Indian Antiquary Vol 60

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 332

15-19 ]
ON THE MODERN INDO-ARYAN VERNACULARS
[ APRII, 1991
allied to the Landā of the Panjab and to the Sāradā of Kašmir. Mārwārīs are the bankers of India, and have carried this character all over India for their banking accounts.
According to Nagendranātha Vasu, JASB, LXV (Pt. i) (1896), 114 ff., these Brāhmans gave their name to the alphabet. In Al-Biruni's time, the Nagara alphabet was used in MálwĀ, which is close to Gujarat. Sachau's Tr., i, 173.
It is worth noting in this connexion that Old Mw. in some respects agrees with Ks., e.g., in possessing a genitive post-position hando.
15. Rajasthāni has a large literature, about which very little is known. The greater part of it consists of bardic chronicles, but Mārwāļi has also a considerable poetical literature. Most of the Mw. poets wrote in the Braj Bhākhā form of Hindi, which, when so used, is locally - known as Pingal. When poems were written in Mw. itself the language was called, in contra. distinction, Dingal. Gajarāti has an old poetical literature dating from the fourteenth century A.D. The first, and still the most admired, poet was Narsimha Mehta (B. 1413), and beforo his time there were writers on Sanskrit grammar, poetics, etc. Tho Pr. Grammarian Hēmacandra flourished in the middle of the twelfth century. He described the Nägara Apabhramsa, and thus it can be said of Gujarati, and of Gujarāti alone, that we have an almost unbroken line of descent from the Vedic language down to the vernacular of the present day.
1 A Bardic and Historical Survey of Rajputână was lately set on foot by the Government of India, under the superintendence of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. It was put into the charge of Dr. L. P. Tessitori, who discovered a number of important works. See JASB, XIII (N.S.), 1917, pp. 195 ff., and reports and texte published by the ASB. under Tessitori's editorship. Since the death of that excellent scholar, the schere seems to have fallen into abeyance.
16. We can now consider the three Pahari (Ph.) languages. The word 'Pahăți' means of or belonging to the mountain, and is used as a convenient name for the three groups of IAV. languages spoken in the lower ranges of the Himalaya from Nēpāl in the east, to Bhadrawāh in the west. Going from east to west, these three groups are Eastern Pahari (EPh.). Central Pahāri (CPh.), and Western Pahārā (W Ph.).
17. Eastern Pahäri (EPh.) is commonly called Nepali' or 'Naipäli' by Europeans, but this name is hardly suitable, as it is not the principal language of Nēpal. In that State the principal languages are Tibeto-Burman, the most important being Newāri, the name of which is also derived from the word "Nēpāl.' Other names for EPh. are Pārbatiya' or 'the Hill language,' and 'Khas Kurā' or 'the language of the Khas tribe.' We shall shortly see that the last name is not inappropriate. EPh. being spoken in a mountainous country has no doubt many dialects. Into one of these, Pālpā, spoken in western Nēpāl, the Serampore Missionaries made a version of the New Testament, and, as Nēpāl is independ. ent territory to which Europeans have little access, that is our one sole source of information concerning it. The standard dialect is that of the valley of Kathmando, and in this there is a small printed literature, all modern. The dialect of eastern Népal has of late years been adopted by the missionaries of Darjiling as the standard for a grammar and for their translations of the Bible. EPh. is written and printed in the Nägari character.
1 EPh., as an independent language, is of very modern origin, the Indo-Aryan migration from the west into Nepal dating only from the sixteenth century A.D. The language is strongly influenced by the surrounding Tibeto-Burman dialects, and has changed considerably within living memory. It appears to have superseded another Indo-Aryan language akin to the Maithili dialect of Bihari, now spoken immediately to the south of Nepal. A specimen of this old dialect was published by Conrady in 1891. It is a drama, entitled the Hariscandranrtya.
18. Central Pahari (CPh.) is the name of the language of the British Districts of Kumaun and Garhwal and of the State of Gabwäl. It has two main dialects, Kumauni (Km.) and Garhwali (Gh.). A few books have of late years been written in Km. and one or two in Grh. So far as I have seen, both these dialects are written in Nāgari character.
19. Western Pahari (WPh.) is the name of the large number of connected dialecte spoken in the hill country, of which Simla, the summer headquarters of the Government of
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