Apabhramsa Forms in the Vasudevahindi

Summary

K.R. Chandra’s article ‘Apabhraṃśa Forms in the Vasudevahindī’ contributes to the study of the linguistic development of Middle Indo‑Aryan languages in Jain literature. The Vasudevahindī (VH) is a narrative text recounting stories told by the god Vasudeva; its language has been previously characterised by scholars such as L. Alsdorf and B.J. Sandesara as archaic Jain Māhārāṣṭrī with occasional Pāli and Ardhamāgadhī forms. Sandesara noted an isolated Apabhraṃśa stanza in his Gujarati translation, but earlier research suggested that Apabhraṃśa forms were otherwise absent. Chandra challenges this view by systematically reviewing the VH text and identifying numerous Apabhraṃśa features. He organises his findings into categories: phonological changes like the appearance of u/ū where earlier forms show o/au, elision of final vowels, and assimilation of consonant clusters; morphological forms such as the nominative singular ending –o for masculine nouns and plural endings –ā or –ū; and verbal conjugations that align with Apabhraṃśa patterns, including the use of –aha or –ai suffixes in present‑tense forms. Chandra provides examples of each form from the VH and compares them with standard Māhārāṣṭrī and documented Apabhraṃśa examples. He argues that these forms could indicate a transitional stage in the evolution of western Prakrits, suggesting that the VH may have been composed or transmitted during a period when Apabhraṃśa was emerging. The presence of Apabhraṃśa forms might also reflect scribal intervention: later copyists, familiar with Apabhraṃśa, may have normalised certain passages. Chandra highlights that the mixture of linguistic layers complicates attempts to date the text based solely on linguistic criteria. Additionally, he notes that the stylistic function of Apabhraṃśa in the VH differs from its use in poetry: in the VH, Apabhraṃśa appears mainly in narrative and dialogue rather than as a marker of lyricism. The article emphasises the need for comprehensive philological editions of the VH that account for linguistic variation and scribal errors. Chandra’s findings contribute to broader discussions on the development of Apabhraṃśa and its interaction with Jain literary traditions, illustrating how languages evolve through contact and transmission.