literary, primarily poetic language that reflects a late stage of Middle Indo-Aryan, immediately prior to Modern Indo-Aryan (c. 12th century). Apabhraṃśa literature includes major Jaina works. Though a literary language, Apabhraṃśa shows developments that must have taken place in spoken dialects. In early times, the term Apabhraṃśa referred to usage considered corrupt, including Middle Indo-Aryan usage (Apabhraṃśa is Sanskrit for “departure from correct speech”). Some authorities class Apabhraṃśa as a Prākrit language (Prākrit languages) (q.v.). Moreover, as has been recognized by various authorities, including the prosodist Rudraṭa (c. 800), Apabhraṃśa showed dialectal differences.