Comprehensive Critical Dictionary of Prakrit Languages Volum 01

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

Page 15

krits by the Prakrit grammarians in conformity with a nearly to the end of the period, although the richness definite plan has left some traces on their present form, of forms of the older stage is lost and now and then, the most important of which is the tendency to torm especially in the Apabhramsa dialects, we see the rise wide xeneralisations on the basis of a few examples. of the analytical mole of expression in their vocaWith due consideration of all such points, the main bulary, the MIA. dialects are mostly «lependent on the task of the student of the MIA is to ascertain the OIA. but with a few additions of the socalled Desi local distribution of these Prakrit d'alects and to arrange words o! uncertain origin The percentage of these them in a chronological sequence so as to mark the various depends both on the date and the nature of the work stages of the r growih.
in which they are found In spite of the meagreness of the evidence, its The NIA languages cover the whole of the Northconflicting nature and the theoretical difficulty of distin
ern India and parts of the North-Western region, guishing between regional and chronological features, it
Deccan od Shri Lanka Thev natural v dmit of a is possible to arrive at some broad conclusions. To the
ready geographical distribution. Their relation with the North-West can be assigned the Mansehra and Sha- various MIA dialects however, is not easy to settle: bhäzgarhi versions of Asokan inscriptions, the dialect nor can we group them in cognate ground with equal of the Khar:sthi Dhammapadt and possibly Paisaci
ease Most of them date from a nearly identical period, and its sub-dialects. To the East lie the Asokan
though the first avail ble dwuments in them helong to inscriptions of Gangetic basin and the mouth of Maha
different centuries from the 10th to the 16h, while nadi. the Ramgarh inscription and the Dramatic
many have no written literature Having continuous Maguchi with its sub dalec's To the West are tound
areas to cover there are naturally many border dialects the Girnar version of Asoka, the Pali of the Buddort
like Bhjapuri, Kachi etc. the allip ties of which are canon, the inscriptions of the Satavahanas and Western
bound to remain doubtful. Some of the languages of Ksatraps and the Maharastui Prakrit. To the Vidind
NIA. form distinct groups either on account of solation, belongs Sauraseni and to the east of it Ardha. gdhi, separation or other historical incidents Thus Simbawbile a simil r dialect is seen in the inscriptions of
lese is separated from the main bdy of the IA by the Asoka in the Deccan Of course, this distribution
Dravidia) ongues and follows its individual line of neglects some amount of conflicting facts and leaves
developrrent. The Dard languages (including the Kafir some dialects out of consideration. Attempts have been
dialects the Khowar of Chiral, the Kobi-tani dialects made to reconstruct the features of the earlier stages
and the Sbina group) are found to the extreme Northof scine of the l'rakrit languages available to us in West anl my owe their peculiarities either 10 an intbeir present terms. Such has been ite case with Pali dependent origin on par with Old Indian and Old Iranian as it is known to us at present, with Ardba. Magadhi or may be the result of a strong Iranian Influence. as it is handed down by the trdition and for Maha- Out of tem only Kashmiri came under the influence of rastri which is regarded as being closer to Sauraseni or Indo-Aryan civilization On account of the nomadic lite even identical with it. But the results in this direction
of the speakers, another of the Midland or a Northhave been very meagre and pertain to a few phonetic Western dialect assumed different tornis in different features and granimatical forms. These remain mostly countries These are known as Gypsy dialects (Romani). speculative in nature and do not justity rewriting the The Indo Aryan languages proper are usually traditional texts.
grouped into an inner and an outer band with a few The classification in time is based on a firmer
intermediate languages, a classification which is much foundation and is more compreheva:ve to the older
disputed but to which new support is sought in the stage belong the various inscriptions, Päli, Ardha.
treatment of the aspirates in the clifferent NIA. Maga di and Paisici. Alater stare is formed by
language: It is, however, more convenient and safer Sauraseni, Magidhi, Jain Māhärästri and on the
to follow a much more limited type o classification threshold of the NA are found the Apabbramsa
based on both geographical and historical considerations. I alecis aod Avahattha.
To the North-West are found Lahtela and Sindhi, to the
South we have Marathi, to the centre belong Panjabi. In contrast with the OIA, the MIA group shows Rajasthani, Gujarati and Western Hindi to the East of quite a different appearance on Count of a drastic16 the Estero Hindi dialects, to the North of the change in its phonetic structure. In grammar and Midiand the Panari group and to the Est belong the syntax, the older syothetic mode of expression continues Bibari dialects. Criya, Bengali and Assa: nese.