Page:The history of the Bengali language (1920).pdf/242

220 Mahārāṣṭri is the প্রাকৃত par excellence, while Sauraseni occupies the second place. In the Nātya Śāstra of Bharata Muni however, the name Mahārāṣṭri for a Prākṛta is wholly unknown, and it is Sauraseni which has been accorded the rank of honour. Be the composition in prose or in poetry, the language of a drama should be শৌরসেনী according to the dictum of the Nātya Śāstra; the direction is 'শৌরসেনং সমাশ্রিত্য ভাষা কার্য্যা তু নাটকে.'

Even the country name মহারাষ্ট্র was unknown in the days of নাট্যশাস্ত্র, since in noticing a provincial linguistic peculiarity of the Mahārāṣṭra country, as well as of some tracts adjoining to that country, only a general geographical description occurs in the 60th verse which runs as:

If the statements and illustrations of the নাট্যশাস্ত্র be compared with those of later works on Dramaturgy, we can clearly see that the high  class artificial প্রাকৃত which is closely allied to Sanskrit, has been called শৌরসেনী in the নাট্যশাস্ত্র and মহারাষ্ট্রী in the later works. It appears that the artificially got-up standard Prākṛta obtained the name শৌরসেনী in the নাট্যশাস্ত্র, as perhaps the seat of  Northern culture was transferred in the days of the Nātya Śāstra, from Magadha to the country watered by the Jumna; it seems that for similar reasons, the standard Prākṛta, acquired the name Mahārāṣṭri, in the days of Vararuchi. It is highly probable, that the name of the standard Prākṛta indicates culture-centre, and does not signify any provincial language or dialect. That the standard প্রাকৃত was the Prākṛta, of no particular province, but was in reality a language fabricated by reducing Sanskrit to