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IX
The Prakrit Grammarians and Apabhramsa:
(1) Vararuci is thus far recognised as the oldest Prakrit Grammarian known. In his Prakritaprakasa1 he deals with four Prakrits only, the Māhārāṣṭrī in Pariccheda 1-9, the Paiśācī in Par 10, the Magadhi in Par. 11 and Sauraseni in Par 12. He does not deal with the Ardhamagadhi and the Apabhramśa languages and this fact is significant. The omission may either be taken to indicate superficiality on the part of Vararuci, or it may be thought that perhaps Vararuci included Ardhamagadhī partly under Magadhi and partly under Māhārāṣṭrī, and did not consider Apabhramsa to be Prakrit at all. The truth perhaps lies in neither of the two alternatives. It is a well known fact that the Jains regard the tradition of their scriptures as not unbroken and such of their Agamas as existed in different places, were collected together and redacted by Devardhiganin in the 5th century A. D. Possibly therefore, there was no settled Ardhamagadhi literature when Vararuci wrote his Grammar. He will thus have to be placed before the 5th century A. D. It has always been the case that grammars of langu. ages were written when literature was available in them. The same conclusion is therefore to be drawn from his non-mention of Apabhramsa. We have seen that positive evidence for literature in Apabhramsa is available only from the 6th century onwards. This is not the place to discuss the period of the Prakrits and Vararuci's position as a Prakrit grammarian, but so much is sure that he cannot now be identified with the Vārtikakāra Vararuci. He deals with a form of Prakrit, especially the Saurasenī, which is younger and therefore later than what is found in the Budhistic drama. Sariputraprakaranam. He may be thus tentatively placed in the 3rd century A. D. and not earlier, if perhaps also not later.
(2) Canda a Jain is probably the first Prakrit Grammarian to treat of Apabhramsa in his grammar called Prakritalaksanam, although he has disposed of it in one Sûtra, viz III. 37 only. Another Sûtra I. 5 lays down optional form which is peculiar only to the Apabhramśa and the Magadhi; and a third one, II 19 mentioned verbal suffixes one of which is unmistakaly Apabhramsa.
These three Sutras are from the text accepted by Hoernle. He, however, has relegated to the appendix a number of Sutras even when three
I Ed. Cowell, 2nd Issue, London 1868. 2 Bloch in Pischel, Grammatik § 4. 3 Pischel, Op. cit. ibid. 4 Winternitz, Geschichte der indischen Litteratur II p. 294. 5 This is being dealt with in my Prakrit Selections for the Calcutta University. Lüders, Bruchstücke Buddhistischer Dramen. 7 Ed. Hoernle, Calcutta 1880.
8 They are न लोपोऽपभ्रंशेऽधोरेकस्य, सागमस्याप्यामो णो हो वा and त्तु त्ता चाहु तंतूणओप्पिपूर्वकालार्थे.
