Most Ancient Aryan Society

Author(s): Ram Chandra Jain
Publisher: Institute of Bharatalogical Research Sriganganagar Rajasthan

Page 141

( 114 ) Chatterjee, has affinities or resemblances outside India with the Elamite script and with those of the ancient Crete and Cyprus. This script appears to be like the earlier forms of Maurya Brāhms of the fourth-third Century B. C. It was probably in the 10th century B. C. that the Ancient SindhPanjab script of the non-Aryans was adopted for the Aryans Speech. The Mauryan Brāhmi script is the bearer of the Asokan Eastern Prakrit, the older form of the ArdhaMāgadhi Prakrit of the Jains. This has no r but only 1. Classical Sanskrit and Pali have both r and l. The basic dialect of the Vedic (Rgvedic specially) speech had only the r sound—Indo European r and I both featuring in it as r-as in Iranian (Old Persian and Avestan). The matter of r and I formed an important point in dialectical diversity. This difference of r and 1 does not signify only an evolutionary stage of the Aryan language but goes to the very roots of the languages which divided the Aryan and the pre-Aryan racial stocks.
The Ardha-Māgadhi language of the Jain texts may be post-Asokan Prakrit; but even before that age, the Prakrit r and 1-Tho was a living language with Mahāvīra and Dividing Line of the Ethnic
ne of Pārsva; the twenty-fourth and the twentyGroups
third Tirthamkaras respectively. Classical Sanskrit had not fully evolved by then but was in the process of evolution, Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa is post-pārsva not having been redacted before 800 B. C.14 The age of Pārsva is 877-777 B. C.16 The basic difference in speeches of the two hostile groups in the form of r and 1 existed in this age. The Asuras speak "he-lavo" to mean 'Ho', enemies'. It was denounced by the Brahmāryans as they considered that it should have been pronounced as 'he' rayo'.16 It was for this reason that the Brahmāryans denounced their adversaries as Asuras, Dāsas, Daśyus, Paņis