Vajjalaggam

Author(s): M V Patwardhan
Publisher: Prakrit Text Society

Page 35

Xxxiv
VAJJALAGGAM
mentaries on Svetāmbara canonical works), Paümacariya and Vasudevahiņdi represent the oldest or archaic phase and the Samaräiccakahā of Haribhadra represents the classical stage. It shows, however, a number of traits peculiar to Apabhramśa, a fact which did not escape the notice of the commentator Ratnadeva, who says in the course of his comment on st. 75, regarding what he considers to be the use of the neuter word rayana (=raina) in the masculine gender ( rayaņā, Nominative plural form) :
अयं ग्रन्थः प्रायेणापभ्रंशभाषानुसारी । अत एवापभ्रंशभाषायां कचित् नपुंसकेऽपि पुंस्वम् ।
In his commentary on st. 131, while accounting for the Genitive singular form हरह, Ratnadeva says : अत्र हरह इति अपभ्रंशे षष्ठ्याः स्थाने
Pa ETL, implying thereby that the VL is under the influence of Apabhramśa. Apart from these two places Ratnadeva nowhere makes any mention of Apabhramśa influence on the language of the VL. There are, however, quite a number of places in this anthology where we see unmistakably the influence of Apabhramśa. We may therefore very well describe the language of the VL as Jaina Māhārāştri with a mixture of a good many Apabhramsa traits. Jacobi (Bhavisattakahā, Introduction, p. 61* says that Apabhramba has exercised on the language of the VL a far greater influence than on the language of Paūmacariya, and this shows that the VL as a whole represents a later phase than the Paümacariya in the development of the Präkrit language. According to Dr. Ghatage (loc. cit. p. 63), the influence of Apabhram. sa on the language of the VL"originates from the spoken languages (in all probability the mother-tongues of the writers)" which were closely related to Apabhramśa, and also from "the literary Apabhramba, with which the writers were thoroughly acquainted "l
1. Even Hemacandra scems to have noticed this tendency of the later phases of the Prākrit language to incorporate occasionally Apabhramba traits. Under HS. VIII.4.447 (79448) he says : प्राकृतादिभाषालक्षणानां यत्ययश्च भवति, which provides among other things for the occasional incorporation of Apabhramśa traits in Prakrit.