Notes on Some Prakrit Words

Author(s): H C Bhayani
Publisher: Z_Nirgrantha_1_022701.pdf and Nirgrantha_2_022702.pdf and Nirgrantha_3_022703.pdf

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H. C. Bhayani
Nirgrantha
in such a situation that he had to forego the use of Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the spoken idiom of his time. Hence he had to compose his marathon storywork (which in fact, had originated from God Siva and he was just a carrier) in Paiśācī, spoken by some tribals or primitives (actually Piśācas, goblins') haunting the forest regions of the Vindhya mountain range. Medieval Indian and Modern scholars disagree considerably about the original region and characteristics of the Paiśāci language. It was in all probability a stylized form of Prakrit with its phonology partially recast after the dialect of some aboriginal tribe.
Beginnings of Apabhraíśa language and literature
Dandin, a seventh century literary theorist, has characterized literary Apabhramśa as based on the dialects of the communities called Abhira and others (which probably included the Gurjaras). Taking into account the cultivation and continuities during the later times, it is reasonable to assume that it was the Western region including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Sindh, and Mālava where Apabhramśa language and literature had their beginnings. Later, they spread to other regions towards the south and east. To start with, the Apabhramsa was but a colloquialized form of literary Prakrit. Like Prakrit, literary Apabhramśa, too, became considerably stylized and strongly influenced by Sanskrit, which provided the prestigious paradigms for style and expression. But its metrical reportoire was its own; so also it had developed some characteristic literary genres (the Rasabandha and the Sandhibandha, besides several song-types).
A noteworthy feature of the literary Apabhramśa was that it was, to a degree, free to absorb colloquial elements. The explanation lies in the fact of its rise and recognition as a literary medium. The highly stylized Prakrits, continuing with vigour side by side with the dominant Sanskrit, got in course of time considerably removed from the popular regional dialects. Apabhramśa arose to fill the communication gap. Phonologically, Apabhramsa was but a developed variety of Prakrit. But its inorphology, a part of its lexicon, and above all its idiomatic features made it more allied to the later New Indo-Aryan languages.
In that way, Apabhramśa was transitional. It preserved its 'classical character in limited Jaina circles up to about the 15th-16th century. On the other hand it became more and more colloquialized and diversified, eventually ending up as various New Indo-Aryan literary languages, many of which inherited its metres, patterns, and literary forms.