Magadhi Prakrit
Magadhi Prakrit (Māgadhī) is of one of the three Dramatic Prakrits, the written languages of Ancient India following the decline of Pali and Sanskrit. It was a vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan language, replacing earlier Vedic Sanskrit.[2] Magadhi Prakrit was spoken in the eastern Indian subcontinent, in a region spanning what is now eastern India, Bangladesh and Nepal. It was spoken in present-day Bengal, Bihar, and eastern Uttar Pradesh, and used in some dramas to represent vernacular dialogue in Prakrit dramas. It is believed to be the language spoken by the important religious figures Gautama Buddha and Mahavira[3] and was also the language of the courts of the Magadha mahajanapada and the Maurya Empire; some of the Edicts of Ashoka were composed in it.[4]
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Magadhi Prakrit | |
---|---|
Māgadhī | |
Brahmi: 𑀫𑀸𑀕𑀥𑀻 Devanagari: मागधी Bengali-Assamese: মাগধী Odia: ମାଗଧୀ Tirhuta: মাগধী Kaithi: 𑂧𑂰𑂏𑂡𑂲 Sylheti Nagri: ꠝꠣꠉꠗꠤ Chakma: 𑄟𑄉𑄧𑄙𑄩 | |
Region | India |
Extinct | developed into the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages[1] |
Indo-European
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | – |
Glottolog | None |
Magadhi Prakrit later evolved into the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages:[1][6]
References
- South Asian folklore: an encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, By Peter J. Claus, Sarah Diamond, Margaret Ann Mills, Routledge, 2003, p. 203
- Cardona, George; Jain, Dhanesh, eds. (2003), "The historical context and development of Indo-Aryan", The Indo-Aryan Languages, Routledge language family series, London: Routledge, pp. 46–66, ISBN 0-7007-1130-9
- Beames, John (2012). Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India: To Wit, Hindi, Panjabi, Sindhi, Gujarati, Marathi, Oriya, and Bangali. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/cbo9781139208871.003. ISBN 978-1-139-20887-1.
- Bashan A.L., The Wonder that was India, Picador, 2004, pp.394
- (Toulmin 2006:306)
- Ray, Tapas S. (2007). "Chapter Eleven: "Oriya". In Jain, Danesh; Cardona, George. The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge. p. 445. ISBN 978-1-135-79711-9.
External links
- Jain Agams
- Jainism in Buddhist Literature
- Toulmin, Mathew W S (2006). Reconstructing linguistic history in a dialect continuum: The Kamta, Rajbanshi, and Northern Deshi Bangla subgroup of Indo-Aryan (PhD). The Australian National University.