Ashokan Prakrit
Ancient Indo-Aryan dialect continuum / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ashokan Prakrit (or Aśokan Prākṛta) is the Middle Indo-Aryan dialect continuum used in the Edicts of Ashoka, attributed to Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire who reigned 268 BCE to 232 BCE.[1] The Edicts are inscriptions on monumental pillars and rocks throughout the Indian subcontinent that cover Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism and espouse Buddhist principles (e.g. upholding dhamma and ahimsa).
Ashokan Prakrit | |
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Region | South Asia |
Era | 268—232 BCE |
Indo-European
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Early forms | |
Brahmi, Kharoshthi | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | – |
The Ashokan Prakrit dialects reflected local forms of the Early Middle-Indo-Aryan language. Three dialect areas are represented: Northwestern, Western, and Eastern. The Central dialect of Indo-Aryan is exceptionally not represented; instead, inscriptions of that area use the Eastern forms. [2]: 50 [1] Ashokan Prakrit is descended from an Old Indo-Aryan dialect closely related to Vedic Sanskrit, on occasion diverging by preserving archaisms from Proto-Indo-Aryan.
Ashokan Prakrit is attested in the Dhammalipi and the Kharoshthi script (only in the Northwest).