Thodak Apbhramsa Paramparana Bhasha Prayogo

This document, "Thodak Apbhramsa Paramparana Bhasha Prayogo" by Balwant Jani and H.C. Bhayani, published by ZZ_Anusandhan, explores the influence of Apabhramsha language on early medieval Gujarati literature.

The authors specifically examine the work "Bharteshwar-Bahubali-Ras," composed in 1185 CE by Shalibhadra Suri, and highlight the significant presence of Apabhramsha linguistic features within it. They present two types of examples: grammatical and lexical.

Grammatical Examples:

• Relational Past Participle: Citing H.V. Bhayani's "Siddhahem Apabhramsa Vyakaran," the text notes that Apabhramsha used prefixes like "vi," "ti," and "dhi" before consonant-starting suffixes for relational past participles. The opening lines of "Bharteshwar-Bahubali-Ras" are cited as an example: "risaha-jinesara-pay pashumevee, sarasati-samini mani samarevee, namavi nirantar guru-chalani (1)."
• Future Tense: The text points out a future tense form in Apabhramsha, characterized by the suffix "-nu," found in the 15th verse of "Bharteshwar-Bahubali-Ras": "pahilu taay-paay panamese, raj-siddhi raniyphal lese chak-anu tav anusaravu (15)." This translates to "First, bow down to your parents, you will attain kingdom and prosperity." The authors note that in other contexts, Apabhramsha might use different letters to maintain metrical structure.

Lexical Examples:

• "Anai Pakharu": The text identifies the phrase "a anai pakharu" from the 84th verse of "Bharteshwar-Bahubali-Ras," which means "one is a lion and also armored." This phrase is also found in Sumatisuri's Apabhramsha work "Jindattakhyana."
• "Sunasana": Another word identified is "sunasana" from the 179th verse, meaning "empty seats" or "seats without riders." The text elaborates that this term is used in Apabhramsha poetry to describe situations related to warfare, specifically referring to riderless horses or elephants.
  • The authors provide examples from other Apabhramsha texts to illustrate the usage of "sunasana":
    • From Nalachampu: "Keriu chavahu vay sunanasana" (42, 12, 8) meaning "How many meaningless, empty words will you speak?"
    • From the same text: "Dhita tahi sunasana bhasan ranu jahi" (68, 11, 2) meaning "Throw it there in the dreadful, empty forest."
• "Sunegai": The text also discusses the word "sunegai" in Apabhramsha literature, which is used in two contexts:
  1. Warfare: Describing riderless mounts (elephants, horses, chariots) in descriptions of battles, usually due to the death of the mahout, rider, or charioteer. Examples from ninth-century works like Swayambhudeva's "Paumachariya" and Veerakavi's "Jambuswami Charia" are given to illustrate this usage.
  2. Good Governance: Describing something "sunu" (meaningless, without people or empty).

The authors conclude that the "Bharteshwar-Bahubali-Ras" preserves both these types of Apabhramsha influences and that the entire work warrants independent study from this perspective.