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INTRODUCTION
retains ra and sa, but has the nom. masc. in e; Mahavire except in poetry, where o is frequently found.
Thus Ardha-Māgadhi has some of the peculiarities of Magadhi but not all. This is the explanation of the name "Half-Magadhi" given by Abhayadeva on Samavayamga p. 98 and Uvasagadasão p. 46. (Pischel, Prakrit Gr. §17.)
In poetry the language differs somewhat from that of prose. Nominative singular in o is frequently found instead of e. The AMg. form milakkhu (Skt. mleccha) is found only in prose; poetry has meccha like other Prakrits. Some of these differences have been attributed to translation from Sanskrit originals.
The metrical works have also a number of peculiarities common to Māhārāshtri, and this form of the language has been described as a mixture of Maharashṭri and Magadhi. The later Jain writings are in a form of Mahārāshtri tinged with Ardha-Magadhi. In this change of dialect we may see a trace of the spread of Jainism towards the South-West.
Where did Ardha-Magadhi originate?
The oldest Sanskrit work on poetics, ascribed to Bharata, mentions (17.48) Ardha-Magadhi as one of the seven languages, the others being Māgadhi, Avanti, Pracyā, Śauraseni, Bāhlīkā and Dākṣiṇātyā. In the Drama, according to the same authority, it is the language of servants, Rajputs and guildmasters (śreṣṭhinām). In the MSS. of the Dramas, however, this statement is not borne out. The monk Jivasiddhi in the Mudrārākṣasa, and Kşapapaka in the Prabodhacandrodaya are shown as speaking
Măgadhi.
Nevertheless in the fragments of Buddhist plays found in Central Asia, and ascribed to Asvaghosa, the learned editor Professor Lüders would recognise some passages of Old ArdhaMagadhi.
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