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INTRODUCTION
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the lead of various grammarians. If it is once admitted that we are dealing with literary dialects, it is more safe to follow the terminology of the grammarians without always insisting on the territorial bias unless they show mutual contradictions and inconsistencies of an extraordinary character. Later grammarians have understood that the Prākrit of Vararuci is Māhā. rāştri ; and, as Rāma Pāņivāda is following the nine chapters of Prākṣta-prakāśa, he is writing in Māhārāştri which is purely a literary language with no special territorial association at the time when he wrote this work.
Turning to the characteristics of Māhārāştrī, as noted by grammarians and as gathered from the study of Māhārāştri literature, we find that intervocalic consonants k, g, c, j, t, d, P, y and v are usually dropped ; and aspirates like kh, gh, th, dh, ph and bh are changed to h. These are general rules ; Mss. do show irregularities, and modern scholars want these rules to be applied rigorously as it is clear from the editions of Sattasaż, Kappüramamjarī etc. Grammarians allow even in Māhārāştnī the change of t to d in a few words ; 43 and nowa-days it is held by some scholars 44 that the change of t to d is not prohibited in Māhārāştri. Rāma Pāṇivāda usually drops intervocalic consonants k, g, c, j, p, y and v. His exceptions --are either sanctioned by grammarians or very rare. His treatment of t is very uncertain : he may drop it or soften it as seen from the same words occurring in different places : (aggao i. 3 & aggado i. 5, gao i. 51 & gada ii. 11, laā iv. 25 & ladā i. 54, haâ i. 36 & hadā iii. 51, etc.). As to d, it is sometimes dropped and sometimes retained (vimaa i. 30, saž i. 2, savai i. 61 ; jamnādi i. 16, pada i. 8, paduma iii. 2; maa iii. 60 & mada iv. 43; etc.). The most significant Māhārāştri trait of our author's dialect is the termination i ore in the 3rd p. sing.
43 PISCHEL : Grammatik $ 204. 44 See the articles of Prof. A. M. GHATAGE noted above.
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