Dear Colleagues,

I have a question about the Gandhari Prakrit. From the Gandhari Dharmapada edited by John Brough to recent publications of the Buddhist Gandhari materials, we have come to learn of Gandhari as a variety of Prakrit. To my memory, the Prakrit grammars do not mention Gandhari Prakrit, while they do refer to numerous regional varieties. I am just wondering why the Gandhari Prakrit did not enter into the description of Prakrit varieties by the Prakrit grammarians. If Pāṇini's grammar coming from the Swat valley survived and prospered in the mainland of India, why did the Gandhari Prakrit remain unknown? Any suggestions?

Madhav M. Deshpande

Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies

Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India

[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]