Maharashtri Prakrit

E22444

Maharashtri Prakrit is an ancient Middle Indo-Aryan language historically used in western and central India, especially in classical poetry and drama, and is a key ancestor of several modern Indo-Aryan languages.

Aliases (1)

Statements (46)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Middle Indo-Aryan language
Prakrit language
alternateName Maharashtri
Maharashtri Apabhramsha (in some traditional classifications)
ancestorOf Konkani language
Marathi language
some modern Indo-Aryan languages of western India
comparedWith Magadhi Prakrit
Shauraseni Prakrit
historicalPeriod Middle Indo-Aryan period
influenced early Konkani literature
early Marathi literature
ISOStatus does not have a modern ISO 639-1 code
languageFamily Indo-Aryan languages
Indo-European languages
Indo-Iranian languages
linguisticStage middle stage between Vedic Sanskrit and New Indo-Aryan languages
notableFor being a key ancestor of Marathi
extensive use in classical Sanskrit dramas for certain characters
predecessor Old Indo-Aryan (Vedic Sanskrit)
region Deccan region
Maharashtra region
roleInTradition important literary Prakrit in classical India
spokenIn Central India
Western India
stageOf historical development of Indo-Aryan languages
status historical language
subclassOf Indo-Aryan language
Indo-European language
Indo-Iranian language
successor Apabhramsha varieties of western India
timeDepth roughly 1st millennium BCE to early 2nd millennium CE as a literary language
typologicalFeature phonological changes from Old Indo-Aryan vowels
reduction of Sanskrit case system
simplified consonant clusters compared to Sanskrit
use of postpositions instead of some Sanskrit case endings
usedBy classical Indian dramatists
classical Indian poets
usedIn classical drama
classical poetry
religious literature
secular literature
usedInGenre courtly poetry
romantic drama
writingSystem Brahmi script
various regional Brahmi-derived scripts

Referenced by (6)

Please wait…