Language of the Snakes

2017·6.7 MB·English

by  Ollett, Andrew

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Language of the Snakes
SOUTH ASIA ACROSS THE DISCIPLINES
Edited by Muzaffar Alam, Robert Goldman, and Gauri Viswanathan
Dipesh Chakrabarty, Sheldon Pollock, and Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Founding Editors
Funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and jointly published
by the University of California Press, the University of Chicago Press, and Columbia
University Press
For a list of books in the series, see page 309.
Language of the Snakes
Prakrit, Sanskrit, and the Language
Order of Premodern India
Andrew Ollett
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university
presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advanc-
ing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its
activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic
contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information,
visit www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2017 by Andrew Ollett
Suggested citation: Ollett, Andrew. Language of the Snakes: Prakrit, S anskrit,
and the Language Order of Premodern India. Oakland: University of
California Press, 2017. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/luminos.37
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND license.
To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Ollett, Andrew, 1986- author.
Title: Language of the snakes : Prakrit, Sanskrit, and the language order of
premodern India / Andrew Ollett.
Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2017] |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2017018705 (print) | LCCN 2017019745 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780520968813 (ebook) | ISBN 9780520296220 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Prakrit literature—History and criticism. | Prakrit
languages. | Sanskrit literature—History and criticism. | Language and
culture—India.
Classification: LCC PK4994 (ebook) | LCC PK4994 .O45 2017 (print) |
DDC 891/.3-dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017018705
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यस्या मे शयान्तिरयाद्याययामयाख्याययां यवनयायते |
तस्यै सव्वस्वभूतयायया इदं सववं च सव्वदया ॥

contents
List of Illustrations ix
List of Tables x
Acknowledgments xi
1. Prakrit in the Language Order of India 1
2. Inventing Prakrit: The Languages of Power 26
3. Inventing Prakrit: The Languages of Literature 50
4. The Forms of Prakrit Literature 85
5. Figuring Prakrit 111
6. Knowing Prakrit 141
7. Forgetting Prakrit 169
Appendix A 189
Appendix B 193
Appendix C 205
Notes 213
Bibliography 259
Index 297