Sambodhi 1977 Vol 06

Author(s): Dalsukh Malvania, H C Bhayani, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 77

Prākrit studies
71
upon the Jains. The latter were so much imbued with spirit of the scriptures that the latter haunted them. Whenever they made attempts to compose any thing in Māhārāştri or Sauraseni the idoms of the sacred speech Ardhaniagadhi fell upon it. This is perhaps the reason for the origin of Mahārāştri and Saurasani saturated with Ardhamāgadh features. But the influence of the Ardha-magadhi upon Māhāraştri and Sauraseni does not surely entitle the latter to become completely transformed with the change of the basic features. This influence of Ardha-nagadhi fell upon Hemacandra too and made his conception of Māhārāştri to a certain extent different from that of the authors of the profane Prakrit literature.
Tlie Apabhramsa dialect poses a great problem to the students of Prakrit. It is stated to be the last phase of Prakrit, although traces of A pabhransa features are to be noted in the very early Prākrit texts like the Mahävastu, Lalitavistara, the Prakrit Dhammapada and others. The A pabhrama features are to be noted in Kalidāsa too and the Mrochakatika bears unmistakeable evidence of its occurrence. Scholars have not given any serious consideration to this problem, but it requires serious investigation as the conception of the evolution of Indo-Aryan depends much upon it. Again scholars presume the occurrence of an Apabhrarja speech as subsequent development of each of these Prakrits. According to this surmise the Mähärāștri Prākrit bas a corresponding Mābārāştri Apabhrarnsa, so Sauraseni Prākrit a Sauraseni Apabhramsa. But we do not possess any definite idea about the dialectal peculiarites of all these Apabhramja speeches. The Magadhr Apabhramsa, if it really existed, is a myth to us, as we are absolutely dark about it, nevertheless it is presumed by the linguists as it is considered the source of certain modern speeches like Magahi, Maithili, Bhojapuri, Bengali, Assamese and Oryā.
Friends! there are certain tasks which are to be performed with the best of our care and devotion. First we require critical editions of the religious texts of the Jains, few of which have hitherto been seriously studied. Secondly a critical edition of the Mrcchakațika is a great desideration. The book is read all over India and is very popular but unfortunately we do not possess a text that contains the variants and divergent readings. But one cannot ignore that che text is indispensible for the linguistic scudy of Prakrit, particularly the varieties of dialects, in which the Mrcchākatika is remarkably rich. Thirdly we know that the Sanskrit Alamkāra texts abound in stray Prākrit stanzas, which are miserably represented in all such works. The Sanskrit scholars neglect the text of these stanzas but remain satisfied with their Sanskrit translations--the socalled chayās. But a student of Prakrit cannot bear the situation, which calls for an immediate study of these poems. These verses should be carefully studied and embodied in a collection, which will assume the glamour