________________
74
प्राकृतसर्वस्वम् ।
of NŚ on the point of its being a character dialect probably because the Skt plays do not conform to it.. That was exclusively meant for literary purposes. This can be best imagined by comparing it with the present day Telugu or Malayalam songs which are full of Skt words and yet bearing close affinity with the native dialect. Such was the form of Dākṣiņatya in the olden times, which was a mixed form of Pkt largely borrowing words from South as well as from Skt. Now the question naturally arises :- Why then there is no literature in this dialect if it was meant for literary composition. The answer is, most probably it early lost its popularity in the society on account of M which soon sprang in south-west India as the most popular dialect in which excellent poems were written and which enhanced its glory on account of the patronage of kings like Hala Sātavāhana. The Gathāsaptasati is not only famous for its literary merit but also for the social, economic and religious condition of the society it depicts. It is said that the Satavahana kings of Andhra invaded the southwest India and consequently brought into their control both the Eastern and Western coasts of India. If this be true, it would naturally seem appropaiate that the dialect of M having the characteristic of sonorous music in it gradually gained popularity in south so that it replaced Dakṣiņātyā which must be later on considered inferior to M in respect of its melody. That M rose to literary eminence after a considerable lapse of time when Dākṣiṇatyä probably lost its predominant position is perhaps the reason why NS does not recognise the former but only the latter. Consequently the popularity gained by M leading to the final eclipse of Dākṣipatya confirms our hypothesis.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org