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Date of Second Middle Indo-Aryan
I have presented archaeological evidence in favour of my chronology of New Indo-Aryan in the book refered above, and I have judged the chronology of Middle Indo-Aryan by allowing some approximate time gap for each stage of development although the period assumed as gap between one stage and another stage is tentative and subject to correction. But there can never be any doubt that a gap must be allowed between one stage and another stage. The assumption of the gap period as 300 or 400 years is not purely arbitrary. These assumptions are based taking into consideration of the amount of linguistic change operated in each period. Thus the period assigned may be an underestimate but not at all an overestimate of the length of time.
Traditionally Ardha-Magadhi is believed to be the language of Mahāvīra and linguists have no material to challenge this belief and there is nothing wrong in accepting this traditional idea as a fulfledged fact. From this point of view also Ardha-Māgadhi may safely be placed in the 6th century BC as the starting point.
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Prof. Chatterji, however, thinks that the Ardha-Māgadhi spoken by Mahavira was Old Ardha-Magadhi. But there is no such tradition of any Old Ardha-Magadhi. Chatterji had to use a vague name Old Ardha-Magadhi simply to maintain his chronology that Amg belongs to 2nd century AD (ODBL, p. 55).
For the date of MIA the date of Kalidas is quite pertinent. He uses Classical Sanskrit, 2nd MIA and a little bit of Apabhrmsa in his dramas. The style of his Sanskrit is so natural that he cannot be much later than Panini and he is not much influenced by Panini. A few words like prabhramsayām yo nahuşan cakāra etc. prove it. Out of several controversies scholars mainly accept two dates for Kalidas: 1st century BC and 4th century AD. If any one of these be accepted the Apabrams a verses in Kalidas will have to be taken as interpolation on the basis of Chatterji's Chronological estimate of Ababhramsa as 6th century AD. But Kalidas is beyond any artificiality and his style is his style. His Apabhraisa verses also are his, from a stylistic point of view. I have proved with further evidences in details that Kalidas belongs to 1st century BC and not 4th century AD. I have also shown that Kalidas belongs to the last phase of Apabhramsa and thus he is the first poet of Apabhramsa as traditionally accepted.
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