A History of Sanskrit Literature c7.s4.3

c7.s4.3

Primary Prākrits, of which the Vedic language and its successor Sanskrit are literary forms; Secondary Prākrits, represented in literature by Pāli, by the Prākrits of the grammarians, of the drama and literature generally, and by the Apabhraṁças of the grammarians; and Tertiary Prākrits, the modern vernaculars. It may be doubted whether the terminology has sufficient merit to render it desirable to give it currency, because it obscures the constant process of change and suggests that there are greater distinctions between the periods than do exist, while it does not allow a special place to a fundamental innovation which occurs with the period designed as Secondary Prākrit.