Prakrit

2022-05-15T15:32:22Z

182.64.139.23: robot: import pages using Special:Import

{{short description|Group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages of the 3rd century BCE – 8th century CE}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox language family
| name = Prakrit
| map = Word for Prakrit Praakritee in the Mandsaur stone inscription of Yashodharman-Vishnuvardhana 532 CE.jpg
| mapcaption = <center>Word for "Prakrit" (here ''Prā-kṛ-te'') in Late [[Brahmi script]] in the [[Mandsaur stone inscription of Yashodharman-Vishnuvardhana]], 532 CE<ref name=":00"/></center>
| mapsize = 150
| altname =
| region = [[Indian subcontinent]]
| familycolor = Indo-European
| fam2 = [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
| fam3 = [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
| iso2 = pra
| iso5 = pra
| glotto = None
| glotto2 = midd1350
| glottoname2 = Middle Indo-Aryan
| glottoname =
| glottorefname =
| notes =
}}

The '''Prakrits''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|r|ɑː|k|r|ɪ|t}}; [[Brahmi|Early Brahmi]] 𑀧𑁆𑀭𑀸𑀓𑀾𑀢, ''prākṛta'';<ref name=":00"/> [[Devanagari]] {{lang-sa|प्राकृत}}, {{IAST|''prākṛta''}}; {{lang-psu|𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, {{IAST|pāuda}}}}; {{lang-pka|{{IAST|pāua}}}}; [[Kannada]]: ''pāgada''; [[Malayalam]]: ''prākṛtam''; [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and [[Telugu language|Telugu]]: ''pāgadam'') are a group of vernacular [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages]] that were used in the [[Indian subcontinent]] from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE.{{sfn|Richard G. Salomon|1996|p=377}}{{sfn|Alfred C. Woolner|1928|p=235}} The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Indo-Aryan languages, excluding earlier inscriptions and the later [[Pali]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Woolner|first=Alfred C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IwE16UFBfdEC&pg=PA4 |title=Introduction to Prakrit|date=1986|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.|isbn=978-81-208-0189-9|pages=3–4}}</ref>

''Prākṛta'' literally means "natural", as opposed to ''[[saṃskṛta]]'', which literally means "constructed" or "refined".<ref name=":0" /> Prakrits were considered the regional spoken (informal) languages of people, and Sanskrit was considered the standardized (formal) language used for literary, official and religious purposes across Indian kingdoms of the subcontinent. Literary registers of Prakrits were also used contemporaneously (predominantly by [[Sramana]] traditions) alongside [[Classical Sanskrit]] of higher social classes.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Burde|first=Jayant|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xmXclYgJFiIC&pg=PA3 |title=Rituals, Mantras, and Science: An Integral Perspective|date=2004 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishe|isbn=978-81-208-2053-1|pages=3|quote=The Aryans spoke an Indo-European language sometimes called the Vedic language from which have descended Sanskrit and other Indic languages ... Prakrit was a group of variants which developed alongside Sanskrit.}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The dictionary of [[Monier Monier-Williams]] (1819–1899), and other modern authors however, interpret the word in the opposite sense: "the most frequent meanings of the term ''{{IAST|prakṛta}}'', from which the word "prakrit" is derived, are "original, natural, normal" and the term is derived from ''{{IAST|prakṛti}}'', "making or placing before or at first, the original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance".

Most native prākrit grammarians identify prākṛta to be named so because they originate in the source language (prakṛti)

# According to the ''Prākrṭa Prakāśa'', an ancient Prakrit grammar, "Saṃskṛtam is the prakṛti (source) - and the language that originates in, or comes from, that prakṛti, is therefore called prākṛtam."
# Hemacandra (a Jain grammarian of the 10th century who lived in Gujarat) in his grammar of Sanskrit and Prākrit named Siddha-Hema-Śabdanuśāsana, defines prākṛt's origin to be sanskṛt: "prakṛtiḥ saṃskṛtam, tatrabhavaṃ tata āgataṃ vā prākṛtaṃ"<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sanskrit Manuscripts : Śabdānuśāsanalaghuvṛttyavacūri|url=https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-ADD-02318|access-date=2019-07-20|website=Cambridge Digital Library}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Pischel|first=Richard|title=Comparative Grammar of the Prakrit Languages|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1965|location=India|pages=1}}</ref>[Sanskrit is the prakṛti (source) - and Prākṛta is so called because it either 'originates-in' or 'comes-from' Sanskrit.]
# Another prākṛt grammarian, Mārkaṇḍeya, writes in his grammar Prākṛtasarvasva - "prakṛtiḥ saṃskṛtaṃ, tatrabhavaṃ prākṛtam ucyate“ [Sanskrit is called the prakṛti (origin), and from there prākṛtam originates].<ref name=":1" />
# Dhanika, in his 'Daśarūpakāvaloka' commentary on Daśarūpaka (one of the most important treatises explaining the 10 types of Indian Drama), says: "prakṛter āgataṃ prākṛtam, prakṛtiḥ saṃskṛtam" [from the prakṛti (source) comes prākṛtam, and that prakṛti is Sanskrit]<ref name=":1" />
# Siṃhadevagaṇin while commenting on Vāgbhaṭālaṅkāra writes: "prakṛteḥ saṃskrtād āgataṃ prākṛtam" [from Sanskrit (which is the source i.e. Prakṛti) - comes Prākṛt]<ref name=":1" />
# The Prākṛtacandrikā (a grammar of Prākṛt) says: "prakṛtiḥ saṃskṛtaṃ, tatrabhavatvāt prākṛtaṃ smṛtam" [Sanskrit is the prakṛti, it is remembered that prākṛtam originates from that (prakṛti)]<ref name=":1" />
# The Prākṛtaśabdapradīpikā of Narasiṃha says: "prakṛteḥ saṃskṛtāyāstu vikṛtiḥ prākṛtī matā" [Alterations/changes (vikṛti) of the original Sanskrit - is known as Prākṛt]<ref name=":1" />
# The Ṣaḍbhāṣācandrikā of Lakṣmīdhara says the same thing as the above: "prakṛteḥ saṃskṛtāyāstu vikṛtiḥ prākṛtī matā" [Alterations/changes (vikṛti) of the original Sanskrit - is known as Prākṛt]<ref name=":1" />
# Vāsudeva, in his Prākṛtasaṃjīvanī commentary on Rājaśekhara's Karpūramañjarī says: "prākṛtasya tu sarvameva saṃskṛtaṃ yoniḥ" [Sanskrit is the mother of all Prākṛt]<ref name=":1" />
# Nārāyaṇa, in his Rasika-sarvasva commentary on the Gītāgovindam of Jayadeva, says: "saṃskṛtāt prākṛtam iṣṭaṃ tato 'pabhraṃśabhāṣaṇam" [From Sanskrit is derived proper prākṛt, and from that is derived the corrupt-speech i.e. apabhraṃśa]<ref name=":1" />
# Śaṅkara, in his Rasacandrikā commentary on the Abhijñānaśākuntala (play by Kālidāsa) says something slightly different from the above: "saṃskṛtāt prākṛtam śreṣṭhaṃ tato 'pabhraṃśabhāṣaṇam" [From Sanskrit is derived best prākṛt, and from that is derived the corrupt-speech i.e. apabhraṃśa]<ref name=":1" />

== Definition ==
<div style="position:relative; z-index:1; margin:0; padding:0;"></div>
Modern scholars have used the term "Prakrit" to refer to two concepts:{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=11}}

*Prakrit languages: a group of closely related literary languages
* the Prakrit language: one of the Prakrit languages, which alone was used as the primary language of entire poems

Some modern scholars include all [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages]] under the rubric of 'Prakrits', while others emphasize the independent development of these languages, often separated from the history of [[Sanskrit]] by wide divisions of [[caste]], [[religion]], and [[geography]].{{sfn|Madhav Deshpande|1993|p=33}}

The broadest definition uses the term "Prakrit" to describe any Middle Indo-Aryan language that deviates from Sanskrit in any manner.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=12}} American scholar Andrew Ollett points out that this unsatisfactory definition makes "Prakrit" a cover term for languages that were not actually called Prakrit in ancient India, such as:{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=13}}

* [[Ashokan Prakrit]]: the language of [[Ashoka]]'s inscriptions
* the language of later inscriptions of India, labeled "Monumental Prakrit", "Lena Prakrit", or "Stupa dialect"
* the language of inscriptions of Sri Lanka, labeled "[[Elu|Sinhalese Prakrit]]"
* [[Pali]], the language of the Theravada Buddhist canon
* the [[Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit]]
* [[Gāndhārī language|Gandhari]], the language of birch-bark scrolls discovered in the region stretching from northwestern Pakistan to western China.

According to some scholars, such as German Indologists [[Richard Pischel]] and [[Oskar von Hinüber]], the term "Prakrit" refers to a smaller set of languages that were used exclusively in literature:{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=13}}

* [[Dramatic Prakrit|Scenic Prakrits]]
** These languages are used exclusively in plays, as secondary languages
** Their names indicate regional association (e.g. [[Shauraseni language|Shauraseni]], [[Magadhi Prakrit|Magadhi]], and Avanti), although these associations are mostly notional
* Primary Prakrits
** These languages are used as primary languages of literary classics such as ''[[Gaha Sattasai]]''
** This includes the [[Maharashtri Prakrit]] or "Prakrit ''par excellence''", which according to [[Daṇḍin|Dandin]]'s ''[[Kavyadarsha|Kavya-darsha]]'', was prevalent in the Maharashtra region, and in which poems such as ''Ravana-vaho'' (or ''Setubandha'') were composed.

According to Sanskrit and Prakrit scholar [[Sh. Shreyansh Kumar Jain Shastri]] and [[A. C. Woolner]], the [[Ardhamagadhi]] (or simply [[Magadhi Prakrit|Magadhi]]) Prakrit, which was used extensively to write the scriptures of [[Jainism]], is often considered to be the definitive form of Prakrit, while others are considered variants of it. Prakrit grammarians would give the full grammar of Ardhamagadhi first, and then define the other grammars with relation to it. For this reason, courses teaching 'Prakrit' are often regarded as teaching Ardhamagadhi.{{sfn|Alfred C. Woolner|1928|p=6}}

== Grammar ==

Medieval grammarians such as Markandeya (late 16th century) describe a highly systematized Prakrit grammar, but the surviving Prakrit texts do not adhere to this grammar.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=18}} For example, according to Vishvanatha (14th century), in a Sanskrit drama, the characters should speak Maharashtri Prakrit in verse and Shauraseni Prakrit in prose. But the 10th century Sanskrit dramatist [[Rajashekhara (Sanskrit poet)|Rajashekhara]] does not abide by this rule. Markandeya, as well as later scholars such as Sten Konow, find faults with the Prakrit portions of Rajashekhara's writings, but it is not clear if the rule enunciated by Vishvanatha existed during Rajashekhara's time. Rajashekhara himself imagines Prakrit as a single language or a single kind of language, alongside Sanskrit, Apabhramsha, and [[Paishachi]].{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=19}}

German Indologist Theodor Bloch (1894) dismissed the medieval Prakrit grammarians as unreliable, arguing that they were not qualified to describe the language of the texts composed centuries before them.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=18}} Other scholars such as [[Sten Konow]], [[Richard Pischel]] and [[Alfred Hillebrandt]] disagree with Bloch.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|pp=18-19}} It is possible that the grammarians sought to codify only the language of the earliest classics of the Prakrit literature, such as the ''Gaha Sattasai''.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=19}} Another explanation is that the extant Prakrit manuscripts contain scribal errors. Most of the surviving Prakrit manuscripts were produced in a variety of regional scripts during 1300–1800 CE. It appears that the scribes who made these copies from the earlier manuscripts did not have a good command of the original language of the texts, as several of the extant Prakrit texts contain inaccuracies or are incomprehensible.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=18}}

Also, like Sanskrit and other ancient languages Prakrit was spoken and written long before grammars were written for it. The Vedas do not follow Panini's Sanskrit grammar which is now the basis for all Sanskrit grammar. Similarly, the Agamas, and texts like [[Shatkhandagama]], do not follow the modern Prakrit grammar.{{sfn|Muni Pranamyasagar|2017|p={{pn|date=November 2021}}}}

Prakrita Prakasha, a book attributed to [[Vararuchi]], summarizes various Prakrit languages.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/PrakritaPrakashaOfVararuchiDr.P.L.Vaidya_201806|title=Prakrita Prakasha of Vararuchi Dr. P. L. Vaidya|last=Dr. Narinder Sharma|language=sa}}</ref>

== Prevalence ==

Prakrit literature was produced across a wide area of South Asia, from [[Kashmir]] in the north to [[Tamil Nadu]] in the south, and from [[Sindh]] in the west to [[Bengal]] in the east. Outside India, the language was also known in Cambodia and Java.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=9}}

Prakrit is often wrongly assumed to have been a language (or languages) spoken by the common people, because it is different from Sanskrit, which is the predominant language of the ancient Indian literature.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=21}} Several modern scholars, such as [[George Abraham Grierson]] and [[Richard Pischel]], have asserted that the literary Prakrit does not represent the actual languages spoken by the common people of ancient India.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|pp=20-21}} This theory is corroborated by a market scene in Uddyotana's ''Kuvalaya-mala'' (779 CE), in which the narrator speaks a few words in 18 different languages: some of these languages sound similar to the languages spoken in modern India; but none of them resemble the language that Uddyotana identifies as "Prakrit" and uses for narration throughout the text.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=21}}

== Literature ==
[[File:Suryaprajnapati Sutra.jpg|thumb|right|350px|The Sūryaprajñaptisūtra, an astronomical work written in Jain Prakrit language (in [[Devanagari]] book script), {{circa|1500}}]]
Literary Prakrit was among the main languages of the classical Indian culture.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=6}} [[Daṇḍin|Dandin]]'s ''[[Kavyadarsha|Kavya-darsha]]'' (c. 700) mentions four kinds of literary languages: Sanskrit, Prakrit, [[Apabhramsha]], and mixed.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=4}} [[Bhoja]]'s ''[[Sarasvati-Kanthabharana]]'' (11th century) lists Prakrit among the few languages suitable for composition of literature.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=6}} [[Mirza Khan]]'s ''Tuhfat al-hind'' (1676) names Prakrit among the three kinds of literary languages native to India, the other two being Sanskrit and the vernacular languages. It describes Prakrit as a mixture of Sanskrit and vernacular languages, and adds that Prakrit was "mostly employed in the praise of kings, ministers, and chiefs".{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=1}}

During a large period of the first millennium, literary Prakrit was the preferred language for the fictional romance in India. Its use as a language of systematic knowledge was limited, because of Sanskrit's dominance in this area, but nevertheless, Prakrit texts exist on topics such as grammar, [[lexicography]], metrics, alchemy, medicine, [[divination]], and [[gemology]].{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=8}} In addition, the [[Jainism|Jains]] used Prakrit for religious literature, including commentaries on the Jain canonical literature, stories about Jain figures, moral stories, hymns and expositions of Jain doctrine.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|pp=8-9}} Prakrit is also the language of some [[Shaiva]] ''tantras'' and [[Vaishnava]] hymns.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=9}}

Besides being the primary language of several texts, Prakrit also features as the language of low-class men and most women in the [[Indian classical drama|Sanskrit stage plays]].{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=7}} American scholar Andrew Ollett traces the origin of the Sanskrit [[Kāvya|Kavya]] to Prakrit poems.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=15}}

Some of the texts that identify their language as Prakrit include:

* [[Hāla]]'s ''[[Gaha Sattasai]]'' (c. 1st or 2nd century), anthology of single verse poems{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=7}}
* [[Anandavardhana|Ananda-vardhana]]'s now-lost ''God of Five Arrows at Play'', poem{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=7}}
* [[Sarvasena]]'s ''Hari-vijaya'' (late 4th century), epic{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=8}}
* [[Pravarasena II]]'s ''Ravana-vaho'' (early 5th century), epic{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=8}}
* Palitta's ''Tarangavati'' (probably 1st or 2nd century), fictional romance{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=8}}
* Palitta's ''Brilliance of the Connoisseurs''{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=10}}
* Haribhadra's ''Samaraditya-charitra'' (c. 8th century), fictional romance{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=8}}
* Uddyotana's ''Kuvalaya-mala'' (779 CE), fictional romance{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|pp=8, 21}}
* Kautuhala's ''Lilavati'' or Kouhala's ''Lilavai'' (c. 8th century), fictional romance{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=8}}
* Madhuka's ''Hara's Belt'' (10th century), a compendium covering a wide range of topics, such as casting love spells and treating [[snakebite]]s
* Jineshvara's ''Treasury of Gatha-Jewels'' (1194), anthology of verses{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=9}}
* Addahamana's ''Sandesha-rasaka'' (13th century), a [[message poem]]; the author states that his family came from "the land of the Muslims", which suggests that Addahamana is the Prakrit variant of 'Abd ur-Rahman.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=9}}

Some 19th-20th century European scholars, such as [[Hermann Jacobi]] and [[Ernst Leumann]], made a distinction between [[Jainism|Jain]] and non-Jain Prakrit literature. Jacobi used the term "Jain Prakrit" (or "Jain Maharashtri", as he called it) to denote the language of relatively late and relatively more Sanskrit-influenced narrative literature, as opposed to the earlier Prakrit court poetry. Later scholars used the term "Jain Prakrit" for any variety of Prakrit used by Jain authors, including the one used in early texts such as ''Tarangavati'' and ''Vasudeva-Hindi'' (''Wanderings of Vasudeva''). However, the works written by Jain authors do not necessarily belong to an exclusively Jain history, and do not show any specific literary features resulting from their belief in Jainism. Therefore, the division of Prakrit literature into Jain and non-Jain categories is no longer considered tenable.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=54}}

==List of Prakrits==

The languages that have been labeled "Prakrit" in modern times include the following:

{{columns-list |colwidth=20em |
* [[Apabhraṃśa]]
* [[Ardhamagadhi Prakrit|Ardhamagadhi]]
* [[Dramili Prakrit|Dramili]]
* [[Elu]]
* [[Gandhari Prakrit|Gandhari]]
* [[Kamarupi Prakrit|Kamarupi]]
* [[Magadhi Prakrit|Magadhi]]
* [[Maharashtri Prakrit|Maharashtri]]
* [[Paishachi]]
* [[Pali]]
* [[Shauraseni Prakrit|Shauraseni]]
}}

Not all of these languages were actually called "Prakrit" in the ancient period.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=13}}

===Dramatic Prakrits===

{{main|Dramatic Prakrit}}

Dramatic Prakrits were those that were used in dramas and other literature. Whenever dialogue was written in a Prakrit, the reader would also be provided with a Sanskrit translation.

The phrase "Dramatic Prakrits" often refers to three most prominent of them: [[Shauraseni Prakrit]], [[Magadhi Prakrit]], and [[Maharashtri Prakrit]]. However, there were a slew of other less commonly used Prakrits that also fall into this category. These include Prachya, Bahliki, Dakshinatya, Shakari, Chandali, Shabari, Abhiri, Dramili, and Odri. There was a strict structure to the use of these different Prakrits in dramas. Characters each spoke a different Prakrit based on their role and background; for example, Dramili was the language of "forest-dwellers", Sauraseni was spoken by "the heroine and her female friends", and Avanti was spoken by "cheats and rogues".{{sfn|Satya Ranjan Banerjee|1977|pp=19-21}} Maharashtri and Shaurseni Prakrit were more common and were used in literature extensively.

== Status ==

Prakrit languages are said to have held a lower social status than [[Sanskrit]] in ancient India. In the [[Indian classical drama|Sanskrit stage plays]], such as [[Kalidasa]]'s ''[[Shakuntala (play)|Shakuntala]]'', lead characters typically speak Sanskrit, while the unimportant characters and most female characters typically speak Prakrit.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=7}}

Mirza Khan's ''Tuhfat al-hind'' (1676) characterizes Prakrit as the language of "the lowest of the low", stating that the language was known as ''Patal-bani'' ("Language of the underground") or ''Nag-bani'' ("Language of the snakes").{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=1}} The 16th-century ''[[Ain-e-Akbari]]'' relates that Akbar was illiterate due to his father's exile and prolonged wars; therefore he spoke a broken language which cannot be termed as "higher status language."{{clarify|date=July 2021}}

Under the Mauryan Empire various Prakrits enjoyed the status of regal language. Pali was the language of [[Emperor Ashoka]] who was patron of Buddhism.{{sfn|Richard G. Salomon|1996|p=377}}

While Prakrits were originally seen as 'lower' forms of language, the influence they had on Sanskrit - allowing it to be more easily used by the common people - as well as the converse influence of [[Sanskrit]] on the Prakrits, gave Prakrits progressively higher cultural cachet.{{sfn|Madhav Deshpande|1993|p=35}}

Among modern scholars, Prakrit literature has received less attention than Sanskrit. Few modern Prakrit texts have survived in modern times, and even fewer have been published or attracted critical scholarship. Prakrit has not been designated as a classical language by the Government of India, although the earliest Prakrit texts are older than literature of most of the languages designated as such. One of the reasons behind this neglect of Prakrit is that it is not tied to a regional, national, ethnic, or religious identity.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=10}}

== Research institutes ==

In 1955, government of [[Bihar]] established at [[Vaishali district|Vaishali]], the [[Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology and Ahimsa]] with the aim to promote research work in Prakrit.{{sfn|Muni Pranamyasagar|2013|p=198}}

The [[National Institute of Prakrit Study and Research]] is located in [[Shravanabelagola]], Karnataka, India.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Centre for Studies in Prakrit & Pali – Institute of Jainology |url=https://www.jainology.org/centre-studies-in-prakrit-and-pali/ |access-date=2021-06-05}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=":00">{{cite book |last1=Fleet |first1=John Faithfull |title=Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol 3 (1970) ac 4616 |date=1907 |page=153, Line 14 of the inscription |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.358795/2015.358795.Corpus-Inscriptionum#page/n373/mode/2up}}</ref>
}}

=== Bibliography ===

{{ref begin}}
* {{cite book |author=Alfred C. Woolner |title=Introduction to Prakrit |edition=2 (reprint) |year=1928 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |location=Delhi |isbn=978-81-208-0189-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontopr00woolrich |access-date=17 March 2011 }}
* {{cite book |author=Andrew Ollett |title=Language of the Snakes: Prakrit, Sanskrit, and the Language Order of Premodern India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aNA1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PP1 |year=2017 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-29622-0 }}
* {{cite book |author=Madhav Deshpande |title=Sanskrit & Prakrit, Sociolinguistic Issues |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NDrqaELkKTEC&pg=PP1 |year=1993 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1136-2 }}
* {{cite book |author=Richard G. Salomon |chapter=Brahmi and Kharoshthi |editor1=Peter T. Daniels |editor2=William Bright |title=The World's Writing Systems |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ospMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA377 |year=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-507993-7 }}
* {{cite book |author=Satya Ranjan Banerjee |title=The Eastern School of Prakrit Grammarians: A Linguistic Study |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mhEKAQAAIAAJ |year=1977 |publisher=Vidyasagar Pustak Mandir }}
* {{cite book |author=Muni Pranamyasagar|title=Tirthankar Bhāvna|date=2013|publisher=Prakrit Jainology and Ahimsa Research Institute|location=Vaishali|isbn=978-93-81403-10-5}}{{verification needed|date=November 2021 |reason=ISBN not found.}}
* {{cite book |author=Muni Pranamyasagar |title=Paiya Shikha: A Learning book to Prakrit |url=https://pranamyasagar.org/books/pdf/Paiya-Shika-Part-1.pdf | year=2017 |location=Rewari, Haryana}}
{{ref end}}

== Further reading ==
{{EB1911 Poster|Prakrit}}
* Pischel, R. ''Grammar of the Prakrit Languages''. New York: Motilal Books, 1999.

{{Old and Middle Indo-Aryan}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Languages of India]]
[[Category:Languages attested from the 3rd century BC]]
[[Category:Formal languages used for Indian scriptures]]

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Prakrit