On the Paiśācī Origin of Kannada Language
Summary
R. K. Khadabadi’s article investigates the hypothesis that the Kannada language originated from the Paiśācī (Pishaca) dialect, an assertion that has been debated among linguists. The author begins by examining ancient references to the region of Veṅgi or Piśācadeśa, analysing etymological connections between place‑names like Vengipāḷu, Beṅgi and modern Karnataka. He notes that certain toponyms, such as Bel‑gaum and Bel‑gola, may derive from the Paiśācī word bel (‘Piśāca’), suggesting a linguistic substrate. Khadabadi cites R. K. Umarji’s comparative study, which presents evidence from morphological, phonological and syntactic similarities between Kannada and Paiśācī. He discusses the claim that terms like navabhūtabhāṣā in Gadāyuddha refer to a new Paiśācī language (i.e., Kannada) and the possibility that literature once written in Paiśācī has been transmitted through Kannada. The article also surveys historical attestations of Paiśācī in central India and its connection to other Prakrit dialects like Gāndhārī. However, Khadabadi recognises that not all scholars accept the thesis of a direct Paiśācī origin; some propose that Kannada evolved from proto‑Dravidian roots with Paiśācī influence limited to vocabulary and phonetics. The paper evaluates these arguments by analysing lexical borrowings, phonetic shifts (such as the change of voiced consonants to voiceless ones) and historical references in the Rāmāyaṇa and Gadayuddha. The author concludes that while evidence exists for a significant Paiśācī influence on Kannada, the language’s genesis likely involved both indigenous Dravidian elements and interaction with neighbouring Indo‑Aryan dialects.
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Conclusion
The article concludes that Kannada cannot be regarded as purely derived from Paiśācī; instead, it emerged through a complex process of linguistic convergence. Place‑names, literary references and phonetic features point to an early contact between Paiśācī speakers and Kannada‑speaking communities, but the core grammatical structure of Kannada remains Dravidian. Khadabadi suggests that acknowledging this mixed heritage helps explain unique features of Kannada and encourages further comparative research into contact between Indo‑Aryan and Dravidian languages.