Prakrit Prakasa or the Prakrit Grammer of Vararuchi

Prakrit is a general term under which are comprised the various dialects which appear to have arisen in India out of the corruption of the Sanskrit language. Their investigation offers much to interest both the philologist and the students of linguistics. Besides throwing much light on the laws of euphony, the Prakrit is closely connected with several deeply interesting historical questions. The sacred dialects of the Buddha and Jainas are nothing else than Prakrit. When the Greeks, under Alexander came to India, Prakrit seems to have been the spoken dialect of the mass of people. The language of the rock inscriptions of King Asoka are also a form of Prakrit.

It also played an important part in the ancient Hindu Dramas. Vararuchi appears to have been the first grammarian who reduced these popular dialects to a system. This work is certainly our oldest authority for Prakrit grammar and its rules are generally quoted by the later grammarians and scholastic as par excellence the ‘Prakrit Sastra.’ Other grammarians have generally followed its system. The book contains complete text along with an exhaustive English translation with appendixes and index which will facilitate the students and the scholars working on this branch of linguistics.