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48
him 'apabhramba' is only deterioration of the Sanskrit word in the mouth of the vulgar; for, says he ...
"Each individual word has several corruptions. For instance, the word 'gauh' has deterioration's like 'gavi', goņi, gotā, gopotālikā and so forth.”'
Apabhramba here can only mean corruption or deterioration of the norm. This corresponds exactly with vibhrama' or 'vibhrastal of Bharat. Both mean by the cognate words a particular linguistic phenomenon and nothing more. The word 'apabhramba' has as yet nothing to do with the Abhiras, nor has it acquired its later connotation, viz. people's dialect or dialects and vehicle of leterature like the various Prākrits. The corruptions mentioned by Patanjali are all found in one or other of the Prākrits.
(2) Bharata is the earliest writer on Sanskrit dramaturgy possibly belonging to the second or third century A. D. In his Natyaśāstra4 he deals with the Prākrits in the 17th chapter as vehicle of thought of certain characters in the drama and in the 32nd chapter verses 47 to 242, gives names and definitions of metres with examples, which are almost entirely in the Prākrits. Part of the 17th chapter verses 5 to 23 deals with the phonology of the Prākrits.
The first allusion to what came to be called Apabhramśa from Bhāmaha and Dandin onwards seenis to be in the following verse."
"This should be briefly known to be threefold; by words which are the same (as in Sanskrit), by words which have deteriorated (vibhrasta) and by Desi."
After this the rules of deterioration are given which obtain in the Prakrits and correspond generally to those of the grammarians. What Bharata mean by Desī is made clear in verses 24 onwards. "Thus should be known Prākrit and Sanskrit. Hence forward I shall speak of the divi. sion of the Desabhāsā.!!6 And particularly in the following.
3 Ed. Kielborn, Vol. I p. 2.
pah FT FTAET agats at: 1 aur I vilforget 12 rat ritof war notaires tanto वमायोऽपमंशाः। * Ed. Kávyamala, No. 42.
5 त्रिविध तच विज्ञेयं नाव्ययोगे समासतः । Antifarang unaqurfa at I XVII 3 Teufa gertatea fawat ( en ) farm: Iibid 4. 6 एवमेतत्तु विज्ञेयं प्राकृतं संस्कृतं तथा।
Ta sea gautifa *1979*979 II ibid 14 It is olear that it is seprrated from both Sanskrit and Prakrit can only mean spoken languages of different countries a regions.
7 ayat goa: 9f: 7: gar: 1 ibid 8€
Apartage fe ry vafa arca l ibid xu
