View source for Elu

{{short description|3rd century BCE Sri Lankan language; ancestor of Sinhalese and Dhivehi}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Eḷu
|nativename=Helu
|region= [[Sri Lanka]]
|era = Evolved into [[Sinhala language|Sinhalese]] and [[Maldivian language|Dhivehi]]
|familycolor=Indo-European
|fam2=[[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
|fam3=[[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
|fam5=[[Insular Indo-Aryan]]
|script=[[Ashokan Brahmi]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Ancient Inscriptions Of Ceylon Edward Muller |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientinscriptionsofceylonedwardmuller_816_M/page/n19/mode/2up}}</ref> ([[Lipi (script)|Dhammalipi]])
|isoexception=historical
|glotto=none
}}
'''Eḷa''', also '''Elu''', '''Hela''' or '''Helu Prakrit''', was a [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indo-Aryan language]] or [[Prakrit]] of the 3rd century BCE, that was used in [[Sri Lanka]]. It was ancestral to the [[Sinhalese language|Sinhalese]] and [[Maldivian language|Dhivehi]] languages. <br />
R. C. Childers, in the ''Journal of the [[Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland|Royal Asiatic Society]]'', states: {{quote|[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.<ref>{{Citation | title = A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases |author1=Henry Yule |author2=A. C. Burnell |author3=William Crooke | page = 344 | year = 2006 | publisher = Asian Educational Services | isbn = 0-7007-0321-7}}</ref>}}
The Pali scholar [[Thomas William Rhys Davids]] refers to Eḷu as "the Prakrit of Ceylon".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rhys Davids|first1=Thomas William|authorlink1=Thomas William Rhys Davids|title=Buddhist India|date=2007|publisher=T. W. Press|isbn=978-1406756326}}</ref>
The [[Hela Havula]] are a modern [[Sri Lanka]]n literary organization that advocate the use of Eḷu terms over [[Sanskritism]]s. 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 [[vowel]]s, loss of aspiration and the reduction of compound consonants found frequently in other Prakrits such as [[Pali]].
==Eḷu in comparison with Pali and Sanskrit==
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===
*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===
* Initial ''ca'' in Sanskrit and Pali becomes ''s'' or ''h''
::Examples: ''canda'' → ''sa<sup>n</sup>da'', ''ha<sup>n</sup>da''
*  ''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 ''ti'' or ''vi''
::Examples: ''bhakti'' → ''bätiya'', ''shakti'' → ''saviya''
===Compound consonants===
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==
===Tōṇigala Rock Inscription of Śrīmeghavarṇṇa(4th century A.D)===
{{transl|pra|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.
{{transl|pra|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.
{{transl|pra|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.
{{transl|pra|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, . . .
{{transl|pra|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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://siddham.network/inscription/in03124/?section=translation | title=Siddham. The Asian Inscription Database &#124; IN03124 Tōṇigala Rock Inscription of Śrīmeghavarṇṇa }}</ref>
'''[[Thonigala Rock Inscriptions, Anamaduwa]] under reign of Gamani Abhaya(1st century A.D)'''
== List of Elu words with their Sanskrit and ''Pali'' equivalents ==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible collapsible autocollapse"
|-
|-
!Elu !! Sanskrit !! Pali !! English
|- |style="width:09em"
|äsa || akṣi || akkhi || [[eye]]
|-
|adara || ādara || {{IAST|ādara}} || respect
|-
|aga || agra || agga || end, chief, principal
|-
|ahasa || ākāśa || ākāsa || [[sky]]
|-
|akosa || ākrōśa || akkosa || insult, abuse
|-
|akmana || ākramana || akkamana || attack
|-
|aksuma || akṣama || akkhama || intolerance, impatience
|-
|akura || akṣara || akkhara || letter of the alphabet
|-
|anada || ānanda || ānanda || bliss
|-
|aruta || [[artha]] || attha || meaning
|-
|asuna || āsana || āsana || [[Chair|seat]]
|-
|ata || hasta || {{IAST|hattha}} || [[hand]]
|-
|atuna || antra || anta || [[intestine]]
|-
|bambu || brahma || brahma || [[Brahma]]
|-
|bamburā || barbara || {{IAST|babbhara}} || [[barbarian]]
|-
|bamunā || brāhmaṇa || {{IAST|brāhmaṇa}}  || [[Brahman]]
|-
|basa || {{IAST|bhāṣā}} || bhāsā || [[language]]
|-
|bima || bhūmi || bhūmi || land
|-
|bubula  || budbuda || bubbula  || [[Liquid bubble|bubble]]
|-
|boduna || bhōjana || bhojana || [[food]]
|-
|bodu || bauddha || {{IAST|bodha}} || [[Buddhist]]
|-
|bōsat || bōdhisattva || {{IAST|bodhisatta}} || [[Bodhisattva]]
|-
|dahama, dam || dharma || dhamma || [[Dharma]]
|-
|data || danta || danta || [[tooth]]
|-
|däla || jāla || jāla || [[Net (device)]]
|-
|devola || devālaya || devālaya || [[temple]]
|-
|diga, digu || dīrgha || dīgha || [[wiktionary:long|long]]
|-
|diva || jihvā || jivhā || [[tongue]]
|-
|diviya || jīvita || jīvita || [[life]]
|-
|dudana, dujana || durjana  || dujjana || wicked, malicious
|-
|dujanā || durjanayā || || wicked person
|-
|dukata || duṣkṛta || dukkaṭa || wicked [[deed]]
|-
|dulaba || durlabha  || dullabha || rare
|-
|duma || dhūma || dhūma || [[smoke]]
|-
|dupa || dhūpa || dhūpa || [[incense]]
|-
|gama || grāma || gāma || [[village]]
|-
|gata  || gātra || gatta || [[Human body|body]]
|-
|gatakura || gātrākṣara || || [[consonant]]
|-
|kana || karṇa || kanna || [[ear]]
|-
|karuvā || kāra || || [[person]]
|-
|keta || {{IAST|kṣetra}} || khetta || field
|-
|{{IAST|kiḍa}} || {{IAST|krīḍā}} || || [[sport]]
|-
|kila || kīlā || kīlā || sport
|-
|kinu || {{IAST|kṛṣṇa}} || kanha || [[dark]]
|-
|kilu || kliṣṭa || kiliṭṭha || [[dirty]]
|-
|kiluṭu || kliṣṭa || kiliṭṭha || dirty
|-
|kiri|| kṣīra || khīra || [[milk]]
|-
|kumarā || kumāraka || kumāra || [[son]], [[prince]]
|-
|kumari || kumāri || kumāri || [[girl]], [[princess]]
|-
|kuriru  || krūra || kurūra || [[cruel]]
|-
|laka || laṅkā  || {{IAST|laṅkā}} || [[Sri Lanka]]
|-
|lassana  || {{IAST|lakṣaṇa}}  || lakkhana || [[Beauty|beautiful]]
|-
|lova || loka  || {{IAST|loka}} || [[world]]
|-
|maga || mārga || magga || way
|-
|magula || {{IAST|maṅgala}} || {{IAST|maṅgala}} || [[marriage]]
|-
|matura || mantra || manta || [[incantation]]
|-
|mäda || madhyama, madhya || majjha || middle
|-
|miturā  || mitra || mitta || [[friend]]
|-
|mugalan  || maudgalyāyana || moggallana || [[mogallana]]
|-
|mudu || {{IAST|mṛdu}} || mudu || soft
|-
|muwa || mukha || mukha  || [[mouth]]
|-
|mädura || mandira || mandira || [[palace]]
|-
|mula || mūla || mūla || origin
|-
|näba || nābhi || nābhi || [[navel]]
|-
|näva || naukā || nāvā || [[ship]]
|-
| || nētra || netta || [[eye]]
|-
|nidana || nidhāna || nidhāna || [[treasure]]
|-
|nimala || nirmala || nimmala || pure
|-
|nipana || {{IAST|niṣpanna}} || || production
|-
|nivana || {{IAST|nirvāṇa}} || {{IAST|nibbāna}} || [[Nirvana]]
|-
|nuvara  || nagara || nagara || [[city]]
|-
|pabala || prabala || pabala || [[:wikt:mighty|mighty]]
|-
|pamana || pramāna || pamāna || [[amount]]
|-
|parapura || paramparā || || [[generation]]
|-
|pänaya  || praśna || {{IAST|pañha}} || [[Problem solving|problem]], [[question]]
|-
|pava || pāpa || pāpa || [[sin]]
|-
|pavasa || pipāsa || pipāsam || [[thirst]]
|-
|parana || purāṇa || purāṇa || old
|-
|parusa || paruṣa || pharusa || harsh
|-
|pasana || prasanna || pasanna || pleasant
|-
|pāsala || pāṭhaśālā || pāṭasālā || [[school]]
|-
|pavaruna || prakaraṇa || pakaraṇa || [[treatise]]
|-
|pätuma  || prārthanā || patthanā || [[wish]], [[hope]]
|-
|pedesa || pradeśa || padesa || [[country]]
|-
|pema || prēma || pema || [[love]]
|-
|piduma || pūjā || pūjā || [[Alms|offering]]
|-
|pina || punya || punya || merit
|-
|pokuna  || {{IAST|puṣkariṇī}} || {{IAST|pokkhariṇī}} || [[pond]]
|-
|poson  || {{IAST|pūrva-śravaṇa}} || pubba-savana || (name of a [[month]])
|-
|pota  || pustaka || pottaka || [[book]]
|-
|pun || pūra, pūrṇa || punna || [[wiktionary:full|full]]
|-
|pupa || {{IAST|puṣpa}} || puppha || [[flower]]
|-
|putā || putra  || putta || [[son]]
|-
|puva || pūrva  || pubba || [[former]], [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|prior]]
|-
|puvata || {{IAST|pravṛtti}}  || pavatti || [[news]]
|-
|rada || rājan || rājā || [[king]]
|-
|rakusā  || {{IAST|rākṣasa}} || rakkhasa || [[demon]]
|-
|ratu, rat || raktaka || ratta || [[red]]
|-
|räsa || raśmi || rasmi || [[Light ray|ray]]
|-
|räya || rātri || ratti || [[night]]
|-
|ruka || vṛkṣa || rukkha || [[tree]]
|-
|ruva || rūpa || rūpa || [[shape]], form
|-
|sa<sup>n</sup>gamit || sanghamitra || sangamitta
|-
|sa<sup>n</sup>da || candra  || canda || [[moon]]
|-
|sämuni || śākyamuni || || [[sakyamuni]]
|-
|sena || sena || || [[army]]
|-
|sidura || chidr || chidda || hole, gap, space
|-
|sirura || śarīra || sarīra || [[Human body|body]]
|-
|soyurā, sohowurā  || sahōdara || sodariya || [[brother]]
|-
|so<sup>n</sup>duru  || sundara || sundara || [[Beauty|beautiful]]
|-
|supina  || svapna || supina || [[dream]]
|-
|supun  || sampūrṇa || sampunna || complete
|-
|teda  || teja || || magnificence
|-
|tavasā  || tāpasa || || [[hermit]]
|-
|tisula  || triśūla || || [[Trishula]] (trident)
|-
|utura || uttara  || uttarā || [[north]]
|-
|väkiya  || vākya  || || [[Sentence (linguistics)|Sentence]]
|-
|vesak  || {{IAST|vaiṣākha}}  || Visakha || [[Vesak]]
|-
|veses  || viśeṣa  || visesa || special
|-
|viyarana  || vyākarana || vyākaraṇa || [[grammar]]
|-
|yakā || yakṣa  || yakkha || [[yaksha]]
|-
|yatura || yantra  || yanta || [[machine]]
|-
|yiva || jīva  || jīva || [[life]]
|-
|}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==See also==
*[[Linguistic history of the Indian subcontinent]]
{{Sinhala language}}
{{Old and Middle Indo-Aryan}}
[[Category:Southern Indo-Aryan languages]]
[[Category:Sinhala language]]
[[Category:Languages of Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Prakrit languages]]
[[Category:Languages attested from the 3rd century BC]]