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INTRODUCTION.
dramatic works.* Lakshmîdhara also touches upon this subject ( Vide p. 5 of the text ). The Prâkțitasarvasva of Mârkandeya treats of most of these dialects. According to him there are five main divisions of dialects:-Mahârâsb trî, S'aurasenî, Prâchyâ, Âvantî, and Mâgadhî. Ardhamâgʻadhî is included into the Mâgadhi and Båhlîkî into Âvanti. He treats of these five main divisions and also of S'â kârî, Chânđâlî, S'âbarî including  bhîrî and A'udhrî, Tâkki, Nâgara and Upanâgara Apabhraris'a, and Pais'âchî in 15 Pâdas of his work. The treatment of Prâchyâ and other dialects not mentioned by Hemachandra and other grammarians shows, however, that there is not much distinction between them and principal Prakrita dialects.
The Shaờbhâshâchandrikâ consists of Sûtras of Prakrita grammar with a commentary on them. The Sûtras are ascribed by Lakshmidhara to Vâlmîki.f It does not seem hard to decide conclusively whether the Sûtras belong to Vâlmiki or some one else. Lakshmîdhara does not entertain the least suspicion in his mind as to their authorship, but positively mentions Valmîki as their author. This can be accounted for in either of two ways only. He must have either come across manuscripts of the Sätras in which the name of Valmiki as author was clearly expressed, or he must have learnt that the Sûtras were traditionally ascribed to Valmiki, in which case, however, he could and ought to have said 'alerta: 126 75' instead of 'aleht .' A manuscript of the Sûtras is noticed.in a Descriptive Catalogue by Râo Bahadur M. Rangachâryâ I It contains two Adhyâyas only, begins on fol. 17 a
* मागधी तु नरेन्द्राणामन्तःपुरनिवासिनाम् ।
चेटानां राजपुत्राणां श्रेष्ठिनां चार्धमागधी ।। प्राच्या विदूषकादीनां धूर्तानामप्यवन्तिजा । alfamai petat a fastfaraft II &c.
नाट्य० १७-५०-५१. i Vide verse 15 p. 3 (archaic uzhal').
I Vide No. 1548, p. 1083 of the Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Govt, Oriental MSS. Library, Madras, Vol, III. of 1906.
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