Maharastri or Maharastri Prakrit, SIL: Mahārāṣṭri Prākrit (Marathi, Konkani: महाराष्ट्री प्राकृत), is a language of ancient and medieval India which is the ancestor of Marathi, Konkani,Sinhala and the Maldivian language as well. It is one of the many languages (often called dialects) of a complex called Prakrit, and the chief Dramatic Prakrit. Maharashtri was spoken for 1000 years (500 BC to 500 AD). It was used in numerous works of literature, and its literary use was made famous by the Sanskrit playwright Kālidāsa.
Maharashtri was the most popular amongst all Prakrit languages. It was spoken from Malwa and Rajputana (north) to the Krishna and Tungabhadra River region (south). Sanskrit lost its status as a "communication language" somewhere around 500 B.C., when Prakrit came into use. Historians agree that Maharashtri and other Prakrit languages prevailed in what is now modern Maharashtra. Maharashtri was widely spoken in western India and even down south in the parts which speak Kannada.
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