The term
Prakrit, which includes
Pali, is also used as a cover term for the
vernaculars of Northern India that were spoken perhaps as late as the 4th to 8th centuries, but some scholars use the term for the entire Middle Indo-Aryan period. Middle Indo-Aryan languages gradually transformed into Apabhraṃśa dialects, which were used until about the 13th century. The Apabhraṃśas later evolved into Modern Indo-Aryan languages. The boundaries of these periods are somewhat hazy, not strictly chronological. Modern Northern Indian languages are often considered to have begun to develop a distinct identity around the 11th century – while Apabhraṃśas were still in use – and became fully distinct by the end of the 12th century. A significant amount of Apabhraṃśa literature has been found in
Jain libraries. While
Amir Khusrow and
Kabir were writing in a language quite similar to modern Urdu and Hindi, many poets, especially in regions that were still ruled by
Hindu kings, continued to write in Apabhraṃśa. These authors include
Saraha,
Tilopa and
Kanha of
Kamarupa; Devasena of
Dhar (9th century CE); Pushpadanta of
Manyakheta (9th century CE); Dhanapal; Muni Ramsimha;
Hemachandra of
Patan; and
Raidhu of
Gwalior (15th century CE). An early example of the use of Apabhraṃśa is the
Vikramorvashiyam of
Kālidāsa, when
Pururavas asks the animals in the forest about his beloved who had disappeared. Compositions in Apabhramsha continued until the 18th century, when Bhagavatidasa wrote
Migankaleha Chariu. == Writers and poets ==