Reconstruction:Ashokan Prakrit/𑀔𑀸𑀟

This Ashokan Prakrit entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Somehow related to Sanskrit कर्त (kartá, “hole”), काट (kāṭá), गर्त (gárta), but Mayrhofer ties these to Proto-Indo-Iranian *kártas (whence Avestan 𐬐𐬀𐬴𐬀 (kaṣ̌a)).^[1] The variety of forms of this term throughout Indo-Aryan point to a substrate borrowing.

There appears to be conflation with a very similar Ashokan Prakrit *𑀔𑀟𑁆𑀟 (*khaḍḍa). Punjabi, however, does not reflect a geminated consonant in this set of cognates.

*𑀔𑀸𑀟 (*khāḍa) m

1. hole, hollow

• Maharastri Prakrit: *𑀔𑀸𑀟 (*khāḍa)
  • Marathi: खाड (khāḍ, “hole”)
• Paisaci Prakrit:
  • Punjabi: ਖਾਡ਼ (khāṛ, “level land at the foot of a mountain”)
• Sauraseni Prakrit: *𑀔𑀸𑀟 (*khāḍa)
  • Romani: xar (“hole”)

• *𑀔𑀸𑀟𑁆-𑀇𑀓𑀸 (*khāḍ-ikā, “bay, gulf”)
  • Magadhi Prakrit:
    • Bengali: খাঁড়ি (khãṛi)
  • Paisaci Prakrit:
    • Punjabi:

      Gurmukhi script: ਖਾੜੀ (khāṛī)

      Shahmukhi script: کھاڑِی (khāṛī)

  • Sauraseni Prakrit: *𑀔𑀸𑀟𑀺𑀕𑀸 (*khāḍigā)
    • Gujarati: ખાડી (khāḍī)
    • Hindustani:

      Hindi: खाड़ी (khāṛī)

      Urdu: کھاڑی (khāṛī)

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