| Monumental Prakrit | |
|---|---|
| Region | India |
| Era | ca. 200 BCE to 450 CE |
Indo-European
| |
Early forms | |
| Brahmi | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
Monumental Prakrit was aMiddle Indo-Aryan dialect used as alingua franca inIndian inscriptions from the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century CE.[1][2][3]
It developed out of a west-central dialect closely related to theAshokan Prakrit exhibited in theGirnar Rock Edicts, with a resemblance to literaryPali.
After the end of theMauryan Empire, it became the dominant inscriptional language in India outside of Northwestern India before being gradually replaced byEpigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit andSanskrit, first in North India and then in Southern India where it was last evidenced in the 5th century CE.[3]
Monumental Prakrit is often simply labeled asPrakrit in articles describing inscriptions.[4]
According to Richard Salomon, Monumental Prakrit "partakes of the typical characteristics of the western and central MIA languages"[1]:
A sample inscription from theBharhut stupa:
jetavena anādhapeḍiko deti kotisaṃthatena ketā[5]