A History of Indian Literature v2.c20.s3.2

v2.c20.s3.2

The language of the post-canonical Jaina works is partly Prākrit—the so-called Jaina-Māhārāṣṭrī—and partly Sanskrit. In general it may be said that the earlier works were in Prākrit, and that later, certainly not until the centuries of the Christian era, Sanskrit was also used. Side by side with Sanskrit, however, in which language some Jaina authors reached a great perfection, though others wrote it rather clumsily, Prākrit and the Apabhraṁśa dialects were still used, even in the later centuries, and lastly the modern Indian languages too: for the Jains, more than any other sect, have in their writings, and especially in their exceptionally comprehensive narrative literature, never addressed themselves exclusively to the learned classes, but made an appeal to other strata of the people also. As is still the case at the present day, it was among the merchant classes in particular that they found their most loyal lay adherents.