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Vol. XV, No. 4
63
In Kālidāsa's drams inter-vocalic k, g, c, j, t, d, p, b, v and y are lost, but this rule in the dramas of Ašvaghoşa is not maintained at all. Besides this, many contrasts in Mg. are prominent in Aśvaghoşa such as, y does not move into j, initia! nand medial n are not systematically used by him and the aspirates kh, gh, th, dh, ph and bh are not reduced into h.
So many prakrit rules and its usages are perhaps unknown to Ašvagboşa. In case of conjunct consonants, Ašvaghoșa differs from Bhāsa and Kālidāsa. In Bhāsa's dramas ññ and în stand for jñ. Keith28 considers the latter perhaps wrong. On the other hand, Bhāsa does nn in place of ny and ny, but in those places Ašvaghoşa uses ññ. In case of compensatory lengthening of a vowel, the elision of a consonant is not known to Aśvaghoșa. The similarity in using of a short vowel and a double cosonant which ultimately alter the long vowel and the single consonant do not take place in Ašvagboşa's work. In the same context Bhāsa has used evva, evvam, jovvana, devva, ekka etc. But in place ry, Bhāsa like Aśvaghoșa, has done yy instead of jj as done by Kālidāsa.
So many inflexional differences between Asvaghoşa and Bhāsa are not clear to us. Keith” says that the accusative plural of neuter a stems becoming ani and aim are found as well.
Like wise in case of accusative masculine plural āni accurs in the Ardha-Māgadhi of Asokan inscriptionāņi. The locative singular of feminine becomes aaṁ and not åe as done in later period. attānań occurs in place of attānaań. To indicate 'we' Ašvaghoșa uses vayam, Kalidāsa amhe, but Bhāsa takes both and vaaṁ also. In genitive singular. Bhāsa uses both amhäaṁ and amhānań, but Asvaghosa does only amhākam in his works. The root v dars becomes dass and dams. 1 grah is represented by ganhadi and not geņhadi as found in later. And this is found in the works of Ašvaghoșa. The older form of karia and gacchia or gamia are changed into kadua and gadua. alam turns into mā with gerund.
Keith 29 says that the above mentioned characteristic features are also included in Mg. and this Mg. is somethiag variable in two forms, one is of Pratijñā-Yougandharāyana and the Cārudatta and the other is of Poñcarātra. These two are ș and o inplace of sand e respectively. In most cases Ašvaghoșa does not maintain the proper grammatic rules, such as sț for Sanskrit șth or șt, śc for cch, sk or hk for ks. In place of ahake (later hage), there occurschakam and ny becomes nn rather than ññ in Asvaghoșa.
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