Apbhramsa of Hemchandracharya

SR No.: 001127
Original Sutra Author: Hemchandracharya
Author: Kantilal Baldevram Vyas, Dalsukh Malvania, H C Bhayani
Publisher: Prakrit Text Society Ahmedabad
Publication Year: 1982
Total Pages: 229
Language: Apbhramsa, Sanskrit, Gujarati
Classification: Book_English, Grammar, & Language - Grammer
File Size: 12 MB

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style from Apabhramsa. It is, in fact, a direct descendant of Apabharamsa.n
We might, en passant, mention here the divergent view of Dr. G. V. Tagare, who has studied the historical development of Apabhramsa in detail. He classifies Apabhramsa rather arbitrarily into three varieties-Western, Southern and Eastern. According to him the language of the works of Dhana pāla, Hemacandra, Haribhadra, Somaprabha is Western Apabhramsa, from which Gujarati, Rajasthani and Hindi have arisen; Puspadanta and Kanakāmara's works belong to the Southern variety from which Marathi has evolved; while the Dohākosas of Kānha and Saraha represent Eastern Apabhramsa, from which Bengali and Bihari have developed.18
But Shri Madhusudana Modi and Dr. H. C. Bhayani, who have devoted a life-time of study to MIA and Apabhraṁsa language and literature, vehemently contradict this view. As Modi points out, if there were several varieties of Apabhramśa prevalent in India, it should be extremely strange that no literature in any of them has survived, while a vast number of works in (Western) Apabhramśa, as described by Hemacandra, have come to light so far.19 And the grammarians like Mārkandeya or Rāmaśarmā 17 Cf. Modi, op. cit., Introdn. p. 21 : "अपभ्रंशे गुजरातीने कडवाबद्ध
काव्यशली आपी; छप्पा, दोहा, चोपाई छंदो आप्या, आख्यान-शैलीना रूदिप्रकार आप्या; पोताना अलंकार आप्या; गद्यनो एक प्रकार आप्यो. गुजरातीनी भाषाबांधणीए पण अपभ्रश भाषानु स्तन्यपान कर्यु छे. गुजरातीनो अने अपभ्रंश भाषानो दीकरी अने मानो संबध छे." Vide-Dr. G. V. Tagare, 'Historical Grammar of Apabhramsa', pp. 15, 16, 18, 20. Cf. Modi, op. cit., Introdn, p. 13 : "बीजां अपभ्रशोनु साहित्य क्यां छे १ तेमना खास व्याकरणविशेषोनी चर्चा पण कया वैयाकरणे करी छे ? मार्कण्डेय के रामतर्कवागीशे जे चर्चा करी छे ते तो जूना शास्त्रीओनी विभागप्रियताने आभारी छे; नहि तो शु बब्बे सूत्रोज एक एक अपभ्रंशने वर्णवी शके ?" Also cf. Bhayani, 'Vagvyapara', p. 167 : "मापने भगत २५५७१ સાહિત્ય સ્કૂલમાને એક જ પ્રકારના અપભ્રંશમાં રચાયેલું છે. આજે જેમ પ્રાકૃક્તિોના વિવિધ ભેદોના ચોક્કસ નામે ને નમૂનાઓ મળે છે, તેવું અપભ્રંશની બાબતમાં કશું કેમ નથી મળતું? શૌરસેન કે માગધ અપભ્રંશ કેઈના જોવામાં કેમ નથી આવ્યો ? ..અપભ્રંશને સંબંધ પશ્ચિમ કાંઠાની દેશભાષાઓ સાથે જ હતું. ચાકેબી, આલ્સ મેદી વગેરે વિદ્વાનોના આ નિર્ણય સાથે કોઈ પણ તટસ્થ અભ્યાસી સંમત થશે.”
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