Paisachi is an
ancient language which flourished during the 5th Century BCE. According to some historians and grammarians,
this language is much alike Prakrit- the language of the masses during the
ancient period.
The etymology of the name suggests
that it is spoken by piśācas, "ghouls". In works of Sanskrit poetics
such as Daṇḍin’s Kavyadarsha, it is also known by the name of Bhūtabhāṣa, an epithet which can be interpreted either as
a "dead language" (i.e. with no surviving speakers), or as "a
language spoken by the dead" (i.e. ghouls or ghosts), the former
interpretation being more realistic and the latter being the more fanciful.
It is not
known to what extent this was a vernacular or an artificial literary language,
comparable to Pāli.
There are no
extant works in this language today, and the only work attributed to be in
Paisaci is the Brihat-katha (The Large Story), a large collection of
stories written in the 5th century BC. It is known of through its adaptation in
Sanskrit as the Katha-Saritsagara in the 11th century by Somadeva. One
of the famous series of stories in this work is the Vikram and Vetaal
series.
Paisachi has
influenced many modern languages in India.
Words used in Tulu language are much alike Paisachi.
All sources
related to Paisachi are inferenced from the work of Gunadya- ‘BrihatKadha’.
Why is
Paisachi Relevant?
After Ramayana
and Mahabharata, the most renowned Indian epic is the Panchatantra.
Panchatantra is a literary work with pan Indian reputation
retaining its relevance even today with an unfailing appeal for the younger
generation. There are two traditions of the Panchatantra
in Sanskrit. The first one is the ‘Panchatantra’ by Vishnusharma which is available. The second version is by Vasubhaga Bhatta. Both these
versions have sprung from the Brihatkatha by
Gunadhya written in Paishacha
language. The Sanskrit original of Vasubhaga Bhatta is not found. Panchatantra
contains a number of stories constructed to teach the art of diplomacy and
political administration to three princes of the king Amarashakti.
No comments:
Post a Comment