| Title | 𐨒𐨌𐨣𐨿𐨢𐨌𐨪𐨁Gāndhārī (𐨒𐨌𐨣𐨿𐨢𐨌𐨪𐨁)Gāndhārī Gāndhārī |
|---|---|
| Description | Gāndhārī is an extinct Middle Indo-Aryan Prakrit language that flourished in the ancient region of Gandhāra (present-day northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan) from approximately the 3rd century BCE to the 4th century CE. It was the principal language of the Kushan Empire and played a crucial role in the early transmission of Buddhism along the Silk Road to Central and East Asia. Gāndhārī is distinguished from other Prakrits by preserving all three Old Indo-Aryan sibilants (s, ś, ṣ) as distinct sounds and maintaining certain consonant clusters. The language was written primarily in the Kharoṣṭhī script, an abugida derived from Aramaic, and is attested in numerous Buddhist manuscripts, inscriptions, and coins. Many early Chinese translations of Buddhist texts were made from Gāndhārī originals, making it instrumental in the spread of Buddhism. |
| Alternate Names & Variants | Native Names: 𐨒𐨌𐨣𐨿𐨢𐨌𐨪𐨁 Indic Names: गांधारी गान्धारी गांधारी भाषा English Names: Gāndhārī Gandhari Gāndhārī language Gandhari Prakrit Gandhāran Prakrit Alternate Names: Gandhari Gandhārī Gāndhārī Prakrit Gandhāra language Kharoṣṭhī language Middle Indo-Aryan Gandhari |
| Language ID | INHF-LNG-1728069262-16:00:12:25:02:25-GNDH |
| URI | |
| API URL | https://inheritage.foundation/api/v1/aat/languages/gandhari |
| Language Family | Indo-Aryan(Middle Indo-Aryan) |
| Status | Extinct |
| ISO Codes | ISO 639-3: pgd |
| Glottolog Code | gand1257 |
| Wikidata URI | |
| Regions | Gandhāra Northwestern Pakistan Eastern Afghanistan Kushan Empire Bactria Khotan Shanshan Silk Road Central Asia Eastern China (Luoyang, Anyang) |
| Time Periods | 3rd century BCE - 4th century CE Mauryan Period (3rd century BCE) Indo-Greek Period (2nd-1st century BCE) Kushan Period (1st-3rd century CE) Late Kushan Period (3rd-4th century CE) |
| Dynasties | Mauryan Empire Indo-Greek Kingdoms Indo-Scythian Kingdoms Kushan Empire Various Central Asian kingdoms |
| Script Associations | Kharoṣṭhī |
| Writing Systems | Kharoṣṭhī Primary script for Gāndhārī, an abugida derived from Aramaic, written right-to-left. Used from 3rd century BCE to 4th century CE in Gandhāra region and along Silk Road. Unicode: U+10A00-U+10A5FDirection: right-to-left Brahmi Occasionally used for Gāndhārī in some regions, though Kharoṣṭhī was the primary script. Brahmi inscriptions in Gāndhārī are rare. Unicode: U+11000-U+1107FDirection: left-to-right |
| Dialects | Standard Gāndhārī (as attested in manuscripts) Administrative Gāndhārī (as in inscriptions and coins) Literary Gāndhārī (as in Buddhist texts) Regional variants (as found in Central Asian texts) |
| Related Languages | Sanskrit Pali Prakrit Shina Torwali Kohistani languages Dardic languages Modern Indo-Aryan languages |
| Literary Works | Gāndhārī Dharmapada Anavatapta Gāthā Rhinoceros Sūtra Sangitiparyaya Ekottara Āgama Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra Bhadrakalpikā Sūtra Senior Collection Gāndhārī Inscriptions from Taxila Gāndhārī Manuscripts from Hadda Gāndhārī Inscriptions from China Gāndhārī Texts from Khotan Early Chinese Translations from Gāndhārī |
| Inscription Types | Birch-bark scrolls Palm leaf manuscripts Stone inscriptions Copper plates Coins Pottery inscriptions Wooden tablets |
| Speaker Count | 0 |
Your contribution helps preserve India's ancient temples, languages, and cultural heritage. Every rupee makes a difference.
Secure payment • Instant 80G certificate
Gāndhārī likely followed SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) word order typical of Middle Indo-Aryan languages, though the erosion of endings and the nature of surviving texts (primarily Buddhist translations) make precise word order analysis challenging. Word order was likely flexible due to case marking.
Verbal forms in Gāndhārī are limited in the available texts, which are primarily translations of religious documents. The language shows typical Middle Indo-Aryan verb simplification, with erosion of final consonants affecting verb endings. Verbs likely conjugated for person, number, tense, and mood, but evidence is fragmentary.
Gāndhārī maintained a rudimentary system of grammatical cases, though the erosion of final consonants and simplification of clusters made case distinctions less clear than in Old Indo-Aryan. The language likely had nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative, instrumental, locative, and vocative cases, but many endings were lost or simplified.
Native:
𐨡𐨪𐨨 𐨮𐨪𐨬 𐨡𐨪𐨨 𐨨𐨪𐨣 𐨨𐨪𐨣 𐨡𐨪𐨨 𐨨𐨪𐨣 𐨨𐨪𐨣 𐨡𐨪𐨨 𐨨𐨪𐨣 𐨨𐨪𐨣 𐨡𐨪𐨨 𐨨𐨪𐨣 𐨨𐨪𐨣 𐨡𐨪𐨨
Transliterated:
dharma sarva dharma buddha saṅgha dharma prajñā karuṇā dharma śūnyatā dharma anātman dharma sarva dharma
English:
All dharma is the dharma of Buddha, Sangha, wisdom, compassion, emptiness, and no-self. All dharma is one.
Grammar Notes:
This sample demonstrates: noun + adjective constructions (dharma sarva), noun + noun constructions showing relationship (buddha saṅgha dharma), multiple nouns in apposition (prajñā karuṇā dharma), and the concept of unity in Buddhist philosophy. The text shows typical Gāndhārī vocabulary from Buddhist texts, with emphasis on key philosophical concepts like śūnyatā (emptiness) and anātman (no-self). The structure reflects the repetitive, formulaic style common in Buddhist sutras and dharma texts.