Mahapurana of Puspdanta

Author(s): Ratna N Shriyan
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 61

DESYA WORDS FROM THE MAHAPURAṆA
"It is more significant that the elements from other strata of speeches penetrated into the vocabulary of Maharastri, which remained essentially Sanskritic in the subsequent period. Here appear first the Dhatvadesas and the Desis--the popular words for extensive use, whose preponderating majority, indeed, may be ultimately traced in the old Indian speech-but has sometimes, no easily recognisable prototype in the usual classical Sanskrit."1
50
As said by Jacobi the peculiarity of Ap. lies in its vocabulary especially the Desi element and in the idiom and expressions which are more allied to NIA languages than to Sk.
Chatterji observes-". ........ The increase in number of Onomato. poetics, as Indo-Aryan advances in its history, is noticeable. The Onomatopoetics, form a very characteristic element of speech in both Dravidian and Austric, and in this matter we shall be justified in assuming a vital influence of the non Aryan substrata. "Echo words" are another contribution from Dravidian to New Indo-Aryan, and it can be well-assumed that it was coming into evidence in MIA."2
"Onomatopoetic formations on a lavish scale are a characteristic of both NIA and Dravidian. Vedic is remarkably poor in Onomatopoetics; as we come down to MIA, and NA the number and force of Onomatopoetics is on the increase."" a
Discussing the lexical material in old Gujarati Bhayani says: "In vocabulary we meet a host of words of obscure or unknown origin. This Desya element is present inO .G. in a far greater degree than in Ap. Besides this the Onomatopoetic or jingle element in the vocabulary strikingly draws our attention. "
" 4
Observations on Desya and rare linguistic material as found in Puspadanta: In the light of the general observations given above regarding the role of Desya element in literary Prakrit and Ap., let us consider what are the broad implications of the data presented by us in the second section of the thesis. There we find that if we exclude from our consideration those elements of Ap. vocabulary which, with more or less effort, can be derived from Sk,[i.e. 1) Items only derivable from Sk., 2) Tadbhavas with specialised or changed meaning, 3) Items partly derivable from Sk. and 4)
1.
See Intro, to Bh. § 12
2. Indo-Aryan and Hindi, p. 92.
3.
See Origin and Development of Bengali Language, p. 175.
See. "Language of Gujarat", Bharatiya Vidya vol. VIII, pp. 316-316,