Two major branches of language existed.
Sanskrit is the one crafted with care &
grammatically sound.
Chandas is the source of Sanskrit.
Chandas refers to the measurement of sound –
vedic syllable.
The other was a metamorph of the former but
loosely arranged, used by locals as vernacular language.
While the former is Sanskrit, the latter is
Prakrit.
Many languages of the Dravida region of
Bharat trace their source to Prakrit.
Prakrit is the earliest form of almost every
language in the Dravida region of Bharat; like Pali, Sauraseni, Ardhamagadhi
etc...
The present day dravidian languages like
Marathi, Gujarathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil... are all metamorphs of Prakrit; in
other words, descendents of Prakrit.
From Chandas, emerged Sanskrit.
From Sanskrit, emerged Prakrit.
From Prakrit, emerged the present day
dravidian languages.
“prakṛtiḥ saṃskṛtaṃ, tatrabhavaṃ prākṛtam
ucyate”
Sanskrit is called the prakṛti (origin), and
from there prākṛtam originates.
Kannada, Tamil, Tulu, Telugu, Malayalam,
Marathi, Gujarathi, Oriya, are all siblings.
Prakrit is the parent.
Sanskrit is the grandparent!
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