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Ashokan Prakrit
Ancient Indo-Aryan dialect continuum / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ashokan Prakrit, also known as Asokan Prakrit or Aśokan Prakrit (IAST: Aśoka Prākṛta), is the Middle Indo-Aryan dialect continuum used in the Edicts of Ashoka, attributed to Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire who reigned 268 BCE to 232 BCE.[2] The Edicts are inscriptions on monumental pillars and rocks throughout the Indian subcontinent that cover Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism and espouse Buddhist principles (e.g. upholding dhamma and ahimsa).
Ashokan Prakrit | |
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![]() Ashokan Prakrit inscribed in the Brahmi script at Sarnath. | |
Region | South Asia |
Era | 268—232 BCE[1] |
Indo-European
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Early forms | |
Brahmi, Kharoshthi | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | – |
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The Ashokan Prakrit dialects reflected local forms of the Early Middle-Indo-Aryan language. Three dialect areas are represented: Northwestern, Western, and Eastern. The Central dialect of Indo-Aryan is exceptionally not represented; instead, inscriptions of that area use the Eastern forms. [3]: 50 [2] Ashokan Prakrit is descended from an Old Indo-Aryan dialect closely related to Vedic Sanskrit, on occasion diverging by preserving archaisms from Proto-Indo-Aryan.
Ashokan Prakrit is attested in the Brahmi script, as well as the Kharoshthi script in the north-west.[clarification needed]