Prolegomena to Prakritica et Jainica

Author(s): Satyaranjan Banerjee
Publisher: Asiatic Society

Page 19

PROLEGOMENA TO PRAKRITICA et JAINICA
commenting on a bloka® of Rudraţa's Kavyalankāra writes as follows: .
"To explain Prākrta-Prakrti is a natural use of speech made by all beings of the world which is not refined by Grammar, Rhetoric etc.; and a speech derived from Prakrti or Prakrti itself is Prakrta. Or from the saying, "The Ardhamāgadhi speech of the gods is composed in the Prakrta of the Rsis, Prakrta means 'first produced' (prak krta) it is the speech easily intelligible to children and women and the source of all other speeches. It is of a homogeneous character like rain falling from the clouds; the same speech being distributed in various countries and being specialised by refinement is later differentiated into Sanskrit and other speeches. For this reason, the author of the text first mentions Prākste and then Samskrta and other speeches. It is called Saṁskrta on account of being refined by Pāṇini and others in the rules of their Grammar."
Hemacandra, following other Prākrit grammarians in his grammar maintains Prākrta' to be derived from Samskrta. In his later work the Kavyānusāsana he
पञ्चविंशतिसंयुक्तरेकादशमसमशतैः ।। विक्रमात् समतिक्रान्तैः प्रावृषीदं समर्थितम् || Jacobi Bhavisayattakaha,
p. 174., Quoted by Gune Bhavisayattakaha, Intro., p. 57. 6. Vagbhatalankara, 2. 12. 7. "प्राकृतेति-सकलजगजन्तूनां व्याकरणादिभिरनाहितसंस्कारः सहजो वचनव्यापारः
प्रकृतिः, तव भवं सैव वा प्राकृतम्। 'आरिसवयणं सिदं' देवाणं अदमागहा वाणी' इत्यादिवचनाद् वा प्राक् पूर्व कृतं प्राकृतं बालमहिलादिसुबोधं सकलभाषानिबन्धनभूतं वचनमुच्यते। मेघनिर्मुक्तजलम् इवैकस्वरूपं तदेव च देशविशेषात् संस्कारकरणार समासादितं विशेष सत् संस्कृतायुत्तरविभेदानानोति, अतएव शासकृता प्राकृतमादी निर्दिष्टं तदनु संस्कृतादीनि। पाणिन्यादिव्याकरणोदितशब्दलक्षणेन संस्करणात्
संस्कृतमुच्यते।" 8. See above, p. 1 footnote no. 1. 9. That 'Siddha Hemacandra' is an earlier production is clear
from its mention in the Kavyānusāsana (ed. Kavyamala 70.) p. 2 Sloka 2 'शब्दानुशासनेऽस्माभिः साध्वोवाचो विवेचिताः।'