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96
प्राकृतसर्वस्वम्।
and merchants.82 All the three authorities agree in defining it as the mixture of Skt and Ś. The most significant information supplied by both of them is that Pakki is the same as Drāvidi. Mk further tells us that sākki is liked very much especially by the Drāvidas (XVI. 2). Rt however, recognises another variety of Tākki which is infected by Drāvida, but all the same has no special characteristics (I1, 3, 37). Now the identification of Țākkī with Drāviņi amounts to the fact that Tākkī besides being the language of Țakka country was carried to South India probably through the travellers and merchants where it had gained much popu. larity on account of its mostly Sanskritised vocabulary83 Another fact which accounts for this but not noticed by GRIERSON seems to be its Apabhramba-like nature. In fact as Pa and Mk inforın us, according to Hariscandra, Tākkī is to be taken as an Apabhramśa but not as a Vibhāṣā. Herein lies another clue towards understanding why this is especially liked by Drāvidas or the people of South India. Now in Țākki we mostly get u termination in nom. sing. whicli again is similar to the characteristic of South Indian languages.84 The pre
82. Mk quotes a verse from some unknown source (XVI. 1 ) in this connection.
83. See Ap according to Mk and Dhakki Pkt, JRAS, 1913, pp. 875 ff, also The Pkt vibhāṣās, JRAS. 1918, pp. 489 ff.
84. For u termination in South Indian languages see Comp. Gr. of Dravidian langs, CALDWELL. Of, a Telugu stanza wbich is purely Sanskritic and has endings du and mu comparable to u of Takki -
___ अटसनिकाञ्चन भूमिसुरुडु अम्बर चुम्बिशिररझरिपटलमुहर्मुहुर्लुटदभङ्गकलापिकलापGOH
I am thankful to my former colleague Mr J, J. Monan RAO, now Reader in Political Science who pointed out this stanza to me.
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