Contents

Elu

Sri Lanka

Evolved into Sinhalese and Dhivehi

Ashokan Brahmi^[1] (Dhammalipi)

–

None

Eḷa, also Elu, HelaorHelu Prakrit, was a Middle Indo-Aryan languageorPrakrit of the 3rd century BCE, that was used in Sri Lanka. It was ancestral to the Sinhalese and Dhivehi languages.

R. C. Childers, in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, states:

[Elu] is the name by which is known an ancient form of the Sinhala language from which the modern vernacular of Ceylon is immediately received, and to which the latter bears is of the same relation that the English of today bears to Anglo-Saxon...The name Elu is no other than Sinhala much succeeded, standing for an older form, Hĕla or Hĕlu, which occurs in some ancient works, and this again for a still older, Sĕla, which brings us back to the Pali Sîhala.^[2]

The Pali scholar Thomas William Rhys Davids refers to Eḷu as "the Prakrit of Ceylon".^[3]

The Hela Havula are a modern Sri Lankan literary organization that advocate the use of Eḷu terms over Sanskritisms. Eḷu is often referred to by modern Sinhalese as amisra, Sanskrit and Sinhalese term for "unmixed".

A feature of Eḷu is its preference for short vowels, loss of aspiration and the reduction of compound consonants found frequently in other Prakrits such as Pali.

Eḷu in comparison with Pali and Sanskrit[edit]

Being a Prakrit, Eḷu is closely related to other Prakrits such as Pali. Indeed, a very large proportion of Eḷu word-stems are identical in form to Pali. The connections were sufficiently well known that technical terms from Pali and Sanskrit were easily converted into Eḷu by a set of conventional phonological transformations. Because of the prevalence of these transformations, it is not always possible to tell whether a given Eḷu word is a part of the old Prakrit lexicon, or a transformed borrowing from Sanskrit.

Vowels and diphthongs[edit]

• Sanskrit ai and au always monophthongize to Eḷu e and o, respectively

Examples: maitrī → met, auṣadha → osada

• Sanskrit avi becomes Eḷu e (i.e. avi → ai → e)

Example: sthavira → thera

Sound changes[edit]

• Initial ca in Sanskrit and Pali becomes sorh

Examples: canda → saⁿda, haⁿda

• P if not omitted becomes v

Examples: rūpa → ruva, dīpa → diva

• The Sanskrit sibilants ś, ṣ, and s merge as Eḷu s

Examples: śaraṇa → saraṇa, doṣa → dosa

• The Sanskrit kti becomes tiorvi

Examples: bhakti → bätiya, shakti → saviya

Compound consonants[edit]

At the beginning of a word only a single consonant can remain

Examples: dharma → dahama

Examples: prāna → pana

In the middle of a word no group may exceed one consonant

Examples: artha → aruta

Examples: danta → data

Samples[edit]

Tōṇigala Rock Inscription of Śrīmeghavarṇṇa(4th century A.D)[edit]

Si! Puviya Mahasena-maharajaha puta Sarimekavaṇa-Aba-maha-rajaha cata legi-taka tiṇavanaka-vasahi.

[Lines 1–2] Hail! In the time of the third year after the raising of the umbrella by the great king Sirimekavaṇa Aba son of the great king Mahasena.

Nakarahi utarapasahi Kaḷahumanaka-niya-matanahi siya aviya⸗kiṇiyeni nikata Kaḍubalagamakehi vasanaka - Ameti-paheja-Sivaya-ha puta-Devayaha Yahisapavaya-nava-vaherakehi dina ariyavasa vaṭavi de hakaḍa dasa amaṇaka vi ica sa amaṇaka udi ica bayali dasa amaṇa ica.

[Lines 2–6] Two hakaḍas (cartloads) and ten amaṇas of paddy, six amaṇas of udi and ten amaṇas of beans were deposited [with the stipulation that the capital should] neither be spent nor decreased, by Devaya the son of Sivaya, a member of the Council of Ministers, residing at the village of Kaḍubala, with the assembly of the merchants’ guild at Kaḷahumana [situated] in the northern quarter of the city; and were granted for the purpose of conducting the holy vassa in the new monastery of Yahisapavaya.

Me de hakaḍa dasa a-maṇaka vi piṭadaḍa-hasahi veḍa akala-hasahi veḍha ma-de-hasahi veḍha pacavisiya amaṇaka vi ica me sa amaṇaka udihi veḍha eka amaṇa de pekaḍaka udi ica dasa amaṇaka bayalihi veḍha de a-maṇa de pekaḍaka bayali ica.

[Lines 6–10] Of the aforesaid two hakaḍas and ten amaṇas of paddy, the interest at the principal harvest (piṭadaḍa hasa), the interest at the secondary harvest and the interest at the intermediate harvest [amount to] twenty-five amaṇas of paddy. Of the aforesaid six amaṇas of udi, the interest is one amaṇas and two pekaḍas of udi. Of the aforesaid ten amaṇas of beans, the interest is two amaṇas and two pekaḍas of beans.

Me vataka-vaṇahi gahe kiṇiya ciṭa-vaya veḍha geṇa tiṇaḍa hakaṭa dana-vaṭa ica atarakajaka-vaṭa ica atarakaja-(pari)kara-yapeni ica di miya-vaṭa peṇi tila ica bunatela ica loṇa ica palaha-vaṭa ica veṭayala ica vahera . . ga sara pa . . pacanahi miliya padiya ica

[Lines 10–14] Of the above-mentioned deposit, the capital should be left unspent and from the interest received, the expenses for two and a half hakaḍas of boiled rice, atarakaja, dishes taken with atarakaja, curd, honey, sweets, sesame, butter (?), salt, green herbs, and turmeric should be given at the refectory of the monastery, . . .

Meva [taka] veḍhavataka geṇa vanaya va[na]ya atovasahi Nikamaniya-cada puṇamasa doḷasa-paka-divasa [a]riyavasa karana maha-bikusagah⸗aṭa niyata koṭu Yahisapava[ta-na]-va-vaherakahi dini.

[Lines 14–17] [The above] were granted to the new monastery at Yahisapavata so that the interest may be taken and appropriated for the use of the great community of monks who perform the holy vassa on the twelfth day of the bright half of the month of Nikamaniya in every succeeding rainy season.^[4]

Thonigala Rock Inscriptions, Anamaduwa under reign of Gamani Abhaya(1st century A.D)

List of Elu words with their Sanskrit and Pali equivalents[edit]

English

akṣi

akkhi

eye

ādara

ādara

respect

agra

agga

end, chief, principal

ākāśa

ākāsa

sky

ākrōśa

akkosa

insult, abuse

ākramana

akkamana

attack

akṣama

akkhama

intolerance, impatience

akṣara

akkhara

letter of the alphabet

ānanda

ānanda

bliss

artha

attha

meaning

āsana

āsana

seat

hasta

hattha

hand

antra

anta

intestine

brahma

brahma

Brahma

barbara

babbhara

barbarian

brāhmaṇa

brāhmaṇa

Brahman

bhāṣā

bhāsā

language

bhūmi

bhūmi

land

budbuda

bubbula

bubble

bhōjana

bhojana

food

bauddha

bodha

Buddhist

bōdhisattva

bodhisatta

Bodhisattva

dharma

dhamma

Dharma

danta

danta

tooth

jāla

jāla

Net (device)

devālaya

devālaya

temple

dīrgha

dīgha

long

jihvā

jivhā

tongue

jīvita

jīvita

life

durjana

dujjana

wicked, malicious

durjanayā

wicked person

duṣkṛta

dukkaṭa

wicked deed

durlabha

dullabha

rare

dhūma

dhūma

smoke

dhūpa

dhūpa

incense

grāma

gāma

village

gātra

gatta

body

gātrākṣara

consonant

karṇa

kanna

ear

kāra

person

kṣetra

khetta

field

krīḍā

sport

kīlā

kīlā

sport

kṛṣṇa

dark

kliṣṭa

kiliṭṭha

dirty

kliṣṭa

kiliṭṭha

dirty

kṣīra

khīra

milk

kumāraka

kumāra

son, prince

kumāri

kumāri

girl, princess

krūra

kurūra

cruel

laṅkā

laṅkā

Sri Lanka

lakṣaṇa

lakkhana

beautiful

loka

loka

world

mārga

magga

way

maṅgala

maṅgala

marriage

mantra

manta

incantation

madhyama, madhya

majjha

middle

mitra

mitta

friend

maudgalyāyana

moggallana

mogallana

mṛdu

mudu

soft

mukha

mukha

mouth

mandira

mandira

palace

mūla

mūla

origin

nābhi

nābhi

navel

naukā

nāvā

ship

nētra

netta

eye

nidhāna

nidhāna

treasure

nirmala

nimmala

pure

niṣpanna

production

nirvāṇa

nibbāna

Nirvana

nagara

nagara

city

prabala

pabala

mighty

pramāna

pamāna

amount

paramparā

generation

praśna

pañha

problem, question

pāpa

pāpa

sin

pipāsa

pipāsam

thirst

purāṇa

purāṇa

old

paruṣa

pharusa

harsh

prasanna

pasanna

pleasant

pāṭhaśālā

pāṭasālā

school

prakaraṇa

treatise

prārthanā

wish, hope

pradēśa

country

prēma

pema

love

pūjā

pūjā

offering

punya

punya

merit

puṣkariṇī

pokkhariṇī

pond

pūrva-śravaṇa

pubba-savana

(name of a month)

pustaka

pottaka

book

pūra, pūrṇa

punna

full

puṣpa

puppha

flower

putra

putta

son

pūrva

pubba

former, prior

pravṛtti

pavatti

news

rājan

rājā

king

rākṣasa

rakkhasa

demon

raktaka

ratta

red

raśmi

rasmi

ray

rātri

ratti

night

vṛkṣa

rukkha

tree

rūpa

rūpa

shape, form

sanghamitra

sangamitta

candra

canda

moon

śākyamuni

sakyamuni

sena

army

chidr

chidda

hole, gap, space

śarīra

sarīra

body

sahōdara

sodariya

brother

sundara

sundara

beautiful

svapna

supina

dream

sampūrṇa

sampunna

complete

teja

magnificence

tāpasa

hermit

triśūla

Trishula (trident)

uttara

uttarā

north

vākya

Sentence

vaiṣākha

Visakha

Vesak

viśeṣa

visesa

special

vyākarana

grammar

yakṣa

yakkha

yaksha

yantra

yanta

machine

jīva

jīva

life

References[edit]

See also[edit]

• Linguistic history of the Indian subcontinent