Prakrit

Prakrit
Geographic
distribution		Indian subcontinent
Linguistic classificationIndo-European
Language codes
ISO 639-2 / 5pra
Glottologmidd1350  (Late Middle Indo-Aryan)
Word for "Prakrit" (here Prā-kṛ-te) in Late Brahmi script in the Mandsaur stone inscription of Yashodharman-Vishnuvardhana, 532 CE[1]
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Prakrit (/ˈprɑːkrɪt/[a]) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE.[2][3] The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Indo-Aryan languages, excluding earlier inscriptions and Pali.[4]

The oldest stage of Middle Indo-Aryan language is attested in the inscriptions of Ashoka (ca. 260 BCE), as well as in the earliest forms of Pāli, the language of the Theravāda Buddhist canon. The most prominent form of Prakrit is Ardhamāgadhı̄, associated with the ancient kingdom of Magadha, in modern Bihar, and the subsequent Mauryan Empire. Mahāvı̄ra, the last tirthankar of 24 tirthankar of Jainism, was born in Magadha, and the earliest Jain texts were composed in Ardhamāgadhı̄.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :00 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Richard G. Salomon 1996, p. 377.
  3. ^ Alfred C. Woolner 1928, p. 235.
  4. ^ Woolner, Alfred C. (1986). Introduction to Prakrit. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 3–4. ISBN 978-81-208-0189-9.
  5. ^ "Prakrit". www.ames.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2024.


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