Prakrit Languages

Maharastri is the Prakrit best known to us. It early obtained literary pre-eminence, was the subject of long treatises by native grammarians, and became the language of lyric poetry and of the formal epic (kavya). Dramatic works have been written in it, and it was also the vehicle of many later scriptures of the Jaina religion. The older Jaina writings were composed in Ardhama gadhi. The Magadhi we have brief accounts by native gram marians and short sentences scattered through the plays. Saura sent is the usual prose dialect of the plays, and is also employed for the sacred writings of one of the Jaina sects.

The following is a list of the Indo-Aryan vernaculars, showing, when known, the names of the Apabltraiii.fas from which they are sprung:— Language.—Originally real vernaculars with tendencies towards certain phonetic changes, the dialects were taken in hand by grammatical systematizers.

Subsequent writers followed these rules and not the living speech, even though they were writing in what was meant to be a vernacular. Moreover, at an early date, the Prakrits, qua literary languages, began to lose their characteristics as local forms of speech. A writer composed in Maharastri because it was the particular Prakrit employed for lyrics and in formal epics. In dramatic literature, Sauraseni and Magadhi were put into the mouths of characters in particular walks in life, whatever the nationality of the dramatist might have been.

(Contractions : Skr. = Sanskrit. Pr. = Prakrit. S. = Sauraseni. Mg.= Magadhi. AMg.=Ardhamagadhl. M.=Maharastri. Ap.= Nagara Apabhrarliga.) Vocabulary.—The vocabulary of S. is to all intents and pur poses the same as that of Skr. In the languages of the Outer Band there are numerous provincial words (deg. or deAya), the originals of which belonged to Primary Prakrits other than those of the Midland. In the Outer Band there is also a rich variety of grammatical forms, many of which are found in the Veda and not in classical Sanskrit, and some which cannot be traced to any known Primary Prakrit form, but which must have existed in that stage and preceding it, far back into ancient Indo European times.

An elaborate system of phonetics was developed by the gram marians. They are of interest as showing the tendencies at work and bring out especially in the case of compound consonants the substitution, mainly by a process of assimilation, of a slurred for a distinct pronunciation.

Declension.

Pr. has preserved the three genders of Skr., but has lost the dual number. As a rule, the gender of a noun follows that of the Skr. original, though in AMg. there is already a ten dency to substitute the masculine for the neuter, and in Ap. these two genders are frequently confused, if the distinction is not altogether neglected. In the formation of cases, the phonetic rules just given are fully applied, but there are also other devia tions from the Skr. original. The consonantal stems of Skr. declension are frequently given vocalic endings, and there is a general tendency to assimilate their declension to that of a-bases, which is helped by the free use of pleonastic suffixes ending in a, which are added to the base without affecting its meaning. Of these the most common are -ka-, -4-, and -alla-, -ilia- or The first of these was also very common in Skr., but its use was much extended in Pr. In accordance with the general rule, the k is liable to elision. It may even be doubled. -Da- is confined to Ap., and may be used alone or together with the other two. 41la- is most common in the Outer languages, and especially so in AMg. and M.

All the Skr. cases are preserved except the dative which has altogether disappeared in the Midland, but has survived in the singular number in the Outer languages. Everywhere the genitive can be employed in its place. Most of the case-f orms are derived from Sanskrit according to the phonetic rules, but Ap. has a number of dialectic forms which cannot be referred to that lan guage (cf. the remarks above about -hi= On . It also rarely dis tinguishes between the nominative and the accusative.

The declension of neuter a-bases closely resembles the above, differing only in the nominative and accusative singular and plural. Ap. has almost lost the neuter termination in the singular. Feminine a-stems are declined on the same lines, but the cases have run more into each other, the instrumental, genitive and locative singular being identical in form. Very similarly are de clined the bases ending in other vowels. The few still ending in consonants and which have not become merged in the a-declen sion, present numerous apparent irregularities.