Early Indian Epigraphy

Early Indian Epigraphy

The earliest traces of epigraphy in South Asia are found in the undeciphered inscriptions of the Indus Valley Civilization (Indus script), which date back to the early 3rd millennium BC. According to most scholars, the earliest deciphered epigraphic inscriptions are the Ashoka inscriptions of the 3rd century BCE, written in a form of Prakrit, with Dravidian language Jain inscriptions appearing soon afterwards in Sri Lanka and South India (Tamil Brahmi, Bhattiprolu script). Some scholars have made claims for earlier appearances (6th to 4th century BCE) of small written fragments on South Indian potsherds, but these are not yet generally accepted. Writing in Sanskrit (Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit, EHS) appears only later, in the early centuries AD.

Indian epigraphy becomes more widespread over the 1st millennium, engraved on the faces of cliffs, on pillars, on tablets of stone, drawn in caves and on rocks, some gouged into the bedrock. Later they were also inscribed on palm leaves, coins, copper plates, and on temple walls.

Many of the inscriptions are couched in extravagant language, but when the information gained from inscriptions can be corroborated with information from other sources such as still existing monuments or ruins, inscriptions provide insight into India's dynastic history that otherwise lacks contemporary historical records.

More than 57% of the epigraphical inscriptions, about 57,000, found by the Archaeological Survey of India in India are in Tamil, mostly from rgw Jaina caves and temples. Also around 30,000 inscriptions in the Kannada language and script have been recovered so far. On the whole there are about 75,000 inscriptions in India.