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Maharashtri , is a language of ancient and medieval India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, descended from Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
, and spoken in what is now Maharashtra
Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a States and territories of India located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's List of states of India by area and List of states of India by population....
 and other parts of India. It is the ancestor of Marathi, Divehi and Sinhalese as well. It is one of the many languages (often called dialects) of a complex called Prakrit
Prakrit

Prakrit refers to the broad family of the Indic languages and dialects spoken in ancient India. The Prakrits became literary languages, generally patronized by kings identified with the Kshatriya caste, but were regarded as illegitimate by the Brahmin orthodoxy....
, and the chief Dramatic Prakrit
Dramatic Prakrit

The Dramatic Prakrits are the three main dialects of Prakrit, used extensively in History of Indian literature. The term "dramatic" is used because the main record of these languages is in the speech of minor characters in the Sanskrit drama....
. Its literary use was made famous by the playwright Kalidasa
Kalidasa

Kalidasa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language. His floruit cannot be dated with precision, but most likely falls within the Gupta Empire, probably in the 4th century BC or 5th century or 6th century....
.

Maharashtri was the most popular amongst all Prakrit
Prakrit

Prakrit refers to the broad family of the Indic languages and dialects spoken in ancient India. The Prakrits became literary languages, generally patronized by kings identified with the Kshatriya caste, but were regarded as illegitimate by the Brahmin orthodoxy....
 languages.






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Maharashtri , is a language of ancient and medieval India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, descended from Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
, and spoken in what is now Maharashtra
Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a States and territories of India located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's List of states of India by area and List of states of India by population....
 and other parts of India. It is the ancestor of Marathi, Divehi and Sinhalese as well. It is one of the many languages (often called dialects) of a complex called Prakrit
Prakrit

Prakrit refers to the broad family of the Indic languages and dialects spoken in ancient India. The Prakrits became literary languages, generally patronized by kings identified with the Kshatriya caste, but were regarded as illegitimate by the Brahmin orthodoxy....
, and the chief Dramatic Prakrit
Dramatic Prakrit

The Dramatic Prakrits are the three main dialects of Prakrit, used extensively in History of Indian literature. The term "dramatic" is used because the main record of these languages is in the speech of minor characters in the Sanskrit drama....
. Its literary use was made famous by the playwright Kalidasa
Kalidasa

Kalidasa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language. His floruit cannot be dated with precision, but most likely falls within the Gupta Empire, probably in the 4th century BC or 5th century or 6th century....
.

Maharashtri was the most popular amongst all Prakrit
Prakrit

Prakrit refers to the broad family of the Indic languages and dialects spoken in ancient India. The Prakrits became literary languages, generally patronized by kings identified with the Kshatriya caste, but were regarded as illegitimate by the Brahmin orthodoxy....
 languages. It was spoken from Malwa and Rajputana
Rajputana

Rajputana, also called Rajwar, was the pre-1949 name of the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan, the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area....
 (north) to Krishna
Krishna

Krishna is a deity worshiped across many traditions in Hinduism in a variety of different perspectives. While many Vaishnava groups recognize him as an avatar of Vishnu, other traditions within Krishnaism consider Krishna to be svayam bhagavan, or the supreme being....
 and the Tungabhadra river region (south). Sanskrit lost its status as a 'communication language' somewhere around 500 B.C., when Prakrit came into use. The ruler Hala
Hala

Hala can refer to* An Arabic name meaning Halo or Corona.** Hala Gorani, CNN reporter.* Hala , a clan of India and Pakistan.* Hala, Sindh, a town in Sindh, Pakistan....
 (r. 20-24 CE) mentioned in the Puranas as a member of the Satavahana
Satavahana

The Satavahanas also known as Andhras , were a dynasty which ruled from Junnar , Prathisthan in Maharashtra and Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh in Andhra Pradesh over Southern and Central India from around 230 BCE onward....
 dynasty, used Maharashtri, then popular, to write Saptashati(???????) or Gatha Saptashati, Setubandh (???????) and Karpurmanjari (???????????). Maharashtri was in use for 1000 years (500 BC to 500 AD). Historians agree that Maharashtri and other Prakrit languages prevailed in modern Maharashtra
Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a States and territories of India located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's List of states of India by area and List of states of India by population....
. Maharashtri was widely spoken in western India and even down south in the parts which speak Kannada.

Marathi is descended from the Prakrit dialect Maharashtri (literally, the "Language of the Empire"), which was the official language of the Satavahana Empire in the early centuries of the Common Era. Under the patronage of the Satavahana Empire, Maharashtri became the most widespread Prakrit of its time, and also dominated the literary culture amongst the three "Dramatic" Prakrits of the time, Maharashtri, Sauraseni and Magadhi. A version of Maharashtri, called the Jaina Maharashtri, also was employed to write sections of Jain scripture. The Satavahana Emperor Hala's
Hala

Hala can refer to* An Arabic name meaning Halo or Corona.** Hala Gorani, CNN reporter.* Hala , a clan of India and Pakistan.* Hala, Sindh, a town in Sindh, Pakistan....
 Sattasai, an anthology of over 700 love poems, has been established as the most famous work of literature in Maharashtri. Maharashtri evolved during the 15th and 16th centuries into Marathi.