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SOME REMARKS ON LANGUAGE OF ORIGINAL BUDDHIST CANON
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(1954) has been edited from the Nachlass by E. WALDSCHMIDT. LUEDERS had already given expression to his view that he believed in an original canon composed in an eastern dialect from which the Pāli and the Sanskrit versions were translated. This book gives the evidence which led LUEDERS to this belief and his observations on the nature of the eastern language. In this respect F. EDGERTON holds the opposite view--that we cannot speak of an original canon-which he has expressed in the Introduction to his excellent account of the Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, Grammar and Dictionary (1953). A summary of the Grammar and an account of the BHS literature can also be found in EDGERTON'S Lectures on Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit published by the Banaras Hindu University (1954). J. Bloch's book Les Inscriptions D'Asoka (1950) is a very valuable publication since E. HULTZSCH published his work in 1925 and it testifies to the author's grasp on the Indo-Aryan field. The new book includes all the finds except the recently discovered versions of the minor rock edict at Rajula-Nandagiri in the Andhra and at Gujarra in the Vindhya Pradesh.
The very extensive field of MIA has been ably covered by S. K. CHATTERJI in his Wilson Philological Lectures delivered at the Bombay University (1954), the publication of which will be eagerly awaited. M. MAYRHOFER'S Handbuch des Pali (1951) is primarily intended for the Indogermanist who wishes to know the nature of a MIA language. Sukumar SEN'S Comparative Grammar of MIA (1951) is now followed up by his Historical Syntax of MIA (1953). No other book on MIA syntax has been written since José CANEDO wrote Zur Wort- und Satzstellung in der alt- und mittleindischen Prosa (1937). G. DAVANE'S Ph.D., dissertation, completed under the guidance of S. M. KATRE, on Nominal Composition in MIA has now been published by the Deccan College Research Institute (February 1956). In this field also no work appeared since W. GBABOWSKA wrote on the nominal composition in the Asokan inscriptions (Ro 1927). Very interesting are also a couple of articles by De VREESE on Apabhramsa studies in JAOS 74.1-5; 142-146. Fresh material for the study of Apabhramsa is made available by the edition of Paumacariu of Svayambhū by H. C. BHAYANI (1953). P. B. PANDIT'S three lectures in Hindi on Prākyta Bhāṣā delivered at Banaras Hindu University were published last year (1954).
Scholars are not lagging behind in the NIA field. A book on general Phonetics written with special application to Marāthi is Dhvani
# Since the Address was read out, the discovery of a version of the ninth rock-ediet
of Asoka, near Bombay, has been announced by N. A. GORE in "Times of India" dated 4th January, 1966.
Madhu Vidyā/253
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