Book Title: Indian Antiquary Vol 48
Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications
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NOVER, 1919 ]
PAISACH PRÅKRIT
213
Sir George Grierson in his paper on The Home of Literary Pali says, "Ramatarkavågt sa 17th century) knows two Paibachikas, one Kaikeya and the other (4) Chaska. He adde that if other Prakrit dialecta, e.g. Mågadht, are used incorrectly, they become ajuddla Paitachika" From the above exposition of R&matarkavägisa's classification of Paibachi dialecte, wo confess we cannot accedo to what Sir George Bays in his paper referred to abovo. There is only one copy of Prikrita-kalpataru (that in the India Office Library that I know of, and it is in Bengal characters and is very corrupt, so much so, that it is impossiblo to make out the meaning of the passages in certain places. The Verso about tho classification of Paihachi languages, as it stands in the MS., is :
पैशाचिकानि विविधानि शुद्धसङ्कीर्णभेदेन पुरोहितानि ।
समावि सप्तमकमच शुद्धं समन्वन्तु चस्कमाहः॥ The second line of which is evidently very corrupt. As it stands it makes no sense and thore is violation of metre too. Here chasla is a mistake for chatushka, the tu being lost. The line should run
सपारिमं सबकमत्र शुद्धं संकीर्णमन्वतु चतुष्कमारः। which is quite in accord with the stanza quoted at the beginning of the paper, and the motre of which works out alright. So there is no question thore of Chaska Paibacht. It was not possiblo for me to trace the origin of Sir George Grierson's other romark: "He adds that if other Prakrit dialecte, eg. Mágadhi, are used incorrectly they become asuddha Paisachika." Probably he derives the information from the following: -
तिलतण्डलवचनातु भाषाः प्रविशन्तीह बहकारमुक्ताः।
सराई" but this means what I said above.
There is another short treatise on the Pâiśácbf dialects (which, however, it calls bhutabhdshah) in the Doooan College Library, Poona. It is named Shadbhashd-vdrtika, is in old Kashmiri oharacters and is Nos. 295-6 of the collection of 1875-76. In this work too the Paisacht Prükşit is divided into two classes, pure (suddha) and mixed (sailarna) in the following verse
प्राकृताजावते भूनभाषा सा च विषा यथा ।
शुखा चैव हि सकीनों किचिवसमान्विता ।। And ho defines the two classes as under :
... -अज्ञानां भूतभाषायां भाषा सरवर्जिता। and sair
diyar Taraf 11 And here too we do not find any class termed Chaska.
Hemachandra, in his grammar treats of six Prakrits, viz., Prakrita, Sauraseni, Magadht, Paiákoht, Chůlika-pâiśâcht and Apabhramúa, and hence he has only two Pâiśâchi dialects. Lakshmidhara also knows only two Paisachis:
Ferraratai dar fara a Sir George Grierson remarks in the same paper 10 that Hemachandra knew three Pikachis. He says " Hemaclfandra knew three but does not say where they were spoken." could verify this statement neither in Hemachandra's grammar nor in his Kdvydnuddsana..
Bhandarkar Oommemoration Volume, 1917, p. 191. Foto 40m of Prakrita-kalpatart . Tolio 472a, ibid.
20 Bhandarbar commemoration Volume, 1917, p. 123.
