Maharashtra HSC Ardhamagadhi flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Ardhamagadhi meaning

The name means 'half-Magadhi', reflecting the traditional view that the language blends Magadhi features with other Prakrit traits. It is the language of the Jain canon.

Aṅga texts

The oldest core division of the Jain canon, composed largely in Ardhamagadhi prose with verse sections. They are the primary source for prescribed prose passages.

Kalpasutra content

A major Ardhamagadhi prose work traditionally ascribed to Bhadrabahu, giving the lives of the Tirthankaras, especially Parshvanatha and Mahavira, and rules for monastic conduct.

Maharashtri Prakrit

A Prakrit used chiefly for lyric and court poetry, distinct from Ardhamagadhi. It is one of the regional Prakrits alongside Shauraseni and Magadhi.

Ahiṃsā definition

Non-injury in thought, word, and deed. In the prescribed texts it is the foundation of both the monastic great vows and the lay vows.

Anekāntavāda

The doctrine of many-sidedness: reality has infinite aspects, so no single description is complete. Its logical form, syādvāda, qualifies each assertion with the particle syāt.

Nine tattvas

The Jain categories: jīva, ajīva, āsrava, bandha, saṃvara, nirjarā, mokṣa, puṇya, and pāpa. Examination questions often ask where a term belongs in this list.

Ratnatraya

The three jewels: samyagdarśana (right faith), samyagjñāna (right knowledge), and samyakcāritra (right conduct). Liberation requires all three together.

Kevalajñāna

Omniscience, the state in which the jīva directly knows all substances and their modes. It arises when the destructive karmas are fully removed.

Mahāvrata list

The five monastic vows: ahiṃsā, satya, asteya, brahmacarya, and aparigraha. Their lay counterparts are the aṇuvratas, observed in a limited form.

Ghātiyā karma

Destructive karma that obscures the jīva's inherent qualities. It comprises knowledge-obscuring, view-obscuring, delusion-producing, and conduct-obscuring karmas.

a-stem nominative singular

Masculine a-stem nouns such as deva- take -o in the nominative singular: devo. This ending distinguishes Ardhamagadhi from Sanskrit devaḥ.

a-stem instrumental singular

The masculine a-stem instrumental singular ends in -eṇa, as in deveṇa. The same form serves for the ablative in many paradigms.

ā-stem feminine singular

Feminine ā-stem nouns such as sayā- take -āe in instrumental, dative, ablative, genitive, and locative singular, and -aṃ in the accusative singular.

Third person pronoun

The ta- pronoun is irregular: so (he), sā (she), taṃ (it) in the singular; te, tāo, taīm in the plural. Memorise the forms directly.

Optative ending -ejjā

The optative mood, used for injunction and polite command, commonly ends in -ejjā in the third person singular. It is frequent in canonical prose.

Cerebralisation rule

Sanskrit n becomes Ardhamagadhi ṇ when preceded by r, ṣ, or ṭ. The change is conditioned by the earlier retroflex or r sound.

Absolutive -ūṇa

The absolutive endings -ttā, -ttāṇam, and -ūṇa mark an action preceding the main verb. In Marathi they are rendered with …ऊन or a subordinate clause.

Genitive to Marathi

The Ardhamagadhi genitive in -assa is normally rendered in Marathi by -चा, -ची, or -चे, agreeing with the possessed noun in gender and number.

Negative particle na

Ardhamagadhi negates with the particle na or no placed before the verb. Marathi uses a verbal suffix instead, so the particle must be supplied in reverse translation.

Back-formation caution

When writing Ardhamagadhi from Marathi, do not copy the Sanskrit form. Apply the regular Prakrit changes: intervocalic -t- > -y-, cluster simplification, and n > ṇ.

Upamā marker

Simile is signalled by particles such as va, iva, jahā, or taha. Identify the subject compared and the object of comparison before naming the device.

Rūpaka versus upamā

Metaphor occurs when the comparison particle is absent and the subject is directly identified with the image. A simile retains the particle and keeps the two terms distinct.

Anuprāsa versus yamaka

Alliteration repeats the same consonant; yamaka repeats an identical word or syllable group with a different sense. The two are frequently confused in examination answers.

Śānta rasa

The rasa of peace and equanimity, dominant in Jain devotional and didactic verse. It arises when attachment and aversion are stilled and the teaching is received.

Atiśayokti

Hyperbole: a description that deliberately exceeds ordinary possibility, common in eulogies of Tirthankaras and ascetics. It is a figure of sense, not of sound.

Āryā metre

A quantitative Prakrit metre of four feet with a fixed mora count. It is common in the prescribed verse and is usually only identified, not fully scanned.

Prose passage structure

Canonical narrative prose typically moves from setting and characters, through an incident or question, to a teaching and a concluding moral. Content questions target this chain.

Speech verbs

Verbs such as bhāsai, āha, and vayāsī introduce direct speech. Match the verb's person and number to the preceding subject to identify the speaker.

Stock epithets

Fixed honorific titles applied to Tirthankaras, monks, and kings. They often identify a character without naming him and are frequent targets of comprehension questions.

Central message rule

When asked for a passage's message, prefer the statement made by the senior character at the close of the passage over an earlier remark by a minor figure.

Unseen passage first step

Locate the finite verb of each clause and mark its person and number. The verb identifies the subject and disambiguates the surrounding case forms.

Sandhi-splitting answers

Give both resolved members and name the rule applied: vowel coalescence, consonant assimilation, or cerebralisation. Marks are usually allotted to the rule.