Dramatic Prakrit

From Bharatpedia, an open encyclopedia
Information red.svg
Scan the QR code to donate via UPI
Dear reader, We need your support to keep the flame of knowledge burning bright! Our hosting server bill is due on June 1st, and without your help, Bharatpedia faces the risk of shutdown. We've come a long way together in exploring and celebrating our rich heritage. Now, let's unite to ensure Bharatpedia continues to be a beacon of knowledge for generations to come. Every contribution, big or small, makes a difference. Together, let's preserve and share the essence of Bharat.

Thank you for being part of the Bharatpedia family!
Please scan the QR code on the right to donate.

0%

   

transparency: ₹0 raised out of ₹100,000 (0 supporter)


Dramatic Prakrits were those standard forms of Prakrit dialects that were used in dramas and other literature in medieval India. They may have once been spoken languages or were based on spoken languages, but continued to be used as literary languages long after they ceased to be spoken.[1] Dramatic Prakrits are important for the study of the development of Indo-Aryan languages, because their usage in plays and literature is always accompanied by a translation in Sanskrit.[2]

Dialects[edit]

The phrase "Dramatic Prakrits" often refers to the three most prominent of them, Shauraseni, Magadhi and Maharashtri Prakrits. However, there were a slew of other less commonly used Prakrits that also fall into this category. These include Prācya, Bahliki, Dakshinatya, Sakari, Candali, Sabari, Abhiri, Dramili, and Odri. There was an astoundingly 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", Shauraseni was spoken by "the heroine and her female friends", and Avanti was spoken by "cheats and rogues".[3] The prakrits varied in intelligibility with Shauraseni being most similar to classical Sanskrit[4] while Magadhi Prakrit being most similar to classical Pali.

Maharashtri, the root of modern Marathi, is a particularly interesting case. Maharashtri was often used for poetry and as such, diverged from proper Sanskrit grammar mainly to fit the language to the meter of different styles of poetry. The new grammar stuck, which leads to the unique flexibility of vowels lengths, amongst other anomalies, in Marathi.[5]

The three principal Dramatic Prakrits and some of their descendant languages:

Maharashtri
Maharashtri was used in the southwestern regions of ancient India, later evolving into the Southern Indo-Aryan languages, including Marathi and Konkani.
Shauraseni
Shauraseni was used in north-central India, later evolving into the Hindi languages, viz. the varieties of Hindi, the Central Zone of modern Indic, including Hindustani and Punjabi.
Magadhi
Magadhi was used in eastern India, later evolving into the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, including Sylheti, Bengali, Assamese, Odia, and the Bihari languages (Bhojpuri, Magahi, Maithili), among others.

References[edit]

  • Woolner, Alfred C. Introduction to Prakrit. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, India, 1999.
  • Banerjee, Satya Ranjan. The Eastern School of Prakrit Grammarians : a linguistic study. Calcutta: Vidyasagar Pustak Mandir, 1977.

Notes[edit]

  1. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Sanskrit" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 172. As regards these dialectic varieties...
  2. Woolner, pg. v.
  3. Banerjee, pg. 19-21
  4. https://archive.org/details/introductiontopr00woolrich
  5. Deshpande, pg. 36-37

See also[edit]