Arddhmagdhi Grammar

Author(s): P L Vaidya
Publisher: Modern Book Depot

Page 16

A MANUAL OF
of Jain Mss. ( Canonical and non-Canonical) and perpetuated by modern editors and scholars like Hargovind Das Sheth. Hemacandra in his grammar refers to the question of tra in i. 180 ; Mārkandeya too refers to it in his grammar. None of the Prakrit grammarians, however, refers to agra which is thus unauthorised, ungrammatical, and as such highly objectionable. That it was unknown to Hemacandra who was himself a Jain and who must have undoubtedly been conversant with the practice of canonical writings, clearly indicates that it must have come into vogue after 13th century A. D. I pick up a few glaring instances of this asia from the 1st part of agereusi and other books :-a7fia (afrg), staroria ( BETOTETT), Tarar (77737T ), a gritară (RETTETS ). It is clear from these instances that there 'is no justification whatsoever for a asfa there. I should, therefore, advise students to avoid the use of astia. Hargovind Das in his Introduction to TIETACAF"ai, page 28, says that this asulat is a special feature of Amg., but from the above examples taken from TECTIEUST which is not written in Amg., I feel sure that arrêt is a special peculiarity of Jain writers of Mss., and not of the language.
13.' Medial single consonants ET, , , 7, and Hare regarded in all Prakrit languages as conjunct consonants of + E, I+E, D+E, +E, +, and + E. The aspirate
alone is generally retained out of these consonants. Thus we have ret (rar), À€ (a), thot ( FÀYA), aig (Arg), gaIE ( 19 ), FETT ( FTH1T).
14. Medial single z is generally changed to 3. Thus we have 3755 ( a ), 973 ( 972 ), 3 (F3), etc.
15. Medial single 8 is generally changed to 7 as in ## ( 178 ), foET (1937).
16. a in the preposition afà is changed to g. This is due to compensation of the cerebral which •is lost, and