Tribes in Ancient India c50.424

c50.424

On account of Magadha’s predominant political position, the language spoken there obtained recognition all over India in very early times. The *Mahāvaṃsa* goes so far as to tell us that the Māgadhī language is the root of all Indian languages.⁷ It was in this Māgadhī language that Buddhaghosa translated the Sinhalese commentary on the *Tripiṭaka*.⁸ At the time of Aśoka, as the numerous inscriptions scattered all over India show, the dialect of Magadha must have been understood over the greater part of India.