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reliability in inscriptions than in the manuscripts, the earlier writers do not offer the features of Prakrit that can go on at par with the inscriptions. Take, for example, the drama of Asvaghosa. We are all grateful to Luders (Bruchstruck Buddhistischen Dramen, 1911) who has presented the fragments of some Buddhist dramas discovered in Turkestan and dated by him in the first or second cent. A. D. In his opinion, there are three types of Prakrit dialect employed by Asvaghosa in his plays. To use his terminology, they are old Suaraseni, old Magadhi and old Ardha-Magadhi. The Dusta's speech in three important points is similar to the Magadhi of the Prakrit grammarians, it substitutes 1 for r, reduces all three sibilants to s; and has e in the nominative singular of masculine nouns in a. But it ignores the rules of the grammarians in certain respects; hard letters are not softend (e. g., bhoti), nor soft consonants elided (e. g., kumuda-gandha), when inter-vocalic. There is no tendency to cerebralize n and in kalana the dental replaces the cerebral. Fuller forms of consonants remain in hangho (hamho) and bambhana (bamhana). Certain consonantal changes are irregular: ry>jj and not yy; e.g., ajja, śc>cch, kş>kkh, not sk or cch, st>tth not st, kissakiša, ahakam than ahake, hake, haje, (Keith, Sanskrit Drama, p. 86).
But it is a point worth noting here that not a single grammarian has even described any old features of Sauraseni, Magadhi or ArdhaMagadhi. How should we justify these forms then? Should we reconsider the judgment of the manuscripts ?
(ii) Orthogrphic
The orthography of manuscripts is sometimes responsible for the selection of a reading particularly of a Jaina manuscript. The peculiar way of writing na and ña, y and th, s and ph, jh and bh and many other conjuncts makes us responsible for a wrong selection. Unless one is thoroughly conversant with the calligraphy of Mss, one cannot do any justice to the reading of a Prakrit passage. I need not dwell upon this point here in detail.
(iii) Selection of readings
Leaving aside the orthographic representation of Prakrit, we shall now pass on to the next problem, i.e., selection of readings. It is a fact worth noting here that sometimes some editions are responsible for
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