ApabhraṃśaApabhraṃśa (अपभ्रंश, ɐpɐbɦrɐ̃ˈɕɐ, Prakrit: , அவப்பிரஞ்சனம், , əʋəp:ɪɾəɲdʒənəm) is a term used by vaiyākaraṇāḥ (native grammarians) since Patañjali to refer to languages spoken in North India before the rise of the modern languages. In Indology, it is used as an umbrella term for the dialects forming the transition between the late Middle and the early Modern Indo-Aryan languages, spanning the period between the 6th and 13th centuries CE. However, these dialects are conventionally included in the Middle Indo-Aryan period.
Sthavira nikāyaThe Sthavira nikāya (Sanskrit "Sect of the Elders"; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools. They split from the majority Mahāsāṃghikas at the time of the Second Buddhist council. The Sthavira nikāya was one of the early Buddhist schools. The Sthavira nikāya split away from the majority Mahāsāṃghikas during the Second Buddhist council resulting in the first schism in the Sangha.
PrakritThe Prakrits (ˈprɑːkrɪt; प्राकृत, prākṛta; Tamil and Telugu: pāgadam; 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Indo-Aryan languages, excluding earlier inscriptions and Pali. Prākṛta has two meanings: one is "natural", as opposed to saṃskṛta, which literally means "constructed" or "refined". The other meaning, as quoted by A.
Brahmi scriptBrahmi (ˈbrɑːmi; ; ISO: Brāhmī; Sometimes also known as dhamma lipi) is a writing system of ancient South Asia that appeared as a fully developed script in the third century BCE. Its descendants, the Brahmic scripts, continue to be used today across South and Southeast Asia. Brahmi is an abugida which uses a system of diacritical marks to associate vowels with consonant symbols.
PaliPali (ˈpɑːli) is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language on the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist Pāli Canon or Tipiṭaka as well as the sacred language of Theravāda Buddhism. The word 'Pali' is used as a name for the language of the Theravada canon. The word seems to have its origins in commentarial traditions, wherein the Pāli (in the sense of the line of original text quoted) was distinguished from the commentary or vernacular translation that followed it in the manuscript.
Punjabi languagePunjabi (pʌnˈdʒɑːbi; Shahmukhi: ; Gurmukhi: ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, pəɲˈdʒab̆.bi), sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It has approximately 113 million native speakers. Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 80.5 million native speakers as per the 2017 census, and the 11th most widely-spoken in India, with 31.1 million native speakers, as per the 2011 census.
Early Buddhist schoolsThe early Buddhist schools are those schools into which the Buddhist monastic saṅgha split early in the history of Buddhism. The divisions were originally due to differences in Vinaya and later also due to doctrinal differences and geographical separation of groups of monks. The original saṅgha split into the first early schools (generally believed to be the Sthavira nikāya and the Mahāsāṃghika) during or after the reign of Aśoka.
