future, III Sg.) कजति, कत्थति, कीरति, घेप्पति, छिज्जति, तप्पति, दिस्सति, बुज्झिज्जति, qald, Fafa (Passive, III Sg.) जीवितुं (Infinitive)
d, GAN (Past Passive) अतियच्च (Absolutive) arrafa, ghrafa, grafa, atafa (Casual, III Sg.) परितप्पमाण (Present Participle) अतिवाएज्जा (Optative) D=<":976 (917 t o 915)
The above usages that are quoted from the grammar of Jacobi sufficiently prove that the Amg. Prakrit was distinct not only in morphology but in its phonological composition also from Saurasenī and Mahārāșțrī and it resembled Pāli in certain respects and was an archaic language. But no Prākrit grammarian (including Hemacandra) and even modern scholars (authors of Prākrit grammar) have treated Amg. separately with the distinct phonological nature of its vocables and usages.
R. Pischel has utilized the text of Ācārānga edited by H. Jacobi along with his grammar of Jaina Prākrit but hel' has in his grammar not at all specified that the archaic Amg. retained sometimes or optionally the medial consonants (see Para No. 17, 18 and 19) and further he has not included in his grammar the usages mentioned above from Jacobi's grammar while explaining the rules of Prākrit grammar and that of Amg. In his grammar one will be surprised to find that he has quoted under Amg. the converted Mahārāşțrī forms of the Amg. usages mentioned by Jacobi. This calls for emendation of his grammar as far as the Amg. language is concerned because generally there is no phonological difference between the vocables of Ardhamågadhī and Mahārāștrī in his grammar.
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________________ 26 Foot-notes: 1. Ayaramga-Sutta, Part I, Preface, pp. viji-xiv, London, 1882. 2. Acaranga-Sutra, Erster Sruta-skandha, Leipzig, 1910. 3. Ibid No.1. 4. See Kalpasutra, (Preface pp. 3-7), Sarabhai Manila] Nawab, Ahmedebad, 1952; Prof. Ludwig Alsdorf also agreed with the former and admitted that there was imperative need to reconsider the whole problem seriously. 5. lbid No. 1. p. viii. 6. Pischel's Comparative Grammar of Prakrits, Para 18. 7. See lbid foot-note No. 4 and the editions of Amg. Canonical Texts by Prof. W. Schubring, etc. 8. In the text of Acaranga edited by Jacobi, there are numerous usages retaining medial consonants and they are just like Pali language. Pischel (para No. 18) rejects the idea of inclusion of Amg. under Maharastri and would like to connect it with Magadhi Inscriptions. He further says, it is likely that at the time of compilation of the canon at the councils of Mathura and Valabhi, the original dialect got a western colouring. At Valabhi particularly the influence of Maharasiri might have been quite considerable. But such an influence could not have been significant because even by it the basic character of Aig. was not touched. 9. Medial I = and 4 = 4 in some usages is not due to the influence of Sauraseni as scholars believe, but this kind of voicing the unvoiced inedial consonants seems to have begun before Christian era and later on this trait became the main feature of Sauraseni. 10. Initial dental nasal 1 - is retained by Indian editors of Amg. texts, but in some cases it is cerebralised into I - which is definitely a wrong prac. tice as far as Amg. is concerned. 11. Land FL are changed to 1 in Ashokan inscriptions of the East, and therefore the same rule for Aing, and their change into MI in it is to be regarded as a wrong practice. 12. The -ni (ToT) suffix of neuter Nom. and Acc. plural is archaic which is replaced by -im (-) in the later Prakrits. As far as the archaic nature of Amg, is concerned -ni (Ft) should be used in place of -ni (fon) in the light of Pali and Ashokan inscriptions. 13. Comparative Grammar of the Prakrit Languages. Dr. K. R. CHANDRA 375, SARASWATI NAGAR NR. HIMMATLAL PARK AMBAWADI AIMEDABAD 380015