Prakrit is the general term, under which are comprised the various dialects which appear to have arisen in India out of the corruption of the Sankrit. As the word is used by the grammarians, it signifies 'derived', thereby to denote its connection with the original Sanskrit. Later grammarians include many varieties under the name, but most of these are probably the subtil refinements of a alter age; as, the older the grammarian is, the fewer we find the dialects to be. The oldest, Vararuchi, has only treated of four – the Máháráshtrí, the Mágadhí, the Paisáchí, and the Śaurasení. Of these the first is considered by him as the most important.

Its grammar is given in the first nine sections of the ‘Prákrita Prakáśa’, the remaining three sections being severally devoted to the pecularities of the other three dialects (Re-edition; originally published 1868 in London; written in English).