In Search of the Original Ardhamagadhi English Translation

Author(s): K R Chandra, N M Kansara, Nagin J Shah, Ramniklal M Shah
Publisher: Prakrit Text Society Ahmedabad

Page 109

PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ARCHAIC OR ORIGINAL ARDHAMÄGADHI 6. If the medial d-'and -dh-'are sometimes found in the
place of the medical -t-' and '-th-; respectively, they should be taken as preserving an ancient characteristic. If sometimes medial -t-'is found in the place of medial -d-, it should be taken as representing an ancient stage,
anterior to the process of elision. 7. If sometimes !' is found, as in the case of the Pāli,
it should not be changed, as a rule, to d? (Cf. The example of the word 'kalabha'quoted by Hemacandra in his vrtti on his sūtra 8.1.7; and also the examples of 'lelu’and 'le!ussi' quoted by Pischel, 304, 379.). For the usage of words like kila, khela, chhala, şalāda, talāga, talāva, tāļa, dohala, pila, phaliha, phaliya, velu, solasa, etc., in Ardhamāgadhi (cf. Pischel's Index of words). The initial dental ‘n-'should be preferred and the dental 'n'of the word na, an indeclinable, should be preserved as such as has been in practice with the western editorscholars like Jacobi, Schübring, Alsdorf etc. and some
Indian editors. 9. If sometimes the dental '-n-'is found in the medial posi
tion, it should not be deemed necessary to change it
to cerebral '-n-' everywhere. 10. The 'l'found in the place of “r, should be preserved as
it is a specific feature of Māgadhi. 11. If a reading with anaptyxix, in the place of assimilation
of conjuncts is found, it should be preferred, e.g., daviya (for dravya), nitiya (for nitya), tathiya (for tathya), agani
(for agni), usina (for usna). 12. The guttural nasal ‘n’and the palatal 'ñ 'occurring with
the homogeneous consonants of their own class should be preserved as such as is the case with the western editors. The practice of changing them to Anusvāra
everywhere should not be insisted upon. 13. If a conjunct of palatal nasals 'ññ' is found, it should
not be taken as fit to be discarded on the ground of
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