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 | |
|---|---|
| Māgadhī | |
| Brahmi: 𑀫𑀸𑀕𑀥𑀻 | |
| Region | India |
| Extinct | developed into the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages[1] |
Indo-European
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
History and overview
Magadhi Prakrit was spoken in the eastern Indian subcontinent, in a region spanning what is now eastern India, Bangladesh and Nepal.[3][4] Associated with the ancient Magadha, it was spoken in present-day Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and eastern Uttar Pradesh under various apabhramsha dialects,[5] 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[6] 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][7]
Magadhi Prakrit later evolved into the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages:[1][8]
References
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.