Apbhramsa of Hemchandracharya

Author(s): Hemchandracharya, Kantilal Baldevram Vyas, Dalsukh Malvania, H C Bhayani
Publisher: Prakrit Text Society Ahmedabad

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length (sutras 329-446), with profuse illustrations bearing on the 'sutras'. Most of these illustrations-179 in all, as analysed by Dr. Ludwig Alsdorf, are drawn from current Apabhramsa literature and some of the earlier Prakrit grammars. Some of the illustrations belong to an earlier period, while a few are drawn from contemporary literature. Rarely some have been framed by Hemacandra himself to illustrate a sutra for which no known literary work could offer on appropriate illustration. There are occasional illustrations drawn from Brahmanical works, as indicated by the verse ... 3 (illustrating the sutra 331). Dr. Bhayani has pointed out the close resemblance of some of these illustrative verses to the verses in महापुराण, सप्तशतक, वज्जालग्ग, कर्पूरमंजरी, पउमचरिय, , etc., in their central thought. Hema candra's predecessors →Vararuci in his प्राकृतप्रकाश and Canda in his प्राकृतलक्षण - have hardly taken notice of Prakrit dialects, while Rāmaśarman, Märkandeya, Trivikrama, Lakṣmidhara, and others-several of them belonging to the eastern school of Prakrit grammarians-belong to a later period, and their treatment of Prakrit dialectal speeches like Apabhramsa is rather sketchy and disorderly. Besides, they are all modelled mainly on Hemacandra's classical treatise, सिद्धहेमचन्द्रशब्दानुशासन. Hence, our sole authentic source for understanding the structure of Apabhramsa as a popular speech remains to be Hemacandra's Prakrit Grammar. For this reason, and also as a parent speech from which the western NIA languages like Gujarati, Rajasthani and western Hindi have arisen, a close study of Hemacandra's Apabhramsa assumes supreme importance."
8. Vide
Bhayani, 'Apabhramśa Vyakarana', qffe pp 162-170. Note: These verses (or as) have a wide variety of themes and touch different delicate sentiments, and several of them reveal rare literary beauty. They have been studied from this point of view by Dr. K. B. Vyas (HI HYG EGIA GUR Elquid') and Dr. H. C. Bhayani, who has given a beautiful free metrical translation of some of them.
9. Cf. Bhāyāni, 'all' pp. 137-138.