Editing Palaeography (section)

== India ==
[[File:YingpanKharoshthi.jpg|thumb|Paper strip with writing in [[Kharoṣṭhī]], 2nd–5th century]]
{{See also|Linguistic history of India}}

The view that the art of writing in India developed gradually, as in other areas of the world, by going through the stages of pictographic, ideographic and transitional phases of the phonetic script, which in turn developed into syllabic and alphabetic scripts was challenged by Falk and others in the early 1990s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Schrift im alten Indien: ein Forschungsbericht mit Anmerkungen|first=Harry|last=Falk|date=1993|publisher=G. Narr|isbn=3823342711|location=Tübingen|oclc=29443654}}</ref> In the new paradigm, Indian alphabetic writing, called [[Brahmi script|Brahmi]], was discontinuous with earlier, undeciphered, glyphs, and was invented specifically by King [[Ashoka]] for application in his royal [[Edicts of Ashoka|edicts]] {{c|250 BC}}. In the subcontinent, [[Kharosthi]] (clearly derived from the [[Aramaic alphabet]]) was used at the same time in the northwest, next to Brahmi (at least influenced by Aramaic) elsewhere. In addition, the [[Greek alphabet]] were also added to the Indian context after its penetration in the early centuries AD, with the [[Arabic alphabet]] following in the 13th century. After a lapse of a few centuries the Kharoṣṭhi script became obsolete; the Greek script in India went through a similar fate and disappeared. But the Brahmi and Arabic scripts endured for a much longer period. Moreover, there was a change and development in the Brahmi script which may be traced in time and space through the [[Maurya Empire|Maurya]], [[Kushan Empire|Kuṣaṇa]], [[Gupta script|Gupta]] and early medieval periods. The present-day [[Nāgarī script]] is derived from Brahmi. The Brahmi is also the ancestral script of most other Indian scripts, in northern and southern South Asia. Legends and inscriptions in Brahmi are engraved upon leather, wood, terracotta, ivory, stone, copper, bronze, silver and gold. Arabic got an important place, particularly in the royalty, during the medieval period and it provides rich material for history writing.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Salomon|first=Richard|date=1995|title=Review: On the Origin of the Early Indian Scripts|jstor=604670|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=115|issue=2|pages=271–279|doi=10.2307/604670}}</ref> The decipherment and subsequent development of Indus glyphs is also a matter for continuing research and discussion.

Most of the available inscriptions and manuscripts written in the above scripts—in languages like [[Prakrit]], [[Pali]], [[Sanskrit]], [[Apabhraṃśa]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and [[Persian language|Persian]]—have been read and exploited for history writing, but numerous inscriptions preserved in different museums still remain undeciphered for lack of competent palaeographic Indologists, as there is a gradual decline in the subcontinent of such disciplines as palaeography, [[epigraphy]] and [[numismatics]]. The discipline of ancient Indian scripts and the languages they are written needs new scholars who, by adopting traditional palaeographic methods and modern technology, may decipher, study and transcribe the various types of epigraphs and legends still extant today.<ref>There are few available texts relating to "Indian palaeography", among which Ahmad Hasan Dani, ''Indian Palaeography'', Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1997; A. C. Burnell, ''Elements of South-Indian Palaeography, from the Fourth to the Seventeenth Century AD'', repr. 2012; Rajbali Pandey, ''Indian Palaeography'', Motilal Banarasi Das, 1957; Naresh Prasad Rastogi, ''Origin of Brahmi Script: The Beginning of Alphabet in India'', Chowkhamba Saraswatibhawan, 1980.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Indian epigraphy: a guide to the study of inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan languages|last=Salomon|first=Richard|date=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0195099842|location=New York|oclc=252595337}}</ref>

The language of the earliest written records, that is, the [[Edicts of Ashoka]], is [[Prakrit]]. Besides Prakrit, the Ashokan edicts are also written in Greek and Aramaic. Moreover, all the edicts of [[Ashoka]] engraved in the Kharoshthi and Brahmi scripts are in the Prakrit language: thus, originally the language employed in the inscriptions was Prakrit, with Sanskrit adopted at a later stage. Past the period of the [[Maurya Empire]], the use of Prakrit continued in inscriptions for a few more centuries. In north India, Prakrit was replaced by Sanskrit by the end of the 3rd century, while this change took place about a century later in south India. Some of the inscriptions though written in Prakrit, were influenced by Sanskrit and vice versa. The epigraphs of the Kushana kings are found in a mixture of Prakrit and Sanskrit, while the Mathura inscriptions of the time of Sodasa, belonging to the first quarter of the 1st century, contain verses in classical Sanskrit. From the 4th century onwards, the [[Gupta Empire]] came to power and supported the Sanskrit language and literature.

In western India and also in some regions of [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Karnataka]], Prakrit was used till the 4th century, mostly in the [[Buddhist]] writings though in a few contemporary records of the [[Ikshvaku dynasty|Ikshvakus]] of [[Nagarjunakonda]], Sanskrit was applied. The inscription of [[Yajna Sri Satakarni]] (2nd century) from [[Amaravathi village, Guntur district|Amaravati]] is considered to be the earliest so far. The earlier writings (4th century) of Salankayanas of the [[Telugu people|Telugu region]] are in Prakrit, while their later records (belonging to the 5th century) are written in Sanskrit. In the [[Kannada language|Kannada speaking area]], inscriptions belonging to later Satavahanas and Chutus were written in Prakrit. From the 4th century onwards, with the rise of the Guptas, Sanskrit became the predominant language of India and continued to be employed in texts and inscriptions of all parts of India along with the regional languages in the subsequent centuries. The copper-plate charters of the [[Pallavas]], the [[Cholas]] and the [[Pandyas]] documents are written in both Sanskrit and Tamil. Kannada is used in texts dating from about the 5th century and the [[Halmidi inscription]] is considered to be the earliest [[epigraph (literature)|epigraph]] written in the [[Kannada language]]. Inscriptions in [[Telugu language|Telugu]] began to appear from the 6th or 7th century. [[Malayalam]] made its beginning in writings from the 15th century onwards.<ref name="Indi">For this section cf. [https://www.unicode.org/uni2book/ch09.pdf "South and South-East Asian Scripts], Ch. 9; archaeological/linguistic information on [http://asi.nic.in/asi_epigraphical_sans_indiaabroad.asp "Scripts used in India"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515091326/http://asi.nic.in/asi_epigraphical_sans_indiaabroad.asp |date=15 May 2013 }}. Accessed 3 April 2013; [http://www.ganguly.de/india/scripts.html "Indian Languages"], on ''ganguly.de''. Accessed 3 April 2013.</ref>

=== North India ===
[[File:Rigveda MS2097.jpg|thumb|[[Rigveda]] manuscript in [[Devanagari]] (early 19th century)]]
{{See also|Kharosthi|Devanagari}}
In north India, the Brahmi script was used over a vast area; however, [[Ashoka]]n inscriptions are also found using [[Kharoshthi]], [[Aramaic]] and [[Greek script]]s. With the advent of the [[Saka]]-[[Western Kshatrapas|Kshatrapas]] and the [[Kushan Empire|Kushanas]] as political powers in north India, the writing system underwent a definite change due to the use of new writing tools and techniques. Further development of the Brahmi script and perceivable changes in its evolutionary trend can be discerned during the Gupta period: in fact, the [[Gupta script]] is considered to be the successor of the Kushana script in north India.

From the 6th to about the 10th century, the inscriptions in north India were written in a script variously named, e.g., Siddhamatrika and Kutila ("Rañjanā script"). From the 8th century, Siddhamatrika developed into the [[Śāradā script]] in [[Kashmir]] and [[Punjab region|Punjab]], into [[Bengali language|Proto-Bengali]] or Gaudi in [[Bengal]] and [[Orissa, India|Orissa]], and into [[Devanagari|Nagari]] in other parts of north India. [[Nagari script]] was used widely in northern India from the 10th century onwards. The use of [[Nandinagari]], a variant of Nagari script, is mostly confined to the [[Karnataka]] region.

In central India, mostly in [[Madhya Pradesh]], the inscriptions of the [[Vakatakas]], and the kings of [[Sharabhapuriya dynasty|Sarabhapura]] and [[Dakshina Kosala|Kosala]] were written in what are known as "box-headed" and "nail-headed" characters. It may be noted that the early [[Kadambas]] of [[Karnataka]] also employed "nail-headed" characters in some of their inscriptions. During the 3rd–4th century, the script used in the inscriptions of [[Ikshvaku dynasty|Ikshvakus]] of [[Nagarjunakonda]] developed a unique style of letter-forms with elongated verticals and artistic flourishes, which did not continue after their rule.<ref name="Indi" />

=== South India ===
The earliest attested form of writing in [[South India]] is represented by inscriptions found in caves, associated with the [[Chalukya]] and [[Chera dynasty|Chera]] dynasties. These are written in variants of what is known as the [[Cave character]], and their script differs from the Northern version in being more angular. Most of the modern scripts of South India have evolved from this script, with the exception of [[Vatteluttu]], the exact origins of which are unknown, and [[Nandinagari]], which is a variant of [[Devanagari]] that developed due to later Northern influence. In south India from the 7th century of the common era onwards, a number of inscriptions belonging to the dynasties of Pallava, Chola and Pandya are found. These records are written in three different scripts known as [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Vattezhuttu]] and [[Grantha script]]s, the last variety being used to write Sanskrit inscriptions. In the [[Kerala]] region, the Vattezhuttu script developed into a still more cursive script called [[Kolezhuthu]] during the 14th and 15th centuries. At the same time, the modern [[Malayalam]] script developed out of the Grantha script. The early form of the [[Telugu-Kannada script]] is found in the inscriptions of the early [[Kadamba Dynasty|Kadambas]] of [[Banavasi]] and the early [[Chalukyas of Badami]] in the west, and [[Salankayana]] and the early Eastern Chalukyas in the east who ruled the Kannada and Telugu speaking areas respectively, during the 4th to 7th centuries.

====List of South Indian scripts====
[[File:Coin of Vikramaditya Chandragupta II with the name of the king in Brahmi script 380 415 CE.jpg|thumb|right|Coin of Vikramadytia Chandragupta II with the name of the king in Brahmi script, 5th century]]
* [[Brahmi script]]
* [[Chalukya dynasty|Chalukya]] and [[Chera Dynasty|Chera cultures]]
* [[Grantha script]]
* [[Kannada script]]
* [[Malayalam script]]
* [[Nāgarī script]] and [[Nandinagari]]
* [[Tamil script]] (cf. also [[Abagada]] [[writing system]])
* [[Telugu script]]