A Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India v3.c17.94

v3.c17.94

Be this as it may, the nearest Indian dialect to Pali seems undoubtedly to be the Prakrit of the Bhâgavatî, a sacred book of the semi-Buddhist sect of Jainas. If Hemachandra, himself a Jain and author of several works on Prakrit, were available for reference, our task would be easier; as yet, however, none of Hemachandra’s writings have been printed or edited. Weber’s articles on the Bhâgavatî are at present our only source of information.²