| Eḷu | |
| Nativename: | Helu |
| Region: | Sri Lanka |
| Era: | Evolved into Sinhalese and Dhivehi |
| Familycolor: | Indo-European |
| Fam2: | Indo-Iranian |
| Fam3: | Indo-Aryan |
| Fam5: | Insular Indo-Aryan |
| Script: | Ashokan Brahmi[1] (Dhammalipi) |
| Isoexception: | historical |
| Glotto: | none |
Eḷa, also Elu, Hela or Helu Prakrit, was a Middle Indo-Aryan language or Prakrit 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: The Pali scholar Thomas William Rhys Davids refers to Eḷu as "the Prakrit of Ceylon".[2]
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.
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.
Examples: maitrī → met, auṣadha → osada
Example: sthavira → thera
Examples: canda → sanda, handa
Examples: rūpa → ruva, dīpa → diva
Examples: śaraṇa → saraṇa, doṣa → dosa
Examples: bhakti → bätiya, shakti → saviya
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
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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, . . .
[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.[3]
Thonigala Rock Inscriptions, Anamaduwa under reign of Gamani Abhaya(1st century A.D)
| Elu | Sanskrit | Pali | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| äsa | akṣi | akkhi | eye |
| adara | 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 | attha | meaning | |
| asuna | āsana | āsana | seat |
| ata | hasta | hand | |
| atuna | antra | anta | intestine |
| bambu | brahma | brahma | Brahma |
| bamburā | barbara | barbarian | |
| bamunā | brāhmaṇa | Brahman | |
| basa | bhāsā | language | |
| bima | bhūmi | bhūmi | land |
| bubula | budbuda | bubbula | bubble |
| boduna | bhōjana | bhojana | food |
| bodu | bauddha | Buddhist | |
| bōsat | bōdhisattva | Bodhisattva | |
| dahama, dam | dharma | dhamma | Dharma |
| data | danta | danta | tooth |
| däla | jāla | jāla | Net (device) |
| devola | devālaya | devālaya | temple |
| diga, digu | dīrgha | dīgha | 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 | body |
| gatakura | gātrākṣara | consonant | |
| kana | karṇa | kanna | ear |
| karuvā | kāra | person | |
| keta | khetta | field | |
| sport | |||
| kila | kīlā | kīlā | sport |
| kinu | dark | ||
| kilu | kliṣṭa | kiliṭṭha | dirty |
| kiluTu | kliṣṭa | kiliṭṭha | dirty |
| kiri | kṣīra | khīra | milk |
| kumarā | kumāraka | kumāra | son, prince |
| kumari | kumāri | kumāri | girl, princess |
| kuriru | krūra | kurūra | cruel |
| laka | laṅkā | Sri Lanka | |
| lassana | lakkhana | beautiful | |
| lova | loka | world | |
| maga | mārga | magga | way |
| magula | marriage | ||
| matura | mantra | manta | incantation |
| mäda | madhyama, madhya | majjha | middle |
| miturā | mitra | mitta | friend |
| mugalan | maudgalyāyana | moggallana | mogallana |
| mudu | 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 | production | ||
| nivana | Nirvana | ||
| nuvara | nagara | nagara | city |
| pabala | prabala | pabala | mighty |
| pamana | pramāna | pamāna | amount |
| parapura | paramparā | generation | |
| pänaya | praśna | problem, question | |
| pava | pāpa | pāpa | sin |
| pavasa | pipāsa | pipāsam | thirst |
| parana | purāṇa | old | |
| parusa | paruṣa | pharusa | harsh |
| pasana | prasanna | pasanna | pleasant |
| pāsala | school | ||
| pavaruna | prakaraṇa | treatise | |
| pätuma | prārthanā | wish, hope | |
| pedesa | pradēśa | country | |
| pema | prēma | pema | love |
| piduma | pūjā | pūjā | offering |
| pina | punya | punya | merit |
| pokuna | pond | ||
| poson | pubba-savana | (name of a month) | |
| pota | pustaka | pottaka | book |
| pun | pūra, pūrṇa | punna | full |
| pupa | puppha | flower | |
| putā | putra | putta | son |
| puva | pūrva | pubba | former, prior |
| puvata | pavatti | news | |
| rada | rājan | rājā | king |
| rakusā | rakkhasa | demon | |
| ratu, rat | raktaka | ratta | red |
| räsa | raśmi | rasmi | ray |
| räya | rātri | ratti | night |
| ruka | vṛkṣa | rukkha | tree |
| ruva | rūpa | rūpa | shape, form |
| sangamit | sanghamitra | sangamitta | |
| sanda | candra | canda | moon |
| sämuni | śākyamuni | sakyamuni | |
| sena | sena | army | |
| sidura | chidr | chidda | hole, gap, space |
| sirura | śarīra | sarīra | body |
| soyurā, sohowurā | sahōdara | sodariya | brother |
| sonduru | sundara | sundara | 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 | |
| vesak | Visakha | Vesak | |
| veses | viśeṣa | visesa | special |
| viyarana | vyākarana | grammar | |
| yakā | yakṣa | yakkha | yaksha |
| yatura | yantra | yanta | machine |
| yiva | jīva | jīva | life |