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Magadhi Prakrit

Written language of Ancient India

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History and overview

Magadhi Prakrit was spoken in the eastern Indian subcontinent, in a region spanning what is now eastern India, Bangladesh and Nepal. Associated with the ancient Magadha, it was spoken in present-day Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and eastern Uttar Pradesh under various Apabhraṃśa and Apabhraṣṭa dialects, and used in some Prakrit dramas to represent vernacular dialogue. It is believed to be the language spoken by the important religious figures Gautama Buddha and Mahavira and was also the language of the courts of the Magadha Mahajanapada and the Maurya Empire; some of the Edicts of Ashoka were composed in it.

Magadhi Prakrit later evolved into the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, categorised into four groups:

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