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Vol. XVI, No. 2
grammarians are not very clear. There are two schools of prakrit grammarians-Eastern and western. Hemacandra (=Hc.), Trivikrama (=Tv.), Lakşmidhara (=LD.) and Simharaja (=SR) belong to the western School and Vararuci (=Vr.), Purusottama (=Pu.) Kramadiśvara (=KI), Rama Trakavāgīša (=RT.) and Mārkaṇḍeya (=Mk.) belong to the Eastern School. The western prakrit grammarians have not made any sutra on the pronunciation of Magadhi palatals. It is only the eastern Prakrit grammarians who have discussed the problem at great length. Even the pattern of formulating the sutras of eastern Prakrit grammarians are not exactly the same, though they all have tried to indicate the same type of phenomenon Before discussing the problem, let us give first, the sutras of all these grammarians concerning the problem :
(i) Vr.
(ii) Pu. (iii) Ki.
(iv) RT.
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cavargasya spaṣṭată tathoccaraṇaḥ (XI 5). cuḥ spasta-talavyah (XII. 13).
ya-pa (ra)-cavarga yuktā managuccāryāḥ (V.85). cavargakāṇām upari prayojyo
yukteşu cantaḥstha yakāra eva (2.2.18). cajayor-upari yaḥ syat (V. 21).
(v) Mk
Let us first discuss the views of Vararuci. The meaning of the sūtra of Vararuci as Bhamaha interprets it is ca-varga yatha spaṣṭa tatho ccārano-bhavati meaning there by that c, ch, j, jh and ñ are so pronounced as to be clear. The sutra as it is printed in Cowell's edition seems to be corrupt and Cowell did not take any note of the emendation of this sutra as done by Lassen some nearly 20 years ago before Cowell. Lassen in his book Institutiones Linguae Pracriticae, 1837, emended the reading spaṣṭatā as aspaṣṭată meaning 'not clear'. Probably Lassen wanted to mean that the pronunciation of c-varga is not clear in Māgadhi. But even then whether the reading is spaşṭatā or aspaṣṭată, Cowell thinks that the meaning of the sutra is not clear. He says, 'this sūtra of Vararuci is very unintelligible, as it stands in the manuscripts with spaṣṭata and Lassen's conjecture of aspaşţată does not seem satisfactory'. As both the readings are not very clear, Cowell suggests that the reading aspṛṣṭată could be accepted in place of aspaṣṭată and with this emended reading, Cowell translates the sūtra thus, 'the palatal letters are pronounced with but a very slight contact of the tongue with the roof of the mouth. The abhyantara prayatna or internal effort in the utterence of the palatals, is properly sprṣṭa, because the organs of utterence are in contact'. However, whatever may be the readings spaṣṭatā, aspaṣṭată or aspṛṣṭatā, it is clear that the intended meaning of the sutra is not really very intelli
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