Information AboutApabhramsha |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT APABHRAMSHA | |
| languages of india | |
| linguistic history of india | |
| jain languages | |
| medieval languages | |
|
The term Prakrit (which includes Pali ) is used for the popular dialects of India which were spoken until the 4th - 8th century, but some scholars use the term Prakrit throughout the Middle Indo-Aryan period. Middle Indo-Aryan languages gradually transformed into Apabhramshas which were used until about the 15th century. Apabhramshas evolved into modern languages which are equally today spoken by millions of people. Languages such as Hindi (337 million speakers), Bengali (232 million speakers), Urdu (160 million speakers), Gujarati (46 million speakers) are all representative languages of large modern day states, unlike Sanskrit (>50 million speakers) which has fallen out of modern day use. The boundaries of these periods are somewhat hazy, not strictly chronological. The modern north Indian languages are often considered to have begun to develop a distinct identity around the 11th century, while the Apabhramshas were still in use, and became fully distinct by the end of the 12th century. A significant amount of Apabhramsha literature has been found in Jain libraries. While Amir Khusro and Kabir were writing in a language quite similar to modern Hindi, many poets, especially in regions that were still ruled by Hindu kings, continued to write in Apabhramsha. The Apabhramsha authors include Sarahapad of Kamarupa, Devasena of Dhar (9th c. CE), Pushpadanta of Manyakhet (9th c. CE), Dhanapal, Muni Ramsimha , Hemachandra of Patan , Raighu of Gwalior (15th c. CE). An early example of the use of Apabhramsha is in Vikramorvashiyam of Kalidasa , when Pururava asks the animals in the forest about his beloved who had disappeared. NOTES REFERENCES
EXTERNAL LINKS |
|
|