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Khasa Prakrit

Indo-Aryan language

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated July 22, 2026
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Khasa or Khasa Prakrit (also known as Khas Prakrit, Sanskrit Khasa, Himalayan Prakrit, Northern Prakrit, Khas Kura) is a Prakrit language of medieval South Asia and a common ancestor language of the Pahari languages, which includes Nepali, Kumaoni, Jaunsari, Mandeali, Garhwali, and Mahasuvi languages. It was commonly referred to as खश (Khaśa), खष (Khaṣa), and खशीर (Khaśīra) in the Sanskrit texts.

Indian linguist Suniti Kumar Chatterji suggests that Nepali language developed from Khasa Prakrit. Khas Prakrit is named after the speakers of language, Khas people, who live in the Himalayas.

01History

Origin and development

Khasa belongs to the Indo-European family of languages. Like other Indo-Aryan languages, Khasa is a direct descendant of an early form of Vedic Sanskrit, through Shauraseni Prakrit and Śauraseni Apabhraṃśa (from Sanskrit apabhraṃśa "corrupt").

02Language comparison

Language Comparison
  Nepali Kumauni Kashmiri
  Masc Fem Masc Fem Masc Fem
I am chu chu chic chu thus ches
You are chas ches chai chi chukh chekh
He is cha che ch chi chuh cheh
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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Khasa Prakrit”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Related topics

Apabhraṃśa

Apabhraṃśa is a term used by vaiyākaraṇāḥ (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.

Prakrit

Prakrit is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of the Middle Indo-Aryan languages, excluding Pali and Classical Sanskrit. The oldest stage of Middle Indo-Aryan language is attested in the inscriptions of Ashoka (c.

Nepali language

Nepali is the official and most-widely spoken language of Nepal, where it also serves as a lingua franca. It is an Indo-Aryan language, belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch within the Indo-European language family, native to the Himalayan region of South Asia.