Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit
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| Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit | |
|---|---|
| Region | India |
| Era | ca. 1 CE to 400 CE |
Indo-European
| |
Early forms | |
| Kushana Brahmi | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | NoneCategory:Languages without Glottolog code |
Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit (EHS) was a hybridized dialect of Prakrit and Sanskrit used in Indian inscriptions from the 1st century CE to the 4rd century CE.[1][2]
It expanded out of Mathura, particularly in areas of Indo-Scythian and Kushana rule, and exhibited progressively increasing degrees of Sanskritization before giving way to Sanskrit proper, with which it previously coexisted along with Monumental Prakrit.[1]
Characteristics
Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit inscriptions exhibited a spectrum of hybridization, from "Prakrit influenced by Sanskrit" on the one hand to "Sanskrit influenced by Prakrit" on the other.[1]
Generally, it exhibited Sanskritic orthography / phonology (including unassimilated consonant clusters) together with Prakritic morphology and syntax.
Typical morphology:
- Nominative singular masculine ending for a-stems in -o instead of Sanskrit -aḥ[1]
- Genitive singular masculine ending in -sya instead of Prakrit -ssa (or Sanskrit -oḥ for non-a-stems)[1]
- Nominative singular masculine ending in -i for -in-stems[3]
- Instrumental plural suffix -ehi instead of Sanskrit -bhis[4]
Sample
A sample inscription from the Kankali Tila torana in Mathura:
bhadata-jayasenasya āṃtevāsinīye dhāmaghoṣaye dān[o] pāsādo[1]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Salomon, Richard (1998). Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages. Oxford University Press. pp. 81–86. ISBN 978-0-19-509984-3.
- ↑ Damsteegt, Th. (1978). Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit: Its Rise, Spread, Characteristics and Relationship to Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit. Orientalia Rheno-Traiectina. Vol. 23. Leiden: E. J. Brill. ISBN 9789004057258.
- ↑ Strauch, Ingo (2012). "The inscriptions from Hoq: texts and contexts". In Strauch, Ingo (ed.). Foreign Sailors on Socotra: The inscriptions and drawings from the cave Hoq. Bremen: Hempen Verlag. pp. 262–266. ISBN 978-3-934106-91-8.
- ↑ Hock, Hans Henrich (2024). "Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit: How Did It Originate?". Bhasha: Journal of South Asian Linguistics, Philology and Grammatical Traditions. 3 (2). Edizioni Ca’ Foscari: 179–180. doi:10.30687/bhasha/2785-5953/2024/02/001.