In morphology the inflection is character ized especially by the growth of a-stems at the expense of the r- and consonant sterns, as San skrit pitar. 'father,' but Prakrit piara, Sanskrit karman, 'deed,' Prakrit kamma. The old dual is lost excepting in do, dure, be, 'two:' and the genitive assumes the functions of the dative. The pronominal declension is to a very large extent influenced by the nominal. while in all periods of Sanskrit the two systems are kept distinct. In conjugation there is hut one sys tem, apart from some scattered forms, as con trasted with the nine present formations in San skrit. Verbs are, therefore, conjugated accord ing to the Sanskrit a-elass, as Sanskrit rartati, 'turns,' Prakrit rattai. Excepting the past participle. the middle voice has almost disap peared. The tense system is extremely meagre, consisting only of present and future. Of the imperfect, aorist, and perfect some sporadic ex amples have survived. These tenses are regularly formed in Prakrit by 7,1117 and as, to be.' with participles, as gad (Mill, is gone,' Sanskrit hugania (classical Sanskrit also gatd 'sit). The moods are the indicative, optative, and impera tive, but the subjunctive, as in classical Sanskrit, is lost. As is natural, the dialects differ much from each other in regard to inflection and fre quency of forms. Thus the ending of the second person plural present indicative (-ilia ill San skrit) is -ha in Mallarashtri, Jaina Maharashtri, and Ardhamagadhi, -dha in tiauraseni and Ma gadhi. -her in Apabliraiha ; the optative is very common in Ardhamagadhi and Jaina Maharash tri, comparatively rare in Maharashtri, and al most never found in the other dialects. As an example of the difference between Prakrit and Sanskrit a stanza. in the Maharashtri dialect from the poet Hala may be cited: Since the Prakrit forms in the literature have been corrupted in countless instances by ignorant or pedantic scribes, the most trustworthy sources are the native grammarians, especially Hema candra (edited and translated by Pischel, 1S77-80), the most complete, although rather late, dating about the twelfth century, Vararuei (edited and translated by Cowell, London, 1868, again edited by Tailanga, Penares, 1899), the earliest, and Ganda (edited by hoer/Ile, Calcutta, ISSO). The Apabliratiga is treated in the Pra hrtupigalasirtra, edited with Lakshminathabhat ta's commentary by Sivadatta and Parab (Bom bay, 1894). There are also several gramma rians whose works exist only in manuscript. and a lexicon by Dhainapala, entitled /•xJigalacvhi Nirmautirlrr (edited by Bhhler in vol. iv. of Bezzenberger's Beitriigc cur Kundc dcr indoger manischen Sprachen. ISIS). The
literature proper is quite extensive. It includes not only parts of the Sanskrit drama as well as the Jaina texts already mentioned, but also epic and lyric poetry. The former class is represented by two lfaharaslitri poems. Of these the first is the Saubandha, or Building of the Bridge, also called Rarayaralia, or Death of Ravana, by an unknown author, but frequently erroneously attributed to Kalidasa (q.v.). It was known as early as the seventh century, and deals, as its name implies, with the Rama cycle. (See \ A.) It has been edited and trans lated by Coldschmidt (Strassburg. 1880-83) and edited with Ramadasa's commentary by Siva datta and Parab (Bombay, 18951. The second epic is the Gaiidaraha, an historical poem by Bappairra (Sanskrit about the beginning of the eighth century. It has been edited with Haripala's commentary and an in dex by Pandit (Bombay, BST). The lyric is represented by the Sattasai, or Seven Centuries, by Hala who lived probably between the third and seventh centuries, at any rate before 1000. This collection of lyrics, many of which are of much beauty, has been edited and translated by «•eber (Leipzig, ISS1) and again edited with Canrradharabliatta's commentary by Durgaprasad and Parab (Bombay, ISS9). In the drama we have the Karpiiramaiijari of Pajasekhara edited with Vasudeva's commentary by the same scholars (ib., ISS7) and again edited with a nme4erly English translation by Konow and Lanman (Cambridge, Mass., 1901). Other works were composed in Prakrit, such as the BrhatkathR, or Great Story, of Cnnadliya, now lost, which formed the basis off Somadeva's Kathasaritsugara, and was written in Pais= dialect, while the Gitagorinda of Jayadeva (q.v.) was apparently adapted from all Apabliraliga original.
Consult: Hoefer, Dc Prakrita Dialecto (Berlin, 1836) ; Lassen, Institutiones Lingua' Praeritiecc (Bonn, 1S37) ; Delius, Radices Pr•eerhffea• (ib., 1839) ; Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, vol (3d ed., London. 1874) ; Cowell. Short Introduc tion to the Ordinary Pr,L•rit of the Sanskrit Dramas (ib.. 1875); Rishikesh Sastri, Prakrita Grammar (Calcutta, 1883) : Lal Chandra, Pea krit Grammar (Bemires, 1901) ; Pischel, Gram matik der Prakrit-Spraehen (Strassburg, 1900); Hoernle, "Sketch of the History of Prakrit Phi lology," in Calcutta Review, vol. lxxi. (Calcutta, 1880) ; Haag,Vergleiehung des Prakrit mit den romanisehen 8ja•achen (Berlin, ISO) ; Cray, In do-Iranian. Phonology (New York, 1901) ; Jacobi, usgemiihlte Erziifilumlgen in Abiluirtislitri (Leip zig, ISS6).