Multiple choice

What does the term “apabhramsha” stand for?

  1. The language of the royal people

  2. A name of plane

  3. The language spoken by common people

  4. The language of the nobles

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Apabhramsha refers to the "corrupted" or "fallen" languages that evolved from Prakrits and were spoken by common people during medieval India (roughly 6th-13th centuries CE). It represents the transitional stage between Prakrits and modern Indo-Aryan languages like Hindi, Bengali, and Marathi. The term literally means "that which has fallen down" or "corrupted," referring to linguistic deviation from classical Sanskrit. Option C correctly identifies it as the common people's language.

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