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The Prakrit : A Review
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the ponitificate in 8 B. C. He wrote in Prakrit (Jaina Sauraseni) 84 Pāhudas and he is also credited with the composition of Thirukural in Tamil. The Svetāmbaras took to writing some 450 years after Kundakunda. Their centre had shifted from Magadha to Ujjayini, and later on to Vallabhi, which factor contributed to their taking to Mahirāștri Prakrit for their pro-canonical literature. As distinct from the literary Prakrit used in Sanskrit dramas, the Maharastri Prakrit was the lingua franca of the region and was used as vehicle for their compositions by the Svetāmbara Jains particularly, it came to be identified as the Jaina Mahārostri. The material point to be noted here is that as the Pāli survived in a form in which it reached Ceylon, so the Ardha-Magadhi, Jaina sauraseni and jaina Mahārāstri survived in a form in which they were once adopted by the two sects of the Jains, and this survival was possible for two reasons--one was the seclusion and removal from the centre of their origin, and the other was the sanctity imposed on the Scripture as Ārşa hence not subject to interference prima facie.
It is inferred from the Hāthigumphả Inscription of Khāravela of Kalinga that a Council of monks for the recitation of the Canon Was convened 355 years after Mahavira's nirvana, i. e., in 172 B. C. There is no mention of this Council either in the Svetambara or in the Digambara literature. There is a possibility that an attempt was then made to reconcile the Schism, or it might have been simply a congregation of the Digambara munis, but nothing definite can be said.
The foregoing discussion postulates a review of our approach to the study of Prakrit languages and to tracing the linguistic developments in India in an objective manner, taking Prakrit as prakrta (natural, raw) and Sanskrit as samkrta (modified, refined) mode of expression, and basing it on the Indian scene first of all.
Jyoti Nikunj, Charbagh, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
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