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 |
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. [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]
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 |
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. [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]