Language of the Snakes: Prakrit, Sanskrit, and the Language Order of Premodern IndiaAt publication date, a free ebook version of this title will be available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Language of the Snakes traces the history of the Prakrit language as a literary phenomenon, starting from its cultivation in courts of the Deccan in the first centuries of the common era. Although little studied today, Prakrit was an important vector of the kavya movement and once joined Sanskrit at the apex of classical Indian literary culture. The opposition between Prakrit and Sanskrit was at the center of an enduring “language order” in India, a set of ways of thinking about, naming, classifying, representing, and ultimately using languages. As a language of classical literature that nevertheless retained its associations with more demotic language practices, Prakrit both embodies major cultural tensions—between high and low, transregional and regional, cosmopolitan and vernacular—and provides a unique perspective onto the history of literature and culture in South Asia. |
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Common terms and phrases
Abhinavagupta Alsdorf Andhra anthology Apabhramsha authors Bhayani Bhoja Bombay Mumbai Buddhist called chapter classical commentary composed courtly Daṇḍin’s defined discourse discussion earliest early Edited example Gautamiputra guage Hāla Haribhadra Hemacandra history of Prakrit Jacobi Jain monk Jain Prakrit Jainism jāti Kālidāsa Kāma Kanaganahalli Kannada kāvya king knowledge of Prakrit Kuvalayamālā language order language practices later Light on Prakrit linguistic literary culture literary language Mahāvīra meaning meters metrical Middle Indic Middle Indic languages millennium Mirashi Mirror of Literature Mīrzā Mumbai Nāgārjuna narrative Nātyaśāstra Nitti-Dolci Pālitta Pāṇini Pischel poems poets political Prakrit forms Prakrit grammar Prakrit language Prakrit literature Prakrit poetry Prakrit texts prakrtam Rājaśekhara Rāma Rāmāyaṇa Rāvaṇa’s Demise Rāvanas refers represented saṃskāra Sanskrit and Prakrit Sātavāhana schema scholars Seven Centuries Sheldon Pollock Sircar skrit Śrī Sri Sātakarni story Sūtra Śvetāmbara Tamil Taraṅgavatī Telugu textual Tieken tion tradition translation Treatise on Theater Upadhye Vararuci Väsisthiputra Sri vernacular Vikramāditya
Bibliographic information
| Title | Language of the Snakes: Prakrit, Sanskrit, and the Language Order of Premodern India JSTOR Open Access monographs OAPEN Library South Asia Across the Disciplines |
| Author | Andrew Ollett |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Univ of California Press, 2017 |
| ISBN | 0520296222, 9780520296220 |
| Length | 308 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / Asia / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |