Apabhraá¹Âà Âa (, , Prakrit: ) is a term used by vaiyÃÂkaraá¹ÂÃÂḥ (native grammarians) since Patañjali to refer to languages spoken in Northern India before the rise of the modern languages. In Indology, it is used as an umbrella term for the dialects forming the transition between the late Middle and the early Modern Indo-Aryan languages, spanning the period between the 6th and 13th centuries CE. However, these dialects are conventionally included in the Middle Indo-Aryan period. in Sanskrit literally means "corrupt" or "non-grammatical language", that which deviates from the norm of Sanskrit grammar.
Apabhraá¹Âà Âa literature is a valuable source for the history of Northern India for the period spanning the 12th to 16th centuries.
The term Prakrit, which includes Pali, is also used as a cover term for the vernaculars of Northern India that were spoken perhaps as late as the 4th to 8th centuries, but some scholars use the term for the entire Middle Indo-Aryan period. Middle Indo-Aryan languages gradually transformed into Apabhraá¹Âà Âa dialects, which were used until about the 13th century. The Apabhraá¹Âà Âas later evolved into Modern Indo-Aryan languages. The boundaries of these periods are somewhat hazy, not strictly chronological. Modern Northern Indian languages are often considered to have begun to develop a distinct identity around the 11th century â while Apabhraá¹Âà Âas were still in use â and became fully distinct by the end of the 12th century.
A significant amount of Apabhraá¹Âà Âa literature has been found in Jain libraries. While Amir Khusrow and Kabir were writing in a language quite similar to modern Urdu and Hindi, many poets, especially in regions that were still ruled by Hindu kings, continued to write in Apabhraá¹Âà Âa. These authors include Saraha, Tilopa and Kanha of Kamarupa; Devasena of Dhar (9th century CE); Pushpadanta of Manyakheta (9th century CE); Dhanapal; Muni Ramsimha; Hemachandra of Patan; and Raidhu of Gwalior (15th century CE).
An early example of the use of Apabhraá¹Âà Âa is the Vikramorvashiyam of KÃÂlidÃÂsa, when Pururavas asks the animals in the forest about his beloved who had disappeared. Compositions in Apabhramsha continued until the 18th century, when Bhagavatidasa wrote Migankaleha Chariu.
The first known example of an Apabhraá¹Âà Âa work by a Muslim is the Sandeà ÂarÃÂsaka of Abdur Rahman of Multan, possibly written around 1000 CE.
Below is the list of some of the eminent writers and poets of Apabhraá¹Âà Âa literature: