Dictionary of Prakrit for Jain Literature Vol 01 Fasc 01

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

Page 24

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a
uttered by ladies and only the three fegetargi sung of r in clusters which is given as a feature of the 'racada by the st. can be called Giti. In a fara, 2 are dialect is actually found in the works like the Mabapurana uttered by 311707 41, the heroine in disguise, only one of Puspadanta written in the south, while this dialect is of which was sung by her. The dramas of Bhavabhuti assigned to the north. The only region where Apa, works show no Prakrit stanza and on the contrary figat sings were written without break is Gujarat and Rajasthan two stanzas in Sanskrit. Both the Prakrit stanzas in i. e. Western India. Here it is not possible to separate
t are uttered by the 71214 and 777. It will be the Apa. works from those written in early Gujarati and seen that we have to make a distinction between Prakrit Western kajastbani. For this purpose we will have to stanzas sung in the dramas and others used for other use a metrical and a structural criterion by wbich works purposes. The songs are very few and can be considered called Sanchis are assigned to A pa. while those wbich go As written in Māhi rastrī while all other stanzas will be by the name of Rāsu or Phāgu will belong to the earliest in the language used by the dramatic characters, viz. NIA, languages. A similar distinction is drawn between Sauraseni, Māgadhi, Sākärī etc.
Apabhrams and Avahattha works. As a practical device which will help to avoid the The Apa. grammar is a greatly simplified form of pitfalls in this regard, the quotations taken from the the Prakrit. The final vowels are all shortened except in dramas are always supplied with the name or status of monosyllabic words Both the declensions and conjugations the speaker. The literature available in other dialects are greatly reduced. The multiplicity of form in many like Paišācī and Culikā Paisací cr the numerous sub- grammatical categories is indicative of dialectal origing but dialects like Pracyā. Sabarī, Sakārī etc, is so scanty that they cannot be now sorted out on this basis The available no problem should arise. The available information in literature is of a purely literary nature and hence we have their case will be found under words peculiar to them treated all the Apa works as forming one language for according to the statement of the Prakrit Grammarians. the purpose of this dictionary, which will give only the
basic word-form. The language used by the Digambara (vii) Apabhramsa
writers appears to be fairly uniform and constitutes the
bulk of Apa, literature. The few works of the Svetāmbara From 1918 onwords a large pumber of works in Apabhramsa bave come to light due to the labours
poets, written in Western India, do show a few peculiar of many scholars and to-day we posses a sizable
features in grammar but on that account their language literature in it, mostly in the form of the lives of the Jain
need not be set up as a different dialect for the purpose of
the lexicon. The use of Desi words and roots shows & prophets or the Jain versions of the two epics, the
perceptible increase in this literature. the lives of the prophets Munisuvrata and Aristanemi. For this dictionary, two works Prakrtapaingala and Some books preach Jain religion and others are didactic in Sandesarāsaka, bave been included in the Apabhramsa nature. In comparison, the Apa. works written by group, though linguistically speaking they belong to the Don Jain writers are scanty. We possess the doubtful Avahattha stage. verses occurring in the fourth Act of Vikramorvasiya and a few stanzas in the works of Abhinavgupta dealing
IV. ORTHOGRAPHIC CONVENTIONS with Tantra philosophy. A few stanzas are also quoted
AND THE PHONETIC FORMS OF in the works op Alankarasāstra.
THE PRAKRIT WORDS The most striking feature of the Apa. literature is the fact that the whole of it is written in verse and there
The books in Prakrit wbich are used for this
dictionary show a number of writing conventions partly hardly exists any prose in it, except a passage in the book
based on the mapuscript tradition and partly on the called Kuvalayamālā, writien by Uddyotanasūri. But
views which the editors held about them. Others are the most valu: ble material of this language is found in a
based on the teaching of the Prakrit grammarians who large number of stanzas quoted by Hemacandra in the fourth Päda of his Prakrit grammar. They show not only
teach phonetic changes wbich a Sanskrit word undergoes
when it passes over to the Prakrits, which view the editors traces of their non-Jain origins but also contain purely
may or may not accept. These differences in the secular matter and show traces of different dialects.
sounds (or letters ) used, affect the alphabetical arrangeThe traditional distribution of the Apa. language ment of the words a good deal and hence the lexicogra. into the three dialects called Nāgara, Up Dagara and pher bas to look into the problems arising out of them, Vracada is of no great importance. The retention of and and take suitable decisions to be followed in the