Two Prakrit Versions of Manipati Charitra

Author(s): R Williams
Publisher: Royal Asiatic Society

Page 57

44 TWO PRAKRIT VERSIONS OF THE MAŅIPATI-CARITA MPCH 377-8. There are a number of pleonastic formations with the auxiliary: anupavittho santo 496, periyā santī 713, paitthiyā santī MPCH 272, mucchiyā santī MPCH 615; and enlarged stems of the present participle are on the increase : vasantaya 89, vaccantaya 1197, jīvantaya MPCH 210. A turn of phrase which transparently reflects popular language is padiuvayāro kao hoi MPCH 234.
The MPC appears to show a form for the third. sing. present in which -ai has been reduced to -e before tti: pattiyāve 526, vināse 910, uvasame 1045. It is interesting that it regularly uses samatthi for atthi as a simple copula : IO, 134, 642, 853, 977, 1175, 1193. The MPCH has an instance of the first sing. present with the termination of first plural : karimo MPCH 414. Everywhere new denominative formations are on the increase, for example: dhammalābhei MPCH 387, 434, pāņiggāhei 895.
The nominal flexion offers little of interest: confusions of gender are quite common, ablatives in -ă are still fairly frequent, isolated datives (vahāya 295 suhāya 560) occur, and there are numerous instances of accusatives identical in form with the nominative, e.g. khandhāvarā 494, Magahaseņā 738, kaliyā 1056. Foreshadowing later development, symbols of plurality are coming into use : vagga 444, 644, 1261, 1267 and, in effect, oha 6, MPCH 244, 595. In a few cases nouns seem to have retained a verbal rection : e.g. akārago 991.
Classical comparative formations in -tara occur but with intensive force : guhirataram 228, sutthuyaram 330, savisesatara 593, ahiyayaram 1040, gādhayaram MPCH 90, 121. Comparison is expressed as in the modern languages by the positive related to an ablative case : piāim niyaya-jīviyão 51, tumahim suhộiyā 55, niya-tavasā nissäram 186, ko tumāo piyayamo MPCH 345 where the superlative is in fact a strengthened form of piya.
Postpositions or what are virtually postpositions loom large. Some are nouns still inflected : păsa 114, etc., majjha 662, etc., müla 186, etc., uyara '1076, vattha 467; others are used in a fixed case form to indicate purpose : heum 318, etc., atthae MPCH 107, etc., kae 351, etc., kajjena MPCH 90, etc. Some are old adverbial forms: uccam 827, huttam MPCH 136, 205, ako MPCH 233, bāhim MPCH 206,; and certain absolutives are becoming fixed in the same function : muttum 520, 805, uddissa 699. The adjective of relationship or genitival postposition is