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Marathi language: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Marathi language
The earliest known inscription in Marathi dates to the 739th year of the Common Era, a copper-plate found in Satara that marks the language's first appearance in written history. This artifact predates the famous literary works of the 13th century by nearly five hundred years, revealing that the language was already in use for administrative and legal purposes long before it became a vehicle for poetry. The inscription, discovered in the Satara district, serves as the primary evidence that Marathi had separated from its parent language, Maharashtri Prakrit, and was developing its own distinct identity. While scholars like Bloch have argued that the transition from Middle Indo-Aryan to Marathi occurred differently than previously thought, the physical evidence of the 739 CE inscription remains the anchor point for the language's timeline. Before this date, the region was dominated by Sanskrit and Kannada in official records, but the appearance of Marathi on stone signaled a shift in how the local population communicated with their rulers. The inscription itself is a testament to the growing confidence of the people who spoke the language, moving it from the realm of oral tradition into the permanent record of history.
Saints and the Birth of Prose
The 13th century witnessed a spiritual revolution that transformed Marathi from a language of administration into a medium of profound philosophical expression. Mukundaraja, a Nath yogi and arch-poet, wrote the Vivēkasindhu, the oldest book in prose form in Marathi, to explain the basic tenets of Hindu philosophy and yoga marga. His work was not merely a religious text but a systematic attempt to make complex Vedanta philosophy accessible to the common people in their own tongue. Around the same time, the Mahanubhava sect, led by Chakradhar Swami, adopted Marathi as the primary vehicle for their doctrines, creating a rich body of literature that included biographies and commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita. Mahimbhatta, a close disciple of Chakradhar Swami, compiled the Līlācarītra in 1238, which is considered the first biography written in the Marathi language. This work detailed the miracle-filled life of Chakradhar Swami and established a tradition of narrative prose that would influence generations of writers. The sect's commitment to using Marathi allowed them to connect directly with their followers, bypassing the Sanskrit barrier that had previously restricted religious knowledge to the elite. The Varkari sect, another powerful religious movement, followed suit, with Dnyaneshwar writing the Dnyaneshwari, a treatise on the Bhagawat Gita, between 1275 and 1296. These works laid the foundation for a literary culture that was deeply rooted in devotion and social reform, setting the stage for the language's future evolution.
When was the earliest known inscription in Marathi written?
The earliest known inscription in Marathi dates to the 739th year of the Common Era. This copper-plate was found in the Satara district and marks the language's first appearance in written history. The artifact predates the famous literary works of the 13th century by nearly five hundred years.
Who wrote the oldest book in prose form in Marathi?
Mukundaraja, a Nath yogi and arch-poet, wrote the Vivēkasindhu, the oldest book in prose form in Marathi. His work explained the basic tenets of Hindu philosophy and yoga marga to the common people in their own tongue. This text was not merely religious but a systematic attempt to make complex Vedanta philosophy accessible.
What percentage of vocabulary in administrative documents was Persian by the 17th century?
By the 17th century, 80% of the vocabulary in administrative documents was Persian. This figure dropped to 37% by 1677 when Shivaji Maharaj commissioned Balaji Avaji Chitnis to create the Rājavyavahārakośa. The project replaced foreign terms with their Sanskrit equivalents to purify the language.
When was Marathi designated as a classical language by the Government of India?
The Government of India designated Marathi as a classical language on the 3rd of October 2024. This recognition serves as a testament to the language's rich literary heritage and enduring cultural importance. The designation follows centuries of development from early inscriptions to modern literary movements.
How many dialects of spoken Marathi do Indic scholars distinguish?
Indic scholars distinguish 42 dialects of spoken Marathi across the Indian subcontinent. The bulk of the variation within these dialects is primarily lexical and phonological. Examples include Varhadi, Zadi Boli, and the Thanjavur Marathi dialect, which retains the 17th-century basic form of the language.
During the medieval period, the Marathi language absorbed a significant layer of Persian vocabulary as the Deccan Sultanates rose to power in the region. Although the rulers of the Ahmadnagar and Bijapur Sultanates were Muslim, the local feudal landlords and the majority of the population were Hindu, creating a unique linguistic environment. To simplify administration and revenue collection, the sultans promoted the use of Marathi in official documents, leading to a heavy Persianisation of the language's vocabulary. Words such as bāg for garden, kārkhānā for factory, and shahar for city entered the everyday speech of the people and remain in use to this day. This period saw Marathi become the language of administration, yet it retained its core structure while adopting foreign terms to describe new concepts of governance and commerce. The influence of Persian was so profound that by the 17th century, 80% of the vocabulary in administrative documents was Persian, a figure that would later drop to 37% as the Maratha Empire rose. The Sultanate era also produced literary works that reflected this cultural synthesis, with poets and scholars navigating the complex interplay between Islamic rule and Hindu tradition. The language's ability to adapt and incorporate foreign elements demonstrated its resilience and flexibility, allowing it to thrive even under foreign domination. This period of linguistic hybridity created a rich tapestry of words and expressions that would define the spoken Marathi of the region for centuries to come.
Shivaji and the Purification of Speech
The rise of the Maratha Kingdom under Shivaji Maharaj in the 17th century marked a decisive turning point in the history of the Marathi language. Shivaji replaced Persian, the common courtly language in the region, with Marathi, initiating a systematic effort to purify the language of its Persian and Arabic influences. In 1677, he commissioned Balaji Avaji Chitnis to create the Rājavyavahārakośa, a comprehensive thesaurus of state usage that replaced foreign terms with their Sanskrit equivalents. This project reduced the percentage of Persian vocabulary in administrative documents from 80% in 1630 to just 37% by 1677, demonstrating the effectiveness of the linguistic reform. Shivaji's reign stimulated the deployment of Marathi as a tool of systematic description and understanding, transforming it from a language of the court into a language of the state. The Maratha Empire's expansion helped spread Marathi over broader geographical regions, and the period saw the use of the language in transactions involving land and other business. Documents from this era, written in the Modi script, provide a better picture of the life of common people, including the Bakhars, which were journals or narratives of historical events. The shift away from Persian was not merely linguistic but also political, as it asserted the identity and sovereignty of the Maratha people. The language became a symbol of resistance and national pride, setting the stage for its future development as a modern literary and administrative language.
The Colonial Standardization
The 19th century brought a new era of standardization to the Marathi language, driven by the efforts of Christian missionaries and colonial administrators. William Carey, a Christian missionary, played a pivotal role in the development of Marathi grammar and literature, publishing the first Marathi translation of the New Testament in 1811 and establishing the first Marathi newspaper, Durpan, in 1832. The colonial authorities, led by Captain James Thomas Molesworth and Major Thomas Candy, worked to standardize Marathi under the leadership of Molesworth and Candy, consulting Brahmins of Pune to adopt the Sanskrit-dominated dialect spoken by the elite in the city as the standard dialect. This process led to the development of a peculiar pidginised Marathi called Missionary Marathi, which was used in the early 1800s. The first Marathi periodical, Dirghadarshan, was started in 1840, providing a platform for sharing literary views and social reform ideas. The colonial period also saw the rise of essayists like Vishnushastri Chiplunkar, who founded the popular Marathi periodical Kesari in 1881, which later became instrumental in spreading nationalist and social views under the editorship of Lokmanya Tilak. The standardization of Marathi grammar and the establishment of a written standard laid the groundwork for the language's future growth and its recognition as a major literary and administrative language in India.
The Modern Literary Renaissance
The 20th century witnessed a renaissance in Marathi literature, with new literary forms and socio-political activism driving major milestones in the language's development. The first half of the century saw the rise of modern Marathi prose, with notable works by N.C. Kelkar, Hari Narayan Apte, and Narayan Sitaram Phadke. The latter half of the century was marked by the emergence of Dalit literature, a movement inspired by 19th-century social reformer Jyotiba Phule and Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. Baburao Bagul, a pioneer of Dalit writings, published his first collection of stories, Jevha Mi Jat Chorali, in 1963, which created a stir in Marathi literature with its passionate depiction of a cruel society. This movement paved the way for the strengthening of the Dalit movement, with notable authors like Namdeo Dhasal, Daya Pawar, and Annabhau Sathe contributing to the genre. The Marathi language also flourished in the fields of drama, comedy, and social commentary, with writers like P.L. Deshpande, Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar, and P.K. Atre gaining recognition. The establishment of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan and the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Natya Sammelan as annual literary and theatre events further solidified the language's cultural significance. The modern era has seen Marathi gain international recognition, with the language being designated as a classical language by the Government of India on the 3rd of October 2024, a testament to its rich literary heritage and enduring cultural importance.
Dialects and the Future of Speech
Marathi is a language of remarkable diversity, with Indic scholars distinguishing 42 dialects of spoken Marathi across the Indian subcontinent. The bulk of the variation within these dialects is primarily lexical and phonological, with differences in accent placement and pronunciation creating distinct regional identities. Varhadi, spoken in the Western Vidarbha region, is notable for its use of the retroflex lateral approximant, which sometimes corresponds to the palatal approximant in other dialects. Zadi Boli, spoken in the forest-rich region of far eastern Maharashtra, is another distinct dialect that is being actively conserved by literary figures and organizations. The Thanjavur Marathi dialect, spoken by descendants of Maharashtrians who migrated to Southern India, retains the 17th-century basic form of Marathi and has been considerably influenced by Dravidian languages. These dialects, along with others like Judæo-Marathi and East Indian Marathi, reflect the language's adaptability and its ability to evolve in different cultural contexts. Despite the diversity, the degree of intelligibility within these dialects is relatively high, allowing speakers from different regions to communicate with one another. The contemporary grammatical rules described by the Maharashtra Sahilya Parishad and endorsed by the Government of Maharashtra take precedence in standard written Marathi, ensuring a degree of uniformity in the language's formal usage. The future of Marathi faces challenges, with a trend among Marathi-speaking parents in major urban areas to send their children to English-medium schools, raising concerns about the marginalization of the language. However, the language's rich literary heritage, its recognition as a classical language, and its continued use in administration and education suggest a vibrant future for Marathi in the 21st century.