Comprehensive Critical Dictionary of Prakrit Languages Volum 01

Author(s): A M Ghatage
Publisher: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

Page 13

a jätikam, mätitam and anātitim, the reader can make II. LINGUISTIC BACKGROUND OF up his mind only by going through the original texts.
THE DICTIONARY When the Prakrit form aggri is explained as ägneyi,
To understand the derivations and etymologies ( gwaratzy) at Arusyak: 315, the other form
given in the dictionary, it is quite necessary to keep in aggeyi as agnikon at Bhagwati 193 and Thānung:
mind the exact position the Prakrit dialects occupy in 133, difficulties arise because of the lack of context,
the general development of the Indo-Aryan languages which become clear only when we go to the criginals and
Frequent references will have to be made to the earlier look at the whole context. Agg bhūi is explained as
stages of the languages as also to the later developments Agnsdyoajive at Av. 172. When the passage is read
which the Prakrits have undergone. It is also necessary in full one realises that Aynihuti had a number of
to fix the scope of each Prakrt used for this work and lives one after another and one of them was Agnidyuta,
to indicate which works are included under a given a Brahmin, hence the explanation ought to mean the
name. It is hardly possible to explain the derivation of soul of Agnidyota Brahmin' which was the same as that
Prakrit words without comparing them with their OIA. of Aynibhiii.
equivalents and numerous words can only be understood In spite of all such curiosities, the work is a very
in the light of their use in the NIA, languages. Hence a useful compilation to serve as an index not only to the
brief survey of the development of Indo-Aryan is given canonical texts but also to the voluminous Sanskrit
below. Relation of the Prakrit words with those found commentaries, which could not have been done by any
in the other Indo-European languages is rarely found and one else better than Sigarananda who caretully edited only incicentally discussed here. all these works over a life-time.
1. Historical Linguistics There is also a fair amount of lexical material for The science of language has succeeded in establishscme dialects of Prakrit which should be noted here. ing what is called the gendalsgical classification of This material is in the torin ot indices and glossaries with languages and thus grouping them into diferent families. or without menings, some of them being also without this idea of a family of languages is manly based on an exact reference to the passages of the works on historical facts. As it is chiefly a historical concept, which they are based. In this regard a reference should according to which a parent language undergoes succesbe made to the indices of the Ardha-Magadbi canon sive changes resulting into the emergence of divergent published from Ladoun and to the ind ces of individual but related languages at a later stage in which each works, attached to the editions published in the Jain member of the family is, in reality, nothing but a more Agama series published from Bombay. But even here no or less modified torn of the original speech, the method uniform plan has been followed and the original divisions which car legitimately help build up such groups canof the cancnical works into Srutaskandhas, Adhyayas, not but be historical, in which the earlier stages of the Udde sakas and Sutras is neglected both these given languages are followed upto their conmon original publications the Prakirnkas are beglected. Most of the form. In the absence of such material, however, the published Apabhramsa texts possess good word-indices comparative method has to be used either to supplement and recently an attempt is made to put them together in it or, in rare cases, to take its place. We compare languone work called a dictionary of Apabbramsa. Unfortu- ages as regards their geographical location, their inherited nately the compiler has not taken trouble to avoid the vocabulary ( naturally excluding borrowed words ), deficiencies and mistakes of the individual indices and inflectiona peculiarities, types of syntactical groupings bas simply repeated them in his work. Unipdiced works and, above all, phonetic corresponder ces amenable to have been simply reglected, thus impairing its value. more or less rigid application, to show ther relatedness. Another small dictionary confined to the works of But the extreme modifications, which a language may Kundakunda ip Jain Sauraseni is also available and is undergo ir course of its evolution, make this procedure of some lise.
only lead to results of a positive rature. We can prove
two languages as related but cannot assert that any two In view of this situation the present dictionary has made it a point to scan all the words in these
languages were not so related in the past. works and particulary the Ardha-Magadh Dicticuary, If the similarities found in the languages help us in the Pausaddanahan.vo and the Alpa-paricita-saiddhan- grouping them into families, sometimes of wide extent, the tika-salida kośa and to indicate their differer ces cr mis- facts of cominon innovation lead us to pu: two or more takes under the corresponding words of its own.
languages into a more compact group, forming a sub