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68 : Sramaņa, Vol. 64, No. 4, Oct.-Dec. 2013
characters, analytical study of Prakrit used in Sanskrit dramatic works and evolution of Prakrit as used in the dramas through the ages. Pub. Aditya Book Center ,165D, Kamla Nagar, Delhi -7 ,1997, p. (49/H 197). 5. Prakrit Bhāṣāno Kā Tulanātmaka Vyākaraņa Aura Unamne Prāk Sanskrit Tattva by K. R. Chandra, Prakrit Vidya Mandala, L.D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad 1982. p. 90.
(V) Works on the Dialects of Prakrit
a. Apabhraṁsa:
Literary sources reveal that by the time of Dandin, Apabhramsa was no longer a rustic dialect but an established third literary language alongwith Sanskrit and Prakrit.Apabhramśa in its various forms, gradually developed into a full-fledged written language and it was thought necessary by Prakrit grammarians to deal with it grammatically, because it was considered to be a branch of Prakrit. During the classical and medieval periods, Prakrit grammarians treated Apabhramśa in specific chapters or sections in their treatises also. The Apabhraíśa sections were not written in Apabhramśa or Prakrit but in Sanskrit. Significantly, the oldest extant works on Prakrit grammar, Vararuci's Prakrit Prakāśa, does not take any notice of Apabhramsa. Hemacandra (11th cent. CE) extensively deals with this language. His Apabhraíša section, like other parts of the grammar, is written in sūtra and with fresh examples in verses. To illustrate the rules of this section Hemacandra has also composed the Apabhraíśa verses in the 8th canto of his Kumārapālacaritra, also known as Dvayāśrayakāvya. The next important grammar of this language is Prakrit Sabdānuśāsana of Trivikramadeva. The Apabhrañśa, described in his Grammar is Nāgara. Mārkandeya (16th cent. CE ) in his Prakrit Sarvasva, deals with Nāgara. According to him an anonymous author mentions 27 kinds of Apabhraṁsa which all may be included into Nāgara Vrācada and Upanāgara only. Next,
