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| script = [[Brahmi script|Brahmi]], [[Kharoshthi script|Kharoshthi]] | | script = [[Brahmi script|Brahmi]], [[Kharoshthi script|Kharoshthi]] | ||
| map = {{Map of the Edicts of Ashoka}} | | map = {{Map of the Edicts of Ashoka}} | ||
| country = India | |||
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'''Ashokan Prakrit''' (or '''Aśokan Prākṛta''') is the [[Middle Indo-Aryan]] [[dialect continuum]] used in the [[Edicts of Ashoka]], attributed to Emperor [[Ashoka]] of the [[Mauryan Empire]] who reigned {{BCE|268}} to {{BCE|232}}.<ref name="Cardona">{{cite book |title=The Indo-Aryan Languages |editor=[[George Cardona]] |editor2=Dhanesh Jain |chapter=Aśokan Prakrit and Pali |author=Thomas Oberlies |pages=179–224}}</ref> The Edicts are inscriptions on monumental pillars and rocks throughout South Asia that cover Ashoka's conversion to [[Buddhism]] and espouse Buddhist principles (e.g. upholding [[dhamma]] and the practice of non-violence). | '''Ashokan Prakrit''' (or '''Aśokan Prākṛta''') is the [[Middle Indo-Aryan]] [[dialect continuum]] used in the [[Edicts of Ashoka]], attributed to Emperor [[Ashoka]] of the [[Mauryan Empire]] who reigned {{BCE|268}} to {{BCE|232}}.<ref name="Cardona">{{cite book |title=The Indo-Aryan Languages |editor=[[George Cardona]] |editor2=Dhanesh Jain |chapter=Aśokan Prakrit and Pali |author=Thomas Oberlies |pages=179–224}}</ref> The Edicts are inscriptions on monumental pillars and rocks throughout South Asia that cover Ashoka's conversion to [[Buddhism]] and espouse Buddhist principles (e.g. upholding [[dhamma]] and the practice of non-violence). | ||
The Ashokan Prakrit dialects reflected local forms of the Early Middle-Indo-Aryan language. Three dialect areas are represented: Northwestern, Western, and Eastern. The [[Central Indo-Aryan languages|Central]] dialect of Indo-Aryan is | The Ashokan Prakrit dialects reflected local forms of the Early Middle-Indo-Aryan language. Three dialect areas are represented: Northwestern, Western, and Eastern. The [[Central Indo-Aryan languages|Central]] dialect of Indo-Aryan is exceptional ''not'' represented; instead, inscriptions of that area use the Eastern forms. <ref name="Masica">{{cite book|last=Masica|first=Colin|authorlink=Colin Masica|title=The Indo-Aryan Languages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J3RSHWePhXwC|date=1993|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-29944-2}}</ref>{{rp|50}}<ref name="Cardona"/> Ashokan Prakrit is descended from an [[Old Indo-Aryan]] dialect closely related to [[Vedic Sanskrit]], on occasion diverging by preserving archaisms from [[Proto-Indo-Aryan]]. | ||
Ashokan Prakrit is attested in the [[Brahmi script]] and the [[Kharoshthi script]] (only in the Northwest). | Ashokan Prakrit is attested in the [[Brahmi script]] and the [[Kharoshthi script]] (only in the Northwest). | ||
Latest revision as of 22:17, 26 August 2022
| Ashokan Prakrit | |
|---|---|
 Ashokan Prakrit inscribed in the Brahmi script at Sarnath. | |
| Region | South Asia |
| Era | 268—232 BCE |
Indo-European
| |
Early forms | |
| Brahmi, Kharoshthi | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
 Location of the Minor Rock Edicts (Edicts 1, 2 & 3) Other inscriptions often classified as Minor Rock Edicts. Location of the Major Rock Edicts. Location of the Minor Pillar Edicts. Original location of the Major Pillar Edicts. Capital cities | |
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Ashokan Prakrit (or Aśokan Prākṛta) is the Middle Indo-Aryan dialect continuum used in the Edicts of Ashoka, attributed to Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire who reigned 268 BCE to 232 BCE.[1] The Edicts are inscriptions on monumental pillars and rocks throughout South Asia that cover Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism and espouse Buddhist principles (e.g. upholding dhamma and the practice of non-violence).
The Ashokan Prakrit dialects reflected local forms of the Early Middle-Indo-Aryan language. Three dialect areas are represented: Northwestern, Western, and Eastern. The Central dialect of Indo-Aryan is exceptional not represented; instead, inscriptions of that area use the Eastern forms. [2]:50[1] Ashokan Prakrit is descended from an Old Indo-Aryan dialect closely related to Vedic Sanskrit, on occasion diverging by preserving archaisms from Proto-Indo-Aryan.
Ashokan Prakrit is attested in the Brahmi script and the Kharoshthi script (only in the Northwest).
Classification[edit | edit source]
Masica classifies Ashokan Prakrit as an Early Middle-Indo-Aryan language, representing the earliest stage after Old Indo-Aryan in the historical development of Indo-Aryan. Pali and early Jain Ardhamagadhi (but not all of it) also represent this stage.[2]:52
Dialects[edit | edit source]
There are three dialect groups attested in the Ashokan Edicts, based on phonological and grammatical idiosyncrasies which correspond with developments in later Middle Indo-Aryan languages:[3][4][5]
- Western: The inscriptions at Girnar and Sopara, which: prefer r over l; do not merge the nasal consonants (n, ñ, ṇ); merge all sibilants into s; prefer (c)ch as the reflex of the Old Indo-Aryan thorn cluster kṣ; have -o as the nominative singular of masculine a-stems, among other morphological peculiarities. Notably, this dialect corresponds well with Pali, the preferred Middle Indo-Aryan language of Buddhism.[6]:5
- Northwestern: The inscriptions at Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra written in the Kharosthi script: retain etymological r and l as distinct; do not merge the nasals; do not merge the sibilants (s, ś, ṣ); metathesis of liquids in consonant clusters (e.g. Sanskrit dharma > Shahbazgarhi dhrama). These features are shared with the modern Dardic languages.[7]
- Eastern: The standard administrative language, exemplified by the inscriptions at Dhauli and Jaugada and used in the geographical core of the Mauryan Empire: prefer l over r, merge the nasals into n (and geminate ṁn), prefer (k)kh as the reflex of OIA kṣ, have -e as the nominative singular of masculine a-stems, etc. Oberlies suggests that the inscriptions in the Central zone were translated from the "official" administrative forms of the Edicts.
Sample[edit | edit source]
The following is the first sentence of the Major Rock Edict 1, inscribed c. 257 BCE in many locations.[8]
- Girnar:
- Kalsi:
- Shahbazgarhi:
- Mansehra:
- Dhauli:
- Jaugada:
The dialect groups and their differences are apparent: the Northwest retains clusters but does metathesis on liquids (dhrama vs. other dhaṃma) and retains an earlier form dipi "writing" borrowed from Iranian;[9] meanwhile, the l/r distinctions are apparent in the word for "king" (Girnar rāña but Jaugada lājinā).
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Thomas Oberlies. "Aśokan Prakrit and Pali". In George Cardona; Dhanesh Jain (eds.). The Indo-Aryan Languages. pp. 179–224.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Masica, Colin (1993). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-29944-2.
- ↑ Jules Bloch (1950). Les inscriptions d'Aśoka, traduites et commentées par Jules Bloch (in French).
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ↑ Ashwini Deo (2018). "Dialects in the Indo-Aryan landscape". In Charles Boberg; John Nerbonne; Dominic Watt (eds.). The Handbook of Dialectology (PDF). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- ↑ Jain, Danesh; Cardona, George (2007-07-26). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge. p. 165.
- ↑ Norman, Kenneth Roy (1983). Pali Literature. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. pp. 2–3. ISBN 3-447-02285-X.
- ↑ George A. Grierson (1927). "On the Old North-Western Prakrit". The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 4 (4): 849–852. JSTOR 25221256.
- ↑ "2. Girnār, Kālsī, Shāhbāzgaṛhī, Mānsehrā, Dhauli, Jaugaḍa rock edicts (Synoptic, Māgadhī and English)". Bibliotheca Polyglotta. University of Oslo.
- ↑ Hultzsch, E. (1925). Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum v. 1: Inscriptions of Asoka. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. xlii.