Prakrit
Information about Prakrit
Prakrit (also spelt Pracrit) (Sanskrit: prākṛta प्राकृत (from pra-kṛti प्रकृति), "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", i.e. "vernacular", in contrast to saṃskṛtā "excellently made", both adjectives elliptically referring to vāk "speech") refers to the broad family of the Indic languages and dialects spoken in ancient India. The Prakrits became literary languages, generally patronized by kings identified with the Kshatriya caste, but were regarded as illegitimate by the Brahmin orthodoxy. The earliest extant use of Prakrit are the inscriptions of Asoka, emperor of Northern India, and while the various Prakrit languages are associated with different patron dynasties, with different religions and different literary traditions, none of them were at any time an informal "mother tongue" in any area of India.
The three Dramatic Prakrits - Sauraseni, Magadhi, Maharashtri, as well as Jain Prakrit each represent a distinct tradition of literature within the history of India. Other Prakrits are reported in historical sources, but are no longer spoken (e.g., Paisaci).
Ardhamagadhi ("half Magadhi"), an archaic form of Magadhi which was used extensively to write Jain scriptures, is often considered to be the definitive form of Prakrit, while others are considered variants. For this reason, courses teaching "Prakrit" often teach Ardhamagadhi.
Pali (the language of Theravada Buddhism) tends to be treated as a special exception, as classical (Sanskrit) grammars do not consider it as a Prakrit per se, presumably for sectarian rather than linguistic reasons.
Some scholars restrict the Prakrits to the languages used by Hindu and Jain writers; others include the Buddhist languages, such as Pali and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, and the inscriptional Prakrits. Other Prakrits include the Gāndhārī, and Paisāci, which is known through grammarians' statements. The modern languages of India developed from the Prakrits, after the intermediary stage of the Apabhramsa language.
A language is a system of symbols and the rules used to manipulate them. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon.
..... Click the link for more information.
A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
The term Brahmin denotes both a member of the priestly class in the Hindu varna system, and a member of the highest caste in the caste system of Hindu society.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Forms of Prakrit
Prakrit is foremost a native term, designating "vernaculars" as opposed to Sanskrit. Some modern scholars follow this classification by including all Middle Indo-Aryan languages under the rubric of "Prakrits", while others emphasise the independent development of these languages, often separated from the history of Sanskrit by wide divisions of caste, religion, and geography.The three Dramatic Prakrits - Sauraseni, Magadhi, Maharashtri, as well as Jain Prakrit each represent a distinct tradition of literature within the history of India. Other Prakrits are reported in historical sources, but are no longer spoken (e.g., Paisaci).
Ardhamagadhi ("half Magadhi"), an archaic form of Magadhi which was used extensively to write Jain scriptures, is often considered to be the definitive form of Prakrit, while others are considered variants. For this reason, courses teaching "Prakrit" often teach Ardhamagadhi.
Pali (the language of Theravada Buddhism) tends to be treated as a special exception, as classical (Sanskrit) grammars do not consider it as a Prakrit per se, presumably for sectarian rather than linguistic reasons.
Etymology
According to the dictionary of Monier Monier-Williams, the most frequent meanings of the Sanskrit term prakṛta, from which our "prakrit" is derived, are "original, natural, normal" and the term is derived from prakṛti, "making or placing before or at first, the original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance". In linguistic terms, this is used in contrast with saṃskṛta, "refined".Traditional accounts
Virtually every Sanskrit student is taught that refinement of Sanskrit (to reverse much of middle-Indic influence from the standard language) was a process spanning many generations (traditionally more than a thousand years) until it was considered complete and perfect.Some scholars restrict the Prakrits to the languages used by Hindu and Jain writers; others include the Buddhist languages, such as Pali and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, and the inscriptional Prakrits. Other Prakrits include the Gāndhārī, and Paisāci, which is known through grammarians' statements. The modern languages of India developed from the Prakrits, after the intermediary stage of the Apabhramsa language.
External links
Bibliography
- Pischel, Prakrit Grammar
- Woolner, Introduction to Prakrit
Sanskrit}}} | style="padding-left: 0.5em;" | Writing system: | colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.5em;" | Devanāgarī and several other Brāhmī-based scripts ! colspan="3" style="text-align: center; color: black; background-color: lawngreen;"|Official
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Vernacular refers to the native language of a country or locality. In general linguistics, it is used to describe local languages as opposed to linguae francae, official standards or global languages. It is sometimes applied to nonstandard dialects of a global language.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Sanskrit}}} | style="padding-left: 0.5em;" | Writing system: | colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.5em;" | Devanāgarī and several other Brāhmī-based scripts ! colspan="3" style="text-align: center; color: black; background-color: lawngreen;"|Official
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
In rhetoric, an ellipse is the suppression of a word or phrase that is grammatically necessary, but of minor importance to the thought being conveyed. Ellipse is used for brevity, and also to render an expression more lively or more forceful.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Indic can refer to:
..... Click the link for more information.
- Indo-Aryan languages
- Indic scripts
- of or related to India (Indian)
..... Click the link for more information.
See Language (journal) for the linguistics journal.
A language is a system of symbols and the rules used to manipulate them. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon.
..... Click the link for more information.
For dialects of programming languages, see .
A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers.
..... Click the link for more information.
This page is currently protected from editing until disputes have been resolved.
Protection is not an endorsement of the current [ version] ([ protection log]).
..... Click the link for more information.
Protection is not an endorsement of the current [ version] ([ protection log]).
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
- brahmin moths, see Brahmaeidae.
The term Brahmin denotes both a member of the priestly class in the Hindu varna system, and a member of the highest caste in the caste system of Hindu society.
..... Click the link for more information.
Ashoka the Great
Mauryan emperor
Modern reconstruction of Ashoka's portrait.
Reign 273 BC-232 BC
Full name Ashoka Maurya
Predecessor Bindusara
Emperor Mahindra
Successor Dasaratha Maurya
Consort
..... Click the link for more information.
Mauryan emperor
Modern reconstruction of Ashoka's portrait.
Reign 273 BC-232 BC
Full name Ashoka Maurya
Predecessor Bindusara
Emperor Mahindra
Successor Dasaratha Maurya
Consort
..... Click the link for more information.
The Middle Indo-Aryan (Middle Indic) languages are the early medieval dialects of the Indo-Aryan languages, the descendants of the Old Indo-Aryan dialects such as Sanskrit, and the predecessors of the late medieval languages such as Apabhramsha or Abahatta, which eventually
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Caste systems are traditional, hereditary systems of social restriction and social stratification, enforced by law or common practice, based on endogamy, , economic status, race and ethnicity.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
religion is a set of common beliefs and practices generally held by a group of people, often codified as prayer, ritual, and religious law. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and mystic experience.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Geography - (from the Greek words Geo (γη) or Gaea (γαία), both meaning "Earth", and graphein (γράφειν) meaning "to describe" or "to write"
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
The Dramatic Prakrits are the three main dialects of Prakrit, used extensively in Ancient Indian literature. The term "dramatic" is used because the main record of these languages is in the speech of minor characters in the Sanskrit drama.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
A Dramatic Prakrit, Sauraseni was the chief language of northern medieval India, evolving into the Hindi language complex and Punjabi. All the Jainacharya belong to Digambara Jain sect had written their epics in Sauraseni, like shatkandaagama and ksyaayapahud are in the same
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Magadhi Prakrit is of one of the three Dramatic Prakrits, the written languages of Ancient India after the decline of Sanskrit as an official language. Magadhi Prakrit was spoken in the eastern Indian Subcontinent, in a region spanning what is now eastern India, Bangladesh, and
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Maharashtri (Marathi: महाराष्ट्री प्राकृत), is a language of ancient and medieval India, descended from Sanskrit, and spoken in what is now Maharashtra and other parts of
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Jain Prakrit is a term loosely used for the language of the Jain canon.
The books of Jainism were written in the popular dialects as opposed to Sanskrit, which was the language of the dominant Vedantic canon, and therefore encompass a number of dialects.
..... Click the link for more information.
The books of Jainism were written in the popular dialects as opposed to Sanskrit, which was the language of the dominant Vedantic canon, and therefore encompass a number of dialects.
..... Click the link for more information.
Paisaci, also known as Paisachi, or Paishachi, is an extinct language of classical India, its existence as a medium of debate and literary expression is recorded in various Theravada Buddhist sources, and mentioned in Prakrit and Sanskrit grammars of antiquity.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Jain Prakrit is a term loosely used for the language of the Jain canon.
The books of Jainism were written in the popular dialects as opposed to Sanskrit, which was the language of the dominant Vedantic canon, and therefore encompass a number of dialects.
..... Click the link for more information.
The books of Jainism were written in the popular dialects as opposed to Sanskrit, which was the language of the dominant Vedantic canon, and therefore encompass a number of dialects.
..... Click the link for more information.
Jain Prakrit is a term loosely used for the language of the Jain canon.
The books of Jainism were written in the popular dialects as opposed to Sanskrit, which was the language of the dominant Vedantic canon, and therefore encompass a number of dialects.
..... Click the link for more information.
The books of Jainism were written in the popular dialects as opposed to Sanskrit, which was the language of the dominant Vedantic canon, and therefore encompass a number of dialects.
..... Click the link for more information.
Theravada (Pāli: theravāda; Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda; literally, "the Way of the Elders") is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Buddhism is often described as a religion[1] and a collection of various philosophies, based initially on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as Gautama Buddha.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
The ideological underpinnings of attitudes and behaviors labeled as sectarian are extraordinarily varied. Members of a religious or political group may feel that their own salvation, or success of their particular objectives, requires aggressively seeking converts from other
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
should be added to this article, to conform with Wikipedia's Manual of Style.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page.
Sir Monier Monier-Williams (1819–1899) studied, documented and taught Asian languages in England, and compiled one of the most
..... Click the link for more information.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page.
Sir Monier Monier-Williams (1819–1899) studied, documented and taught Asian languages in England, and compiled one of the most
..... Click the link for more information.
Sanskrit}}} | style="padding-left: 0.5em;" | Writing system: | colspan="2" style="padding-left: 0.5em;" | Devanāgarī and several other Brāhmī-based scripts ! colspan="3" style="text-align: center; color: black; background-color: lawngreen;"|Official
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Hindu ( pronunciation , Devanagari: हिन्दु), as per modern definition, is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, and the
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
This page contains Indic text. Without rendering support, you may see irregular vowel positioning and a lack of conjuncts. More...
"Jain" and "Jaina" redirect here. For other uses, see Jain (disambiguation) and Jaina (disambiguation).
..... Click the link for more information.
This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.