Studies in the Epics and Puranas c9.1

c9.1

In the introduction to his *Dynasties of the Kali Age*, Pargiter observes with regard to the Purāṇas that "It is highly probable that they consisted at first mainly of ancient stories, genealogies, ballads, etc., which formed the popular side of ancient literature, and were quite probably in Prakrit originally", which he calls "an old literary Prakrit used by the higher classes."¹ These were Sanskritized later on by converting Prakrit words into Sanskrit and by substituting the future for the past tense without violating the metre, as also by dropping words, inserting compensatory expletives and recasting the sentence occasionally.² He mentions the following six peculiarities as supporting his inference, offering proof in Appendix I of the same book: "first, certain passages violate the śloka metre, whereas in Prakrit form they would satisfy the metre; secondly, certain Prakrit forms actually occur, especially where they are actually required by the metre, which the corresponding Sanskrit forms would violate; thirdly, Sanskrit words occur at times in defiance of syntax, whereas the corresponding Prakrit forms would make the construction correct; fourthly, mistaken Sanskritization of names and words; fifthly the copious use of expletive particles; sixthly, irregular Sandhi."³