Grammar Of Apabhramsa

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Overview:

"A Grammar of Apabhramsa" by Madhusudan Mishra, published by Vidyanidhi Prakashan in 1992, aims to provide a detailed study of the Apabhramsa language. The author explicitly states that his work is exclusively based on the examples provided by Hemacandra in his grammar, though he has individually parsed each form. Mishra highlights that his research delves deeper than previous works, particularly in syntax, an area he feels Hemacandra and others like Pischel overlooked, believing Apabhramsa syntax to be identical to Sanskrit. Mishra emphasizes the crucial role Apabhramsa plays as the immediate predecessor to modern Indian vernaculars and seeks to explore the "dark periods" in linguistic history to unearth buried elements.

Key Themes and Arguments:

• Apabhramsa as a Crucial Linguistic Link: The book positions Apabhramsa as the transitional phase between classical Prakrit and the modern Indo-Aryan languages. It's seen as the direct ancestor of regional vernaculars.
• The "Dark Period": Mishra identifies "dark periods" between successive literary stages (Sanskrit to Prakrit, Prakrit to Apabhramsa, Apabhramsa to vernaculars). These periods represent the spoken forms of languages undergoing significant changes, often unrecorded by contemporary grammarians. Apabhramsa itself is seen as representing such a "dark period" between literary Prakrit and early vernaculars.
• Influence of Migration and Dialects: The preface touches upon the influence of migrating communities on language evolution, using examples from Gujarati and Bihari dialects to illustrate this point.
• Grammarian's Perspective vs. Spoken Language: Mishra believes that grammars of Apabhramsa were likely not written while the language was commonly spoken. Poets began using it when it was already "outdated," leading to some obscure words and forms even for grammarians.
• Syntax as a Key Area of Exploration: A significant contribution of the book is its dedicated chapter on Apabhramsa syntax. Mishra argues that Apabhramsa syntax shows salient features of its analytic descendants (modern vernaculars) and is not merely a simplified Sanskrit. He attempts to trace the evolution of Hindi sentence structures back to Apabhramsa.
• Linguistic Evolution: The book systematically outlines the phonetic and grammatical changes from Vedic Sanskrit through Pali, Prakrit, and finally to Apabhramsa, drawing parallels with the subsequent development into Hindi.

Structure and Content (as per the Table of Contents):

The book is structured into six chapters, with an Appendix and Index:

• Chapter 1: Origin of Apabhramsa:

  • Traces the evolution from Vedic speech, distinguishing levels of speech in Vedic society.
  • Discusses the role of popular language and priestly language.
  • Explains the development of Māgadhi and its relation to the Buddha's teachings.
  • Covers the influence of Pāṇini and the rise of Prakrit.
  • Highlights the distinct path of Jain canons and Ardhamāgadhi.
  • Details the changes leading to Prakrit (Sauraseni, Mahārāştri, Māgadhi).
  • Identifies key distinguishing features of Apabhramsa, including the loss of neuter gender, changes in case endings, and phonetic shifts.
  • Reiterates the concept of the "dark period" and the transition to isolating, analytic modern vernaculars.

• Chapter 2: Historical Apabhramsa Phonology:

  • Discusses phonetic changes in Pali and Prakrit leading to Apabhramsa.
  • Details the sounds of Apabhramsa (vowels and consonants).
  • Provides a historical survey of vowels (a, ā, i, u, ě, e, o, ō), noting their transformations and variations.
  • Classifies consonants (stops, semivowels, spirants) and describes their production.
  • Explains the assimilation of conjunct consonants and specific phonetic shifts for consonants like k, g, c, j, t, d, p, etc.

• Chapter 3: Declension:

  • Explains that noun, adjective, and pronoun declensions have largely merged, with pronominal endings often surviving.
  • Discusses the loss of dual number and the simplification of gender, with the disappearance of the neuter gender.
  • Details case endings and the convergence of cases (e.g., nominative-accusative, dative-genitive).
  • Illustrates declension with examples of masculine (kanta, aggi, taru) and feminine (bālā, sahi, vahu) nouns.
  • Discusses the development of new masculine nouns ending in ā and the impact of Persian.
  • Covers the declension of pronouns (first, second, third persons) and demonstratives (sa, ta, eha, o).
  • Explains the declension of relative (ja) and interrogative (ka) pronouns.
  • Details the declension of numerals (cardinals and ordinals).

• Chapter 4: Conjugation:

  • Explains that Apabhramsa primarily uses the present tense and modal forms (subjunctive, imperative, optative), with the past and future tenses largely replaced by past participles and future infixes, respectively.
  • Discusses the historical development of these tenses and moods from Sanskrit and Prakrit.
  • Analyzes typical Apabhramsa verbal bases (a-, e-, o-) and the formation of verbs.
  • Explains the use of passive and causal formations.
  • Details the formation of participles (present, past, future passive/gerundives) and their role in expressing tense, condition, and as adjectives.
  • Covers infinitive and absolutive forms, noting their similarities and the evolution of the absolutive suffix -i.

• Chapter 5: Word-formation, Compounds and Indeclinables:

  • Discusses word formation using primary and secondary suffixes, including those that create agent nouns and abstract nouns.
  • Explains the formation of compounds, categorizing them based on Sanskrit grammatical terms (Tatpuruşa, Karma-dhāraya, Dvandva, Bahuvrihi).
  • Lists various indeclinables (adverbs, conjunctions) derived from Sanskrit and their development.

• Chapter 6: An Outline of Syntax:

  • Positions Apabhramsa as the last stage in the transition from inflectional to isolating languages.
  • Discusses word order, generally subject-object-verb, with variations in metrical texts.
  • Examines the use of numbers and concord between adjectives, substantives, pronouns, and verbs.
  • Analyzes the decline in pronoun varieties and the co-relation of relative and demonstrative pronouns.
  • Details the government of cases, the indistinguishability of subject and object forms, and the use of instrumental and ablative for various functions.
  • Explains the role of genitive and locative cases and their gradual loss of endings.
  • Covers the use of tenses (present, past, future) and moods in expressing action, desire, order, and will.
  • Discusses passive constructions and the evolution of present and past participles and infinitives.

• Appendix:

  • Discusses post-Apabhramsa vernaculars, focusing on Awadhi and Hindi, and briefly mentioning Bihari languages.
  • Provides a skeletal grammar of Hindi and Awadhi, highlighting key features like sound simplification, gender/number, cases, and verb conjugations.

Author's Contribution and Philosophy:

Madhusudan Mishra's approach is characterized by meticulous individual parsing of Hemacandra's examples and a strong focus on syntax. He acknowledges the challenges of studying Apabhramsa due to the "dark periods" and the nature of its literary transmission. His work aims to bridge the gap between scholarly understanding of Apabhramsa and its direct linguistic lineage to modern vernaculars, particularly Hindi, emphasizing its role in shaping contemporary Indian languages. He expresses a desire for every vernacular to have a comparable Apabhramsa grammar.