𑀘𑀖𑀢𑀺

Ashokan Prakrit

FWOTD – 26 October 2022

Etymology

Inherited from Sanskrit शक्ष्यति (śakṣyati), from शक् (śak, “to be able”).[1][2] Cognate with Pali sagghati.[3]

While the expected outcome is *𑀘𑀔𑀢𑀺 (*cakhati /⁠cakkhati⁠/), voicing of consonant clusters appears to have been a (eastern[4]) dialectal feature that has been adopted widely in some cases, e.g. 𑀅𑀠 (aḍha /⁠aḍḍha⁠/, “eight”) from Sanskrit अष्ट (aṣṭa).

Earlier literature was unable to reconcile the voicing, and looked for explanations in Sanskrit चक्ष् (cakṣ, “to see”) and the (spurious?) root चर्घ् (cargh, “to go”)[5][6] only listed in Wilson's Sanskrit dictionary. Chatterji sought to tie this term to the New Indo-Aryan terms meaning "want" or modal "should", listed under Ashokan Prakrit *𑀘𑀸𑀳𑁆 (*cāh).[7] Given modern scholarship, all this appears unlikely.

Verb

𑀘𑀖𑀢𑀺 (caghati /cagghati/)

to be able to
- c. 237 BCE, Ashoka, Major Pillar Edict 4, Delhi-Topra :
  𑀅𑀣𑀸 𑀳𑀺 𑀧𑀚𑀁 𑀯𑀺𑀬𑀢𑀸𑀬𑁂 𑀥𑀸𑀢𑀺𑀬𑁂 𑀦𑀺𑀲𑀺𑀚𑀺𑀢𑀼 𑀅𑀲𑁆𑀯𑀣𑁂 𑀳𑁄𑀢𑀺 𑀯𑀺𑀬𑀢 𑀥𑀸𑀢𑀺 𑀘𑀖𑀢𑀺 𑀫𑁂 𑀧𑀚𑀁 𑀲𑀼𑀔𑀁 𑀧𑀮𑀺𑀳𑀝𑀯𑁂 𑀳𑁂𑀯𑀁 𑀫𑀫𑀸 𑀮𑀚𑀽𑀓𑀸 𑀓𑀝𑀸 𑀚𑀸𑀦𑀧𑀤𑀲 𑀳𑀺𑀢𑀲𑀼𑀔𑀸𑀬𑁂
  athā hi pajaṃ viyatāye dhātiye nisijitu asvathe hoti viyata dhāti caghati me pajaṃ sukhaṃ palihaṭave hevaṃ mamā lajūkā kaṭā jānapadasa hitasukhāye
- c. 255 BCE, Ashoka, Separate Rock Edict 1, Dhauli :
  𑀳𑁂𑀯𑀁 𑀘 𑀓𑀮𑀁𑀢𑀁 𑀢𑀼𑀨𑁂 𑀘𑀖𑀣 𑀲𑀁𑀧𑀝𑀺𑀧𑀸𑀤𑀬𑀺𑀢𑀯𑁂
  hevaṃ ca kalaṃtaṃ tuphe caghatha saṃpaṭipādayitave
  And if you act thus you will be able to fulfill [your duty].

Alternative forms

Attested at Delhi-Topra, Dhauli, Jaugada, Lauriya-Araraj, Lauriya-Nandangarh and Rampurva.

Dialectal forms of 𑀘𑀖𑀢𑀺 (“to be able”)
Variety	Location	Forms edit
Central	Delhi-Topra	𑀘𑀖𑀢𑀺 (caghati)
	Rampurva	𑀘𑀖𑀢𑀺 (caghati)
	Lauriya-Nandangarh	𑀘𑀖𑀢𑀺 (caghati)
	Lauriya-Araraj	𑀘𑀖𑀢𑀺 (caghati)
East	Dhauli	𑀘𑀖𑀢𑀺 (caghati)
East	Jaugada	𑀘𑀖𑀢𑀺 (caghati)

Map of dialectal forms of 𑀘𑀖𑀢𑀺 (“to be able”)
𑀘𑀖𑀢𑀺 (caghati) (6)

References

George Cardona and Dhanesh Jain, editors (2003), The Indo-Aryan Languages (Routledge Language Family Series), Routledge, →ISBN, page 197
Bryan Levman (2010) “Aśokan Phonology and the Language of the Earliest Buddhist Tradition”, in Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies‎, pages 57-86
Pali Text Society (1921–1925) “sakkoti”, in Pali-English Dictionary‎, London: Chipstead
Thomas Oberlies (2001) Pāli: A Grammar of the Language of the Theravāda Tipiṭaka (Indian philology and South Asian studies; 3), Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 103
Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “*CAGH”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press
G. A. Grierson (1890) “Notes on Pâli and Prâkrit”, in The Academy, volume 38
Chatterji, Suniti Kumar (1926) The Origin and Development of the Bengali Language, Calcutta: Calcutta University Press

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[1] George Cardona and Dhanesh Jain, editors (2003), The Indo-Aryan Languages (Routledge Language Family Series), Routledge, →ISBN, page 197

[2] Bryan Levman (2010) “Aśokan Phonology and the Language of the Earliest Buddhist Tradition”, in Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies‎, pages 57-86

[3] Pali Text Society (1921–1925) “sakkoti”, in Pali-English Dictionary‎, London: Chipstead

[4] Thomas Oberlies (2001) Pāli: A Grammar of the Language of the Theravāda Tipiṭaka (Indian philology and South Asian studies; 3), Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 103

[5] Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “*CAGH”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press

[6] G. A. Grierson (1890) “Notes on Pâli and Prâkrit”, in The Academy, volume 38

[7] Chatterji, Suniti Kumar (1926) The Origin and Development of the Bengali Language, Calcutta: Calcutta University Press