Vidya

Hindus..... look what we have lost 1800 yrs old Ancient Devi Mahatmya scripture from Oxford University, England🧵

Sorry for this rant, but I've noticed from interacting with Sanskrit-language enthusiasts on Reddit, Discord, etc. that people who encounter Prakrit lines in Sanskrit plays typically don't bother with the Prakrit itself and skip to the Sanskrit chāyā instead. This is cheating and it breaks immersion! Educated people who watched the plays of Kālidāsa, Bhavabhūti, Bhāsa, Śūdraka, et al. enacted over a thousand years ago typically understood both Sanskrit & the Prakrits and could understand the gist even if they didn't have perfect fluency over both. They didn't have a Sanskrit chāyā to rely on as a crutch. Next time, cover up the chāyā and try to see if you understand the Prakrit. The chāyā should only be used as a gloss for validation to confirm your own decipherment. It's a pedagogical tool and it is not meant substitute for the original. If one doesn't understand "mama-kerae uḍae Makkaṇḍeassa isi-kumāraassa vaṇṇa-cittido mittiā-morao ciṭṭhadi taṃ se uvahara" without relying on a chāyā ("madīyaʸ uṭaje Mārkaṇḍeyasya rṣi-kumārakasya varṇa-citrito mṛttikā-mayūras tiṣṭhati tam asyopahara"), it's best to try to fill the gaps in one's knowledge. Ideally, one should first start with Setubandham and Gāthāsaptaśatī along with chāyā and compare each verse to the Sanskrit chāyā in order to get a feel for the most common Prakrit sound changes. They should then study the grammar of either Hemacandra or Trivikrama. This should ideally be done before reading Kālidāsa, Bhavabhūti, et al.

लक्ष्मीः पद्मासना देवी पद्महस्ता हरिप्रिया । Lakshmi, seated upon the lotus, lotus-handed and beloved of Hari.