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ORIGINAL SANSKRIT TEXTS.

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VOLUME SECOND.

INQTTTRY WHETHER THE HINDUS ARE OF TRANS-HIMALAYAN ORIGIN, AND AKIN 10 THE WESTERN .BRANCHES OF THE INDO-EUROPEAN RACE.

SECOND EDITION, REVISE r-

tin

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PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 1

MY primary object in this volume, as in its predecessor, has been to produce a work which may assist the 13- searches of those Hindus who desire to investigate critically the origin and history of their nation, and of their national literature, religion, and institutions ; and may facilitate the operations of those European teachers whose business it is to communicate to the Hindus the results of modern inquiry on the various subjects here examined. 2 The book (as will at once be apparer ! to the Oriental scholar) is, for the most part, either a com- pilation, or, at the !eastj founded on the labours of others ; but while my principal aim has been to furnish the reader with a summary of the results of preceding inquiries, my plan has, at the same time, rendered it necessary for me occasionally to institute fresh researches in different directions for the further elucidation of par- ticular points which were touched upon in the course

1 [This Preface is now reprinted with hardly any alteration, excepting .such, as has been rendered necessary by the difference in the numbers of the pages in which the several topics are treated, and by some additions and omissions.]

2 This peculiarity in the object of the treatise will a- the Euro-

i'holar for the intioduction of many details which .ve been quite superfluous. .

Vlll PREFACE TO , .

of my argument. In -this way I may have succeeded in contributing a small proportion of original matter to the discussion , ol some of the interesting topics which ha-ve come under review.

The" obligations under which I lie to the different authors, whose labours have furnished the chief mate- rials of che volume, have been, in most instances, so fully acknowledged in detail in the following pages, that it is not necessary for me to allude to thun here more par- ti^ularly. I must, however, refer to the assistance which I have derived from the French version of the Eigveda by M. Langlois, which, with his index, has directed my attention to various important passages in the later books, which I was then enabled to .study in the original.

Though a small portion only f the present volume consists of " Sanskrit texts," which in some parts are alt aether wanting, and in others but thinly scattered, (apparent rari nantes in gurgite vo&to} I have not con- sidered it necessary to abandon the old title, but it has been slightly modified. ,

Although some idea of the object and contents of the volume may be gained from a perusal of the introduc- tory statement of its plan (in pp. 13), and from the table at the close of this Preface, it may conduce to the convenience of those readers who, before entering on a perusal of the work, desire to obtain a m'^re precise con- ception of the course of the discussion, and of the process by .which I have sought to establish my conclusions, if I subjoin here a brief concatenated summary of the prin- cipal topics in order.

The general obj3ct cf t'le present Part is to pro\e

THE FIRST EDITION. IX

that tlia Hindus were not indigenous in India, but have immigrated into that country from Central Asia, where their ancestors at one time formed one community with the progenitors of the Persians, Greeks, Ron\ans, 0^1- mans, etc.* In order to establish this result, I have sought to showth^t Sanskrit, the original language of the Hindus, .exhibits undeniable marks of close affinity to the ancient languages of the other races just men- tioned; and that i;he earliest religion, and mythology also, of India are connected with those of Persia b?[ various points of contact and resemblance. Having ad- duced evidence on both these heads, and argued that these facts imply a common origin of the nations in question, and their subsequent dispersion from one com- mon centre towards the- different regions in which they ultimately settled ; I endeavour to fortify the conclusions to which we are thus conducted by demonstrating that, in the earliest ages of their history, the ancestors of the Hindus appear to have occupied only the north-western corner of Hindustan ; and that, while they were con- nected on the one hand by affinities of language and religion with* the nations of the west, they were on the other hand distinguished, both by language and by insti- tutions, from certain other tribes with whom they came into collision as they advanced across the north of India, and afterwards Jiffused themselves to the south of the peninsula : for if we find that the Hindus originally pos- sessed only the Panjab, the presumption (derived from

3 [This proposition has been so far modified in the second edition that .1 now only insist on at least one of the elements in the ancestor of the Hindus having belonged to the Indo-E iroptan stock.]

PREFACE TO

other considerations), that they immigrated from the north-west, becomes strengthened ; and if, again, on their advance to the south-east, they encountered tribes w?.th a different language and religion, already in occu- pation" of those tracts, the probability that they did not grow t up in India, alongside of these alie:; tribes, acquires addi.tienal force.

In order to obtain a basis for carrying out the philo- logical portion of this argument, viz., for comparing the priginal language of the Hindus with those of the Per- sians, Greeks, and Latins, it became necessary for me to prove that the Sanskrit, which is now a learned language only, was at one time spoken by tfy3 ancestors of the Hindus. This I have attempted to do in the First Chapter (pp. 4214), by showing in detail that the original Sanskrit idiom has undergone a long series of gradual mutations, of which **v now see the ultimate result in the modern vernacular dialects of the north of India, The method whicK 1 have adopted to exhibit

/ ? ^

this has been to begin (Section i.,' pp. 4 11 J with the existing spoken dialects, Urdu, Hindi, Mahratti, etc., and to show what the elements are of wjiich they are composed, viz., (1) pure Sanskrit, (2) modified Sanskrit, (3) Desya or aboriginal- non-Sanskrit words, and (4) words derived from Arabic 'and Persian. The fourth element is. the latest which they hav> acquired, and dates only from the Mahomedan invasion; while the sepond and third (in a more or less different form) are common to them with the Prakrits, "or older vernacular dialects, out of which they grew.

In the succeeding ^ect ; ons (ii. vii., pp. 11128) an

THE FIRST EDITION. XI

account is given of these earlier vernaculars, viz. (1) the Prakrits, of which specimens are to be 'found in the different Hindu dramas, and which seem to have existed as spoken dialects, at least from the commencement of the Christian era, until they became merged n the modern vernaculars; (2) the Pali, or sacred language of the Buddhist books of Ceylon and Burmah,-" which appears to represent one of the provincial dialects ,

In the 1 Third Chapter, (pp. 358-^44) I have sought

*

7 [This passage has beei^ omitted in the present edition for the reasons stated in note 96, p. 323.J V

8 [A sentence referring to^n opinion of Professor Benfey subsequently altered, is here omitted.]

XX , PREFACE TO

to adduce further arguments in support of the salne con- clusion, (l) r from the distinction drawn by the authors of the Yedic hymns between their own kinsmen, the Ag^as, and tiie tribes differing from them in complexion, customs, -and religion, whom they designate as Dasyus ;

(2) from the accounts occurring in the Brahmanas and posttYedic writings, of the gradual advance of the Aryas

from the north-west of India to the east and south ; and

c

(3) from the well-established fact tha't the south-Indian languages are fundamentally different from the Sanskrit,

L 'and imply a non-Arian origin in the people by whom they* were originally spoken. Section i. (pp. 359369) contains a selection of passages from the Bigveda, in which' the Aryas and the Dasyus are distinguished from one another, and reference is made to the enmity exist- ing between the two. ' In mast,(br at least some) of these passages, it appears, Jiudian enemies and not demc-ns must be intended, under the appellation of Dasyus, as I infer both fr f om the tenor of the texts themselves, and because in later -writings, the Aitareya- brahmana, the Institutes of Manu, etc., this word is always applied to barbarous tribes. Section ii. (pp. 369396) supplies a further collection of Yedic texts bearing upon the relations of the Aryas and Dasyus, and the characteristics of the latter as degraded, dark- complexioned, irreligious, neglecters G, sacrifice, etc, There are, indeed, other texts, in which thes6 Dasyus are regarded as demons, and this creates a difficulty. An attempt is made at the close of the section to ex- plain, (1) from the original positio^i of the Aryas, as an

THE FIRST EDITION. ) XXI

invading tribe in a country covered by forests,- and from the savage character of the aborigines, as -well as (2) from the lengthened period d,uring which the hymns continued to be composed, how the same'' appellations and epithets might come to be applied 'to 'difi%rent classes of beings, human, ethereal, and demoniacal,' in- discriminately^ ' Ijp. pection iii. (pp. 397405) I Quote the well-known passage from Manu's Institutes, which adverts to the superior sanctity of the country on the banks of the Sarasvati (which is in consequence pre 1 - sumed to have been for some time the seat of the most distinguished Indian sages, and the locality where} the Hindu institutions were chiefly developed), and defines the limits of the severajl provinces of Brahmanical India, as then recognized. I next adduce a highly interesting legend from the Satapa*tha-branmana, which narrates how the sacred fire (typifying} of course, the sacrificial rites of the Brahmans) travelled from the neighbourhood of the Sarasvati eastward, ^aef oss the river Sadanira into Videha, or north-Be'ha'r. Section iv. (pp. 405421) presents a selection of passages from the greajt epic poem, the Eamayana, descriptive of the Eakshasas or gigantic demons by whom the Brahman settlers in southern India were oppressed and their t rites ob- structed, and whose monarch Eavana was vanquished and slain by t&e Indian hero Eama, with th,e aid of an army of monkeys. In. these poetic and hyperbolical descriptions, it is supposed (by some that) we can dis- cern the indistinct Vmtlines of a great movement of the Aryas from the Doab southward across the Yindhya

XX11 PEEFACE TO

range, and their conflicts with the aboriginal tribes of the Dekhan, the enemies of the Brahmans and their institutions. The epithets applied to the Kakshasas in th^Ramayana correspond in many respects, it is ob- served, with those employed in the Eigveda to charac- terize the Dasyus, Kakshasas, and Yatudhanas. Section v. (pp. 422423) contains some frirdu .traditions re-

o

garding the tribes in the south of tkQ peninsula, which, however, are not considered to throTy any light on their real origin. Section vi. (pp. 423438) supplies a variety of details, derived from Mr. A. D. Campbell's Telugu Grammar (including the important note by Mr. F. W. Ellis), and Dr. Caldwell's Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian languages, by which it is clearly shown that the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalim, and Canarese tongues (which are spoken lof thirty-one millions of people), though, at different periods since the occupation of southern India by the Brahmins, they have received a large infusion of Sanskrit words, are, nevertheless, originally and fundamentally quite distinct from, and independent of, that language, and that Tamil com- position in particular is regarded by the native authors as pure and classical in proportion to its freedom from Sanskrit words. In the *vii th , and concluding Section (pp. 438444), the results *of the preceding sections are summed, up. From the fact (established both by philological considerations, and by the testimony of the SQtfth-Indian grammarians) that the Dravidian languages are essentially distinct from Sanskrit, .it is argued that the people by whom the former class of languages were

THE FIRST EDITION.

spoken originally (i.e. before the Brahmanical invasion of the Dekhan) must have belonged to a raca which had no affinity to the Sanskrit-speaking Aryas; and could not, therefore, as Manu asserts, have been degrs^ed Kshatriyas. I then endeavour to show how the results obtained in this Chapter, viz,, (1) that the Aryas, when living in the \PanjaJE), came into conflict with an-, alien race called Dasyus ; (2) that the Aryas can be shown from their own boojis to have at first occupied only the north-west of India and then to have advanced gradually to the east and south, and last of all to have crossed the Yindhya range into the Dekhan ; and (3) that the original languages of the south of the peninsula are distinct from Sanskrit, how, I say, these results har- monize with, or corroborate, thfe theory that the Hindus, or Indo-Arians, are Hot" autochthonous, but immigrated into Hindustan from tn& north-west. 9

The Appendix 10 (pp. % 445488), and the "Additions and Corrections " contain^ some further illustrations of the subjects discussed fa the body of the work, and in a few cases supply some modifications of the text, which closer research has rendered necessary.

In the notes towards the close of the Volume, and in the Appendices, the Sanskrit passages have been printed in tne Italic character. 11 -The system I have followed is nearly thafe-^of Sir W. -Jones. The distinctions be- tween some similar letters have not always been very

>

9 [See note 3, p. ix.] 1

10 [Portions of the AppeSdix and additions have now been incorporated in the earlier part of the volume.]

11 [In the first edition the Sanskrit wls panted in the Nagari character throughout the greater T part of the volume.]

XXIV v PEEFACE TO

carefully indicated; but the Sanskrit scholar will have no difficulty in determining the words which are in- tended.

Nearly alt the Sanskrit texts in this Yolume have been t taken from printed editions. The quotations from those parts of the Eigveda which have not yet appeared in ( Pcofessor Miiller's edition, havf? feeeh^ copied from the MS. copy in my possession, alludod to in the Preface to the First Volume. The quotations, from Durgacharya, in pp. 166 f. and 173, have been derived from a MS. belonging to the East India House. That in p. 204 was, 'I believe, extracted from a MS. in the Library of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta. The4wo passages from Bhaskara Acharya, pp. 161 and 178, were obtained from Pandit Bapu Deva of the Benares College.

I owe it to the kindness df Professor Goldstiicker that I am able to adduce the extracts from the Nyaya mala'vistara, in pp. 53 and 179.,.

The work of M. Vivien

how much this volume is indebted to the labours of the

o

different authors whose works are quoted in it, viz. 1 ,' Burnouf, Lassen, Cowell, Campbell, Ellis, Caldwell, Clough, Tumour, Fausboll, Rajendralal Mitra, H: H. "Wilson, "Weber, Miiller, Goldstiicker, Roth, Benfey, Bopp, Kuhn, A. W. Schlegel, Pictet, Spiegel, Haug,

Whitney, "Windischmann, Langlpis, Renan, Curzon, and

i

Elphinstone.

To these names I have now to add those of Messrs.

Beames, Childers, D'AIwis, Aufrecht, Curtius,- Yullers,

j

Schleicher, Tick, Crawfurd, Huxley, and G. Rawlinson, from whose writings or communications I have derived valuable assistance in augmenting my materials, or re- vising different portions of the work. My obligations to these scholars are acknowledged in the text. ,

The improvements which 'have, been introduced in this

... edition are jjfincipally the" following : the Comparative

Tables of Words in pp. 1&, ff. ; 76, ff. ; 221, ff. ; 230, ff,;

and 287, ff . ; as we'i as the statements of Gatha and

"* N Vedic forms in pp. 117, ff., and 205, ff. ; have been

greatly enlarged. . ^ n

XXV&. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

My conclusions regarding the value of affinity in language as a proof of affinity in race, and the effects of climate upon c'olour, have been so far modified that I no longer venture to pronounce positively that the Brah- maqical Indians are of pure Indo-European descent ;

but leave it an open question wnethez* , the blood of

< .' * *.

43 53. Sect. IV. Yie\Vs of the e Indian grammarians on the J relation of the Prakrits to Sanskrit, and on the other

elements in their composition. 53 103. Sect. Y. The Pali, and its relations to Sanskrit and

Prakrit. 104 114. Sect. YI. The dialects of the rock and pillar inscriptions

of Asoka.

115128. Sect. VII. The dialect of the Buddhist Gatfias, and its relation to the Pali : Summary of the results of this and thf^receding section.

128 144. Sect. VIII. On the original use of Sanskrit as a ver- nacular tongue ; on the manner in which the Praknts arose out 3>f it, and on the period of their formation : views of'PiNfessors Weber, Aufrecht, Lassen, and Benfey. 144 160. Sect. IX. Seasons for supposing that the Sanskrit was originally a spoken language 1 .

xxx Vs CONTENTS.

161 214. Sect. X. Various stages of Sanskrit literature, and the

different forms in which, they exhibit the Sanskrit

language: the later Yedic commentators: earlier ex-

pounders : the Mrukta : the Brahmanas : the Vedic

hymns : imperfect comprehension of them in later times

( from changes in the language : the hymns composed in

i the vernacular idiom of their age.

357. CHAPTER II. AFFINITIES OF. THE INDIANS WITH THE PERSIANS, GREEKS AND ROMANS, AND DERIVATION OF ALL < c THESE NATIONS FROM CENTRAL ASIA.

217 228. Sect. I. Introductory remarks on comparative philology :

affinities of the Sanskrit and Persian with each other. 228267. Sect. II. Detailed illustrations of the affinities of Sanskrit

with the Zend, Greek, and LaTcin languages : the last

three languages not derived,, from Sanskrit. 267 278. Sect. III. That affinity in language affords some,, pre-

sumption of affinity in jac^:. modes in which a greater

or less diversity of -language and institutions would

arise in different braiiches of the same stock : Central

Asia the birth-place of the, Aryas. 279 286. Sect. IV. Whetherthere is any objection, arising from

physiological considerations," to classing the Indians

among the Indo-Europ'ean races. 287 3*00. Sect. Y. Reasons for supposing the Indians and Persians

in particular to have had a common origin. f

301 306. Sect. YI. Was India the. primitive country of the Aryas

and Indo-European races ? 306 322. Sect. VII. Central Asiq the cradle of the Arians : opinions

of Schlegel, Las'seri, Benfey, Hiiller, Spiegel, Renan, and ' Pictet. 322 329. Sect. VIII. On the national traditions of the Indians re-

garding their own original country. 329 334. Sect. IX. "Whether any tradi^Kon regarding the earliest

abodes of the Arian race is contained in the First Fargard f of the

CONTENTS.

xxxi

335 341. Sect. X. What was the route by which the Aryas pene-

trated into India ? 341 357. Sect. XI. The immigration of the Indo-Arians from the

north-west rendered probable by the tenor of the Vedic

hymns.

358444. CHAPTER III. THE ASIANS IN INDIA : THEIE ADVANCE ' TO THE EAST AND SOUTH. ,

359 369. 369 396. 397 405. 405 421.

422-^423. 423 438. 438 444.

Sect. 'I. Distinction drawn between the Aryas and

in the Eig\eda. Sect. II. Aiditional Vedic texts bearing on the relations

of the Aryas and Dasytis. Sect. III. The Arians on the Sarasvati, and their dif-

fusion eastward and southward from that point*. Sect. IV. Advance of the Arians from the Doab across

the Vindnya mountains ; and their conflicts with the

aboriginal tribes of the Dekhan. Sect. V. Indian tradition's regarding the tribes in the

south of the p?ninsula. Sect. VI. Languages of th% south of India, and their

fundamental difference from Sanskrit. ,

Sect. VII. Results deducib^Le from the preceding sections.

445488. APPENDIX.

445 Note A. On the phrase " Trayi Vidya."

446- M66. Note B. Further grounds in support of the position that the Atharvaveda is more recent than the Rigveda ; with some considerations in answer to the theory of Professors Kern and Haug, that the caste-system is more ancient than the Rigveda.

466 467. Note C. Quotation ' from Schlegel's Essai'de 1'origine des Hindous.

467 468. Note D. Quotation from the Rev. G. C. Geldart's paper " Langua.gt'^io Test of Race."

468 469. Note D*. Spiegel on the old Iranian Dialects.

469 Note E. Quotation from 'Rig^eda, ix. 113.

XXXI

ik.

CONTENTS.

469 476. Note F. Quotation from Windischmann's Essuy, Ueber

den Somacultus der ArW.

476 477.' Note G. Prof. Cowell's note in his edition of Elphin- stQne's History of India on that author's views regarding Vhe origin of the Hindus. 477 478. Note H. Quotation from Spiegel on the question of the

separation of the Iranians and Indians.

4787-479. Note I. Quotation from Spiegel on the grounds of the , ' . separation. , \ t

479 Note J. Quotation from Ptolemy.

480 481. Note K. On the earliest abodes of the Arians.

i

'482 484. Note L. Quotations from the Mahabharata and Raja- taranginl regarding the tribes of the Panjab.

484 ' Note M. Quotations from Lassen and Wilson.

485 Note N. Quotation from the S'atapatha Brahmana, xiii.

8, 1, 5.

485 488. Note 0. Stevenson and Caldwell on the different elements

f

of the Indian population.

489 493. ADDITIONAL NOTES. . I translate his, remarks on the two classes of dialects derived from Sanskrit: "To close this

*

disquisition, I therefore remark .that there are two families of cor- rupted Sanskrit, one more ancient, and not completely broken down, to which belong the Pali and the dramatic dialects ; and a secondof more recent origin, and diffused in our own day over the provinces of India, which differs more widely from its parent. The former set are genuine daughters of the Sanskrit; the latter grand-daughters, al-

8 THE NORTH-INDIAN DIALECTS, ANCIENT AND MODERN.

though it is to some extent doubtful ivhether these are the daughters of the former, .or of their sister dialects. As regards antiquity, the former family are proved hy the history of Buddhism, and of the Indian drama, to, have come into existence prior to our era ; and it may be shown by probable proofs that the latter arose before 1000 A.D. The discussion of the latter question is, however, foreign to our purpose."

Mr. Beames claims for the modern vernacular dialects a high anti- quity^ and regards them as springing from aa ancient Aryan language, which included elements not discoverable in the classical Sanskrit. His observations are as follows : ' <

r " I would here further observe that the Written Sanskrit has un- fortunately attracted the attention of scholars too exclusively. No one who lives long in India can escape having the conviction forced on him that the written language is quite inadequate to account for

many forms and facts observable in the modern dialects. These dialects * n

assert fer themselves a high antiquity, and are derived, one cannot doubt, from an ancient Aryan speech, which is as imperfectly repre- sented in Sanskrit as the speech of the Italian peasantry of their day was represented by Cicero or Virgil. The process of selection which led the polished Roman to use only state'iy and euphonious words a process- which is abundantly exemplified in the pages of modern English writers was doubtless at work among the ancient Brahmins ; and the fact that the cognate Indo-Germanio languages preserve words not found in Sanskrit, but which can be matched from the stores of humble and obscure Hindi or Bengali dialects, is another proof of this fact.

The line taken by Professor Lassen, in his valuable Prakrit Grammar,

a

of treating all Prakrit words as necessarily modifications of Sanskrit words, is one which he has borrowed whole from Vararuchi and Hemachandri, and, however excusable in those ancient commentators, seems unworthy of an age of critical research."

It is not, however, necessary for my purpose that^T should decide, even approximately, the question of the antiquity of the modern vernaculars. It will be sufficient if I can show that they have been derived by a gradual process of change from other provincial dialects which preceded them ; and which, in their turn,' have sprung from the Sanskrit, at some stage of its development.

THE NORTH-INDIAN DIALECTS, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 9

i There is no difficulty in conceiving that the Indian, yernacular

dialects should have undergone great modifications in a long course of ages. The mere fact above adverted to, which every one recognizes, of their having at a particular assignable date admitted into their vocabulary a large influx of Persian and Arabic words, is sufficient to render it probable that they may have formerly experienced- .other mutations of various kinds.

The circumstanc, too, '.that the people who inhabit the different provinces of northern India* make use of different, but kindred, provln-* cial dialects, Bengali, Hin'di, MahrattI, etc., which must, for the most part, at a period more orless remote, have sprung from some common source, 3 is a proof of the tendency to chftnge which is inherent in a*ll spoken language. For as the inhabitants of all these provinces profess, ' with some modifications, the same creed, receive the same religious books,

and are divided into the same or similar castes, and for these and other

*

reasons appear to be descended, though, perhaps not exclusively, from one common stock, it is highly probable that their common ancestors must, at one time, have employed one and the same language : and that that language has in process of time' undergone various provincial modifications, out of which "the several modern vernaculars have been gradually formed. ,

"We shall also see, a little further on, that the differences between the North-Indian dialects (the old Maharashtrl, S'auraseni, etc.) which preceded the modern vernacular tongues, were few and unimportant; whereas the modern vernacular tongues, Bengali, Hindi, Hahratti, and Guzarati, differ widely from each other in their forms of inflection and conjugation. This greater divergence between the modern than we find to have existed between the earlier dialects, evinces clearly the tendency to continual alteration, whicn I have remarked as a charac- teristic of language in general.

3 Mr. Beames says (Jour. Roy. As. Ssc. for 1868, p. 498) : "It is, however, clear that each dialect of Hindi has had an independent existence for centuries, and I think an independent origin." This, however, can of course apply only to forms, not to the words which the dialects, whether Hindi or other, have in common ; and which in many cases are diversely modified from the Sanskrit original. And although some of the grammatical forms may be original or invented, and not modified from those of any pre-existing Aryan language, there must be other forms which are merely modifications or developments.

10 THE NORTH-INDIAN DIALECTS, ANCIENT AND MODERN.

I shall first of all state briefly the, facts by which it is proved that the modern vernaculars are not, comparatively speaking, of any high antiquity, but have arisen out of earlier provincial dialects : and then proceed to establish these facts more in detail.

First. In extant Buddhist histories, such as the Lalita Yistara composed in Sanskrit, numerous verses, styled Gathas, are inter- spersad, the language of which differs from pure Sanskrit, by the forms of inflection being varied or mutilated. Thj'd popularized Sanskrit, or something akin to it, appears to have been at one time the spoken language of India ; or, at least, this Gatha dialect exhibits some speci- mens of that ancient spoken language, and exemplifies the process by ,yhich the ancient Sanskrit^ itself at one time a spoken language, ' became gradually corrupted.

Second.' It has been discovered that many inscriptions are extant, engraven on rocks in different parts of India, bearing date apparently between, two and three hundred years anterior to the Christian era, in which a language differing both froM Sanskrit and the modern vernaculars is used.

Third. There are extant c in other countries, such as Ceylon and Burmah, very ancient Buddhist books Written in a language called Pali or Magadhi, which also is different from the modern vernaculars, as well as from Sanskrit, while it closely resembles the language of the rock inscriptions just alluded to. ,

Fourth. In ancient Indian dramas' such as the Mrichhakati, S'akuntala, etc., while kings and Brahmans are made to speak Sanskrit, various forms of speech called Prakrit and Apabhransa are employed for the inferior castes and for women, which in like manner, differ both from Sanskrit and from the existing vernacular tongues.

The four Aforegoing classes of language have a more or less close affinity to each other ; and from the use made of the last three in particular, viz., that used in the ropk inscriptions, that found in the Pali Buddhistical writings, and those employed in the dramas, it is impossible to doubt that either they, or forms of speech closely connected with them, were formerly current, during a long course of centuries, as the actual vernaculars of the periods when they were employed for literary, political, and religious purposes.

THE DRAMATIC PRAKRITS. H

i

But while we thus discover that Pall and different forms of Prakrit, such as have been described, were employed in former times, we can find no traces of the modern vernacular dialects, Hindi, Bengali, or Mahratti, etc., in their present shape, 'in the ancient, records of that same period ; and we must therefore of necessity conclude that these modern vernaculars did not at that time exist, but have been 'subse- quently developed out of the above-mentioned Prakrit languages or

* I

other pre-existent forms

plttthar (a ) stone.) )

patthar

fa bed : a ( stone.

Var. i. 20. iii. 1

mukta

motto,

moti

motlm

pearl.

Var. iii. 3.581 Mrichh. 93. }

ratri

ratti

rat

rat

night.

Var. ii. 32. .

yashti

lattht

lath?

latth

staff, club.

Var. i. 15. ) 28. iii. 41. }

\r 11 n 1

vrischikah |

viehchuo, \ vinchhuo }

bichu, bichl

vinchu

scorpion.

Mrichh. r ;

Var. iii. 17. 19

suryah

sujjo, suro

suraj

. . .

the sun.

Var. i. 29. Lass. 293. Vikr. 45.

\pravrish

paus

'

paus

(the rainy \ season.

Var. iii. 35. \ 38. Lass. 209J

vashpah

vappho, ) vappho }

*bho#h.

'

vapour.

Var. iii. 22.

nartakah

nattao

nat

nat

a dancer.

Var. iii. 24.

varta

vatta

bat

.

word.

Lassen, 250. } Var. iii. 21. J

paryanJca

pallanka

palang^

palang

bed. ,

Bal. 132. .

palyankah

pallanko

. .

do.

Lassen, 264. ' Var. iii. 1.12)

1 ekastha

ekattha,

ikattha

. . .

collected.

25 See Prof. Cowell's note on Var. ii. 44. *

26 This word palang means in Persian also, a bed, as well as a tiger.

20

THE DRAMATIC PRAKRITS.

REFERENCES.

SANSKRIT. : PRAKRIT.

HINDI.

MAHRATTl.

ENGLISH.

Var. iii. 12. f Mrichh. 18. \

mastaka

matthaka \ matthaam ]

mdthd

matha

head.

Lassen, 272. i Var. iii. 40. j

mcvJsya*' 1

machchha \

machchh, } machchhli }

. . .

fish.

Var. x. 10. )

Lassen,. 379. V

kanya

kanid, hanjd

. . .

. , .

girl.

App. 53. )

-

aham

aham, ham, \ hagge, hani J

main, ham

mlm

I.

> (

vayam

amhe, vaam

ham

amlJi

we.

mama

maha, majjha

mujh *

mftjhd

mine.

Vikr. 81. 82 Var. vi. 25-

asmdkam

amhdnam

hamdrd ' , <

amhala \ amhdna }

of us, [us, by us, Mahr.]

53. <

tumam^ \

turn '

turn

thou.

(Cbwell, Int.

tubhyam

tujjha

tujh

tuj

to thee.

( p. XXVlll.

tava

tuha, tvjjha\ titjjhaha /

tujh

tujhd

thine.

yuyam

tumhe, tujjhe

turn

tumhl

you.

,

yushmdkam

tumhdna

tumhdra

tumhdla, ) tumhdna }

of you, [you, by you,Mah.j

Mrichh. 38. .

kasya

kdha

kdhe

. .

whose ?

Var. vi. 6.

kasydh

kissd

kis (

. . .

fof what wo- [ man?

Co well, Int.} xxvii. . .)

yah

jo

jo

jo

who.

Var. iv. 16. .

tasmin

tahfn

c

. .

in this.

Mrichh.93.96.

yatra, tatra

jahin, tahtnl

jahdn, t )

jethem,tethtm

where, there.

Var. iv. 25.

kiyat, ydvat

kettia, jettia

kitnd,jitnd

kitim

(how much, (as much.

Mrichh. 74.

kutra

kahin

ftahdn

leathern

where ?

Mrichh. 4. 51.

uttishtha |

utthehi ' } utthehi j

uthnd

uthnem

rise, to rise.

Var. viii. 15. 61

grihndti

genha,i

gahnd

ghenein

to take.

Mrichh. 4. f

prichchha

puchchha ,

. . .

^

27.&pa?,Ct. \

prishtd

puchchhidd

puchhnd

pusanem

Delius, p.41to ask.

Kratn., in

prakshydmi

puchchhissam

f

ditto, p. 10. t

prichhati

puchchhadi

.

. .

J

Var. viii. 12.

mriyate

mara,i

marnd

maranem

to die.

Var. viii. 18. \

xii.17. Mric. / 66.103.134. i

1 smardmi < smarasi

sumardmi \ sumaresi >

sumarand

...

to remember.

[ smritvd

sumaria j

pas. Vikr. 14 J

Mrichh. 21. 24

samarpayasi

san'fnppesi

sompnd

sompanem

to entrust.

Mrichh. 14. f

i prdpitd

pdbidd

\

131, Vikr.J 57. 97. 101 |

pabtdc, patto paviya

' - \

pdvanem

to obtain.

Hoi n fi9

prdpnomi

pdvimi

paw (a

l'( 1. JJ. vl . j

prdpsyasi

pdvihi

pdivahi j

Var iii 3. .

prabhavati

pabhava'i

. . .

he prevails.

2 ' Machcha also is, however, given \ "Wilson's dictionary as a Sanskrit form. 28 [See also Mrichhaka^i and Yikramorvas'I, etc., passim.']

THE DRAMATIC PRAKRITS.

21

REFERENCES.

SANSKRIT.

PRAKRIT.

HINDI.

MAHRATTl.'

ENGLISH.

-

bhavami

homi M

hun

(I become, or

Var. vii. 20

\ am.

21.viii. 1.

bhavasi

hosi

hai

J

(thou be-

Mrich. 105. < .38. 39. 72. 163. . .

bhavati | bhavanti

bhodi,hodi~\ hojja,hoj!ja'i}

honti

hai hain

. ,

( comest, etc. |he becomes, \ etc., (they become, \ etc.'

Prab. p. 44.

anubJutrpnti

artfthavanti

. ,

. . .

they /eel.

Mrichh. 141.

amtbhcwitum

an&bhavidum

...

...

to resl.

Mrichh. 21. 24

\bhaviskt- ( } yati \

' huvissadi \ hwvissadi )

hoihi 31

. . .

' > he will be.

1

thossami, 32 \

bhavish- i yami J

hofsam, f hohami, I

hunga

hoin

I will be.

^

Var. vii. 12.

hohimi 1

i

13. 14. 15. <

hossamo, ")

i

.Lassen,268.

bhavishya- maji

hohamo, hohimo, >

honge

'we vjjll be.

hohissa,

hohittha J

:

bhcivish* \

" hojfa, hojja \

Var. vii. 20.

yati 1

hojfahii,

hoga

hotl

he* will be.

01 *

y (

hojyafoi }

i . .

bhavatu

hq&a,u t | hojjau /

hujlye, hujiyo

. . .

(let him be ; { be (imper.).

Var. vii. 23.) 24. . . \

abhavat, abhut

huvla, hohla

bhaya, hw,\ hata t tha j

hota

he was.

Var. viii. 2. .

bhutam |

huam" 1 1 V ' (huam ?} 9

hun

. . .

.been.

Mrichh. 25. .

jvalaya

jalehi

jalana

. . .

to bdrn.

Var. viii. 13 'i

(

karomi, \

Vikr. 112. [

karomi <

kalemi,

or&

karitom

I do.

Mrich. 16. 31 )

1

karemi f

Mrichh. 132. Mrichh. 31. \ Vikr. 18. . )

kritam kritah

kade \ kulu, kao 33 J

kara, kiya

kela, keld

done.

i

karanto, \

%

Delius, pp. ) 27-29. . . j

kurvan <

kalento, f karento, I

karta

karit

doing.

i

kubbano 1

Delius, pp. 1 27-29. . . j

nirakritya

nirakariya <

koriya \ (Bengali.) }

. . .

(having un- \ done [done].

Delius, p. J7) Mrichh. 105 J

dadami

demi

deta

>

I give.

Mrichh. 66.

dadati

dedl

' .'*

. . .

he gives.

Var. viii. 62. ) Mrich. 95. 37.

dattam

dinnam

diya, dm

...

given.

Mrichh. 127.

dadati

dentl

detl

. . .

giving (fern.).

Mrichh. 32. } 163. . . .

margayati \

maggadi^ } maggedi )

mangna

maganem

to ask. "*

19 From havami, etc. ; see Lassen, p. 176. 30 Sot, Mrichh. 38. 102.

31 Hbihi, provincial for hoga. 3J Burnouf, Lotus, 687.

33 Delius seems to think kulu may be the Prakrit imperative.

34 Comp. maggo from margafy, ante, p. 18, Var. ii. 2. iii. 50.

22

THE DRAMATIC PEAKRITS.

REFERENCES.

SANSKRIT.

PRAKRIT.

HINDI.

MAHRATTl.

ENGLISH.

Mrichh. 79. )

1

82. 88. . .)

margayitum

maggidwn

. . .

Mrichh. 136 ( \

margacria- n&ia

maggama- \ nena }

. . .

;-,-v

to ask.

Mrichh. 95. .'

margayatah

maggantassa

...

. . . J

Mrichh. 12. < Mrichh/51. .

kalpayata kalpayitva

kappedha \ kappia }

. . .

kapanem

to cut.

Var. viii. 23'. ) Mrichh. 36. } Del. Ib. 16. )

Jnatva

jama

janiya(Bea.-\ gall.) ( , )

, ' -

having known

Vai viii. 56.) Delias, p. 24.) Mrichh. 37. .

s'rinomi s'rutva

s'unami s'unia

s'uniya ,

I'"'" '

to hear.

{

(Bengali.)"

j

Mri. 104. 105.

srinu

sunu, sunahi

sun ,

...

hear.

.Myich.45.70J

dhav, dhavati

dhovehi, ) dhoadi )

dhona

dhunem

to wash.

' Mrichh. 46. .

svapimah

subemha

sona

. . .

to sleep.

Prasan. 65., .

supta

sutta

soa

. . .

asleep.

Bal. 178. . .

svapsyami

suvissam

so,unga

I shall sleep.

Mrich.59.122) Var. viii. 25) Mrichh. 97. )

sthapay- itva sthapay-

thabia,thabia thabemi

thamria

thdmbanem )

to hold, stop.

Delias, 1&. .)

ami

' ' '~ '

Mrichh. 57. .

rakshami

rakkhami

rakhsia

rakhanem

to keep.

Var. viii.47. )

nrityati,

nachhac, j

Mrichh. 70. }

nrityate,

nachchladi, V

nachna

nachanem

to dance.

71. Del. 50. >

nrityan

nacKhanto J

<

Mrichh. 71 . .

sikshayantah

sikkhanta ,

sikhana

.

to teach.

Mrichh. 72. .

upavishtah

ubavittha

baiiha (?)

. . .

seated.

Cowell, App.\ A. p. '99. .)

kathayati

kahai

kahna

kathanem

S'ak. 45. 34. \ Mrich.4.80.)

kathaya

kahehfi, ) kadhehi ' J

. . .

. . . ,

Mrichh. 80. j

kathayish- \ yami )

kahissam

. . .

tO tGll*

Mrichh. 36. .

kathayitum

kahida

kaha

.

Mrichh.,103.

kathyate

Jcahijjadi

.

...

Delias, 86. ,\ Vikr. 2. . .)

asti

atti, achchi 35

(achhe (Ben-1 1 gali.) J

ahe

he is.

Mrichh. 99. .

stha

achchh&dha

5cAAo(Beng.'

ye are.

Lassen, 346. \ Cowell, 184.)

santi

achchanti

&AA(Beng)

they are.

Sutra 24. in (

.. .. r

App. A, . I

votlai \ \

,

Cowell, 99 . )

volai ) i

bolna

bolanem

to speak.

Mrichh. 105.

brumah

bollamo' 3 *

*

Delias, 67. .) Mrichh. 1 69. f

"labhante

) lahanti

lahate, lete

. . .

they receive.

J 5 Mr. Childers thinks the forms achchi, etc., cannot be referred to the Sanskrit root as. Asti, he says, hecame atthi in Pali, hut the Pali aehehhati is, he considers, beyond doubt the present tense of as, and points to an anomalous form atsati.

35 This alteration of brumah into bollamo may perhaps be conceived to have proceeded by the following steps : barumah, balumah, bollamo. Or it is possible that bol may be an indigenous non-Sanskrit form, f*r a vernacular root retained in Prakrit.

THE DRAMATIC PRAKRITS.

23

REFERENCES.

SANSKRIT.

PRAKRIT. HINDI.

MAHRATTI.

ENGLISH.

Mrichh. 115.J

kshipatu \ (phel, to go) /

pheladu 3T

phelite(Beng.)

. . .

' to throw.

Mrichh. 139.J

durtkarish- ) yami )

phela'iss'am

. : .

' '.

(T shall re- ( move.

Mrichh. 112.

jagrita

jaggetha

Jaffna

jaganem

to wake.

Var. vii. 7. .

gatah

ga'o

gaya

. . .

gone.

Var. vii. 1. j and ii. 24 . }

pathati

padha'i

padhna

padhanem

" 9

to read.

Mrichh. 121. \ Var. viii. 61. j

patami > .

pademi \ paqami )

padna

padanem

to fall.

Delius, 51. .

patitah

pad^do

pada

. . ,

fallen'.

Mrichh. 120.) Delius, p. 22. j

uddayante 3 {

uddenti } tttfda'enti )

udna

to fly.

Mrichh. 124. j

paridhasye

paiiliss'am

paharna |

pandhara- } nem }

|to put on \ (clothing),

Mrichh. 71 . .

pibanti

pianti

pma

pinem

to drink.

Delius, 77. .

jivami

jJami

jma )

, ,. ,

Mrichh. 170.

jivantam

jtantam

)

...

'

Mrichh. 165.

nishkasaya

ninaswa j nikalna }

. . .

to put out.

VOT vi 11 4-4. \

Vik.'l I.Del.! 60.Kram.10)

(varddhate, \varddhatam

( paddhadi \ vaddhadu }

badhna

wadhanetn

to increase.

Vikr. 44. . .

tvarayasva

turavc&ehi \

turant } (quickly.) /

. . .

hasten.

Var. viii. 4. .

tvarate

tuvara'i

. .

he hastens.

S'ak.43.168")

,

Vikr. 91. .

>

Delius, 79. 1 Hemachan- f dra, Cowell.

(pas'yami ) (drisyami 39 } darsaya

dekkharqi 40 dekhavahi

dekhna dikhana

dekhanem dakhavinem

to see. |to cause to ( sea

173. note . J Var. viii. 48.

yudhyate

jujjhdi

jxjhnfi,

junjhanem

/to fight: be \ killed.

Var. viii. 48.

budhyate

bujjhdi

bujhna

bujhanem

(to under- \ stand.

Var. viii. 25. } 26, Mrich. 73 j

dhyai

jha,sanjhaadi

samajhna (p)

samajanem

{to meditate, understand.

Kram. 28. in} Delius, p. 10. j

krudh

kujjh

. . .

. . .

to be angry.

Var. viii. 46.

rushyati

rusa'i

risiyana

...

to be angry.

Var. viii. 50.

mridnati

mala'i^

malna

. . .

to grind, rub.

37 Perhaps derived from prer, to impel. Comp". pellanena and vellanenp, rendered by preranena, in' the Bfilar., p. 203. Both roots are given in the lexicons.

38 Prof. Aufrecht draws my attention to the faot that, in the Vedas, the root signifying "to fly" is not di, but dl. See' also the intensive form of the verb in dediyitavai, S'atapatha Brahmana, v. 3, 2, 6, quoted by Bohtlingk and Roth, s.v.

39 This form may at one time have been' in use.

40 This word occurs on the Lat of Firoz Shah in the forms dekhati and dekhiye, anc?in the form dekhami in the inscription at Dhauli. See Burnouf, Lotus de la bonne Loi, pp. 666, 669, 671, 676, who supposes dekhati may come from an old form drisyati, he sees. Mr. Childers thinks, however, it must come from the Sanskrit future drakshyate.

41 See also Kramadls'vara, 39, in Delius, p. 11, There the root mrid is said to become man in Prakrit. In Persian also the verb malidan means to rifb.

24

THE DRAMATIC PRAKRITS.

REFERENCES.

SANSKRIT.

PRAKRIT.

HINDI.

MAHRATTI.

ENGLISH.

Var. viii. 53l'|

spkuf

phut tat, ) phuddi }

phutna

phutanem

to split.

Mrich.70. 7.) Delius, 59. /

badbyante

bajjhanti

bajhna

. . .

fto be bound I or caught.

Var. viii. 27.

khad

kha

khana

khanem

to eat.

Deliusj29. .

|mother-in-

Bal. 153.

s'vasru

sasue

sas

\ law.

Bal. 15&

svasrunam

sasunam

sas

Do. gen. pi.

Bal. 182.

bhru

bhu

bhaun

eyebrow.

Bal. 168. 176.

snusha

suna, susa

(daughter-in- ( law.

Bal. 34. 179.)

234. 245.364.J

sabdah

saddo

sound.

Bal. 245. 251*

mudgara

mogara

(mogra, | \mudgar )

& mallet.

Bal. 235.

dhuma

dhuSa

dhuan

smoke.

Bal. 238.

, pnrlrti/oh

paesu

pnn>v

at the feet.

v The word is translated by alitheh in Pandit Govinda Deva's edition. But I find the word praghuna in Wilson's Dictionary in the sense of guest ; and Bohtlingk and Roth give both that and another form prahuna. As, however, they do not cite from any very ancient author any passage in which the word is found, and as it is of rare occurrence as compared with atithi, it may perhaps ^ave been imported into Sanskrit from Prakrit. Pahuna, in the sense of "guest," fo, Mr. Childers informs me, a good Pali word.

THE DEAMATIC PRAKRITS.

25

1-

REFERENCES.

SANSKRIT.

PRAKRIT.

HINDI.

MAHRATTI ,

ENGLISH.

Bal. 142. 292.

pakva

pikka

pakka

mature.

Pras. 48.

murkha

murukha

murakh

fool.

Bal.49.93.270

jhatiti

jhatti

jhat

quickly.

Bal. 246. 270.

sirasa

sirena

sir

>

head.

Bal. 77. Prasan. 36.44.

katham katham

Ktsa kaham

\kaisa

how?

Prasan. 26.

vyaghrasya

vaghghassa

bagh

*

a tiger.

Prasan. 84. \ Bal. 76. 238.J

stana

tthana, thana

than

{

female breast, udder.

Bal. 168.

jihva , f .

Jtya

jlbh

tongue.

Bal. 276.

kamsyt ,

kqpisa

kans

beU taejal.

Var. yiii. 6. \ Bal. 76. J

ghurnat

gfiolanta

}

rolling.

Bal. 238. Bal. 246.

Bal. 143.

ghurnanti ghurnati

churnitam

gholanti ifliunnadi

ghullalidam

gholna (to > mix with a liquid.)

roll, move, turns round, fpounded^ ' ( crushed.

Mrichh. 3.

cihuyctr

Sdddubia ^

|

having callett,

\

> summoned.

Mrichh. 50.

cilivttycimi

saddubcwi

I call.

Mrichh. 54.

ahvaya

saddjibchi

call (imper.).

Mrichh. 54. j

ajnapayati b

saddabedi

(he com-

141. \

ahvayati }

\raands, calls.

Mrichh. 60. {

akarayish- \

sadd^briissatn

II shall

yami }

( summon.

Mrichh. 150.

ahuyate

saddabiadi

he is called.

Mrich. 6.

sprishtva

chhtyia 4 *

chhiyia (?) \ (to touch) )

. . .

^having ( touched.

Mrichh. 25.

ves'ya

tjosamq 45 '

a harlot.

[N.B. In this and the following list, it will he seen that I have generally 'given the Hindi and Mahratti verbs in the infinitive^ without reference to the mood or tense of the corresponding word in Prakrit. T\ie verbs in the Sanskrit column, on the contrary, are always exact renderings of the Prakrit ones, in tense, number, person, etc.]

i

43 This word is, no doubt, as Mr. Childers suggests, from the Sanskrit s^bdapay (see above the alteration of sabda into sadda}. The word sabdapayet occurs in the Eama- yana, ii. 57, 9, Schlegel's ed., and in ii. 59, 3, of the Bombay ed., where the commentary explains the word by akarayet, "summon." In Gorresio's ed., ii. 59, 6, the verb ahvayet, having the same sense, is substituted. Forms like sabdapay are, as Prof. Aufrecht informs me, very common in the later Sanskrit.

44 A various reading is bibia. Mr. Childers thinks chhibia comes from the Sanskrit chhup, "to touch." This root is given, he tells roe, in dough's list of Pali verbs in the sense of "to touch ; " and the word occurs in the Dhammapada, p. 156, line 1.

45 This word is, no doubt, derived frqm gosvaminl, the wife of a Gosvamin, or Goshain ; and I am told by a well-informed friend that the word has got the sense of harlot from the indifferent character of some of these female devotees.

26 THE DRAMATIC PRAKRITS.

It is thus clear from an examination of the Indian dramas, 1 " and of the examples furnished by the grammarians who treat of the dramatic dialects (as illustrated in the preceding comparative table), that the words which we find in Prakrit are in great part identical with those of Sanskrit, but more or less modified in their forms, and that these modifications are, in numerous instances, intermediate between the original Sanskrit words and the still mor