________________
SOME PROBLEMS
OF MĀGADHI DIALECT
Jagat Ram Bhattacharyya*
(Continued from the previous Number)
Prakrit Grammariang
Though we have the earliest literature in Māgadhi from the time of Asoka (3rd century B.C.), we do not know any prakrit grammar available at that time. In Bharata's Natya-şāstra (chap. 17), we have some characteristic features of prakrit in general. but it is so meagre that no knowledge of prakrit language could be gathered from it. We have some mythological names as Kohala, Kapila, Sākalya, Māņdavya etc. as authors of prakrit grammars, but no texts are available in their names except a few quotations. However, it seems little strange that prakrit being very old in its origin, we do not have any systematic grammar book before Vararuci whose date, though controversial, is generally accepted either 5th or 6th century A.D. From that time onwords till 10th century A.D. we have again a gap and no prakrit grammars between these years are available. After Vararuci next authoritative grammarian is Hemacandra (1088-1172 A.D.), whose Prakrit grammar is exhaustive and systematic. It is only from the prakrit grammarians that we know the characteristic features of Māgadhi. From Hemacandra onwords we have hosts of prakrit grammarians who are grouped into two as eastern and western, Vararuci being headed for the eastern and Hemacandra for western. Instead of describing their treatises in detail only their names are mentioned below in a tabulated form.
* Lecturer in the Dept. of Prakrit, J.V.B., Ladnutt
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