Prakrit (also spelt Pracrit) (Sanskrit: prākṛta
प्राकृत (from pra-kṛti प्रकृति), "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", i.e. "vernacular", in contrast to saṃskṛtā "excellently made", both adjectives elliptically referring to vāk "speech") refers to the broad family of the
Indic languages and dialects
spoken in ancient India. The Prakrits became literary languages, generally patronized by kings
identified with the Kshatriya caste, but were regarded as illegitimate by the Brahmin orthodoxy. The earliest extant use of Prakrit are the inscriptions of Asoka, emperor of Northern India, and while the various Prakrit languages are associated with different
patron dynasties, with different religions and different literary traditions, none of them were at any time an informal "mother
tongue" in any area of India.
Forms of Prakrit
Prakrit is foremost a native term, designating "vernaculars" as opposed to Sanskrit. Some modern scholars follow this
classification by including all Middle Indo-Aryan languages under the rubric
of "Prakrits", while others emphasise the independent development of these languages, often separated from the history of
Sanskrit by wide divisions of caste, religion, and
geography.
The three Dramatic Prakrits - Sauraseni,
Magadhi, Maharashtri, as well as Jain Prakrit each represent a distinct tradition of literature within the history of India. Other Prakrits
are reported in historical sources, but are no longer spoken (e.g., Paisaci).
Ardhamagadhi ("half Magadhi"), an archaic form of Magadhi which was used extensively to
write Jain scriptures, is often considered to be the definitive form of Prakrit, while others are considered variants. For this
reason, courses teaching "Prakrit" often teach Ardhamagadhi.
Pali (the language of Theravada Buddhism) tends to be treated as a special exception, as classical (Sanskrit) grammars do not consider it as a
Prakrit per se, presumably for sectarian rather than linguistic reasons.
Etymology
According to the dictionary of Monier Monier-Williams, the most frequent
meanings of the Sanskrit term prakṛta, from which our "prakrit" is derived, are "original,
natural, normal" and the term is derived from prakṛti, "making or placing before or at first, the
original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance". In linguistic terms, this is used in contrast
with saṃskṛta, "refined".
Traditional accounts
Virtually every Sanskrit student is taught that refinement of Sanskrit (to reverse much of
middle-Indic influence from the standard language) was a process spanning many generations (traditionally more than a thousand
years) until it was considered complete and perfect.
Some scholars restrict the Prakrits to the languages used by Hindu and Jain writers; others include the Buddhist languages, such as Pali and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, and the inscriptional Prakrits. Other Prakrits include the
Gāndhārī, and Paisāci, which is known through grammarians' statements. The modern
languages of India developed from the Prakrits, after the intermediary stage of the Apabhramsa
language.
External links
Bibliography
- Pischel, Prakrit Grammar
- Woolner, Introduction to Prakrit
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