writing in rigveda (tp verma)

7/28/2019 Writing in Rigveda (TP Verma)

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AWriting in the Vedic Age

Popularity of Art of Writing in Ancient India:Ancient literatures of the Hindus show that there was a consciousness about

writing. There were no less than eighteen scripts prevalent in India at least in the thirdcentury BCE. They have also included names of scripts prevalent in other parts of Asia aswell. This goes to prove that the Hindus were conversant with the art of writing since muchearlier than this period. The Jain work Samavyga-stra, dated to about 300 BCE,contains a list of eighteen scripts while another Jain work called the Paava-stra ofabout 180 BCE also enumerates names of eighteen scripts.4 But latter list slightly differs innames. This is not due to some discrepancy but was on account of the time gap between thetwo lists which rather goes to confirm the popularity of the art of writing in India. We can

imagine that the time gap must have been much wider. The European scholars, due to theirbiblical bias of chronology have very miserly and conservatively dated Hindu literature.Even according to this estimation there can be no doubt that, in the third century BCE,when Aoka was ruling, there were prevalent as many as eighteen writing systems. We haveused this fact to visualise that Aoka did not create a script for him in a void. It alsorevealing that the Buddhist work, Lalitavistara, translated into Chinese in 308 CE containsnames of as many as 64 scripts, showing the fast increasing popularity of art of writing inIndia. This also goes to prove that Aokan script also must have included in the lists ofPaavastra and the Lalitavistara.

As indicated above the Hindus were acquainted with the scripts of the then civilizedcountries in Asia. Dr. Raj Bali Pandeya has analysed these names and noted that there aremany names in these works that point towards the scripts of other countries of Asiaincluding scripts of the Chinese, the Greeks, the Has, the Daradas, the Khasyas (i.e.akas?) and the people of Uttarakuru, etc.5 This again shows that Indians were much moreconscious about writing than any other civilization of the contemporary world. This alsonegates the well propagated opinion of Buhler that the Hindus even at present, in spiteof a long continued use of writing, esteem the written word less than the spoken one,because they base their whole literary and scientific intercourse on oral communications,and because, especially in scientific works, writing and MSS. are mentioned very rarely.6

Notwithstanding the propaganda of Western scholars it is obvious that in the time of Aokathe art of writing was quite popular.

Obviously, all the writing systems of India must have found their base in the Sanskritvaraml. They were not to feel crippled for the lack of systematic sound systems like the

4 Ibid p. 15.5 Pandeya, Raj Bali Indian Palaeography, p. 266 Buhler, op. cit. p. 18.


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scripts of West Asia and Iran. This is to be underlined that phonetic arrangement of thecuneiform writing system of Iran, under the Achaemenian kings, was also mostly based onSanskrit varaml (though with only 23 signs), as most of the words used in theirinscriptions are derived from Sanskrit, a common heritage of both the cultures since Vedictimes. This fact has never been prominently emphasised by Western scholars.Evidence from Ancient Literature:

Buhler7 points towards a number of evidences in favour of prevalence of writingduring the Vedic age. According to him Among Vedic works, the Vasiha Dharmastra,according to Kumrila (about A.D. 750) originally belonged to a school of the gveda, andwhich is younger than the lost Mnava Dharmastra but older than the existingManusahit, offers clear evidence for widely spread use of writing during the Vedicperiod. Vasiha in XVI, 10, 14-15, mentions written documents as legal evidence, and thefirst of these sutras is a quotation from an earlier work or from traditional lore. Buhlerfurther refers to Pinis grammar, which belongs to the Vedgas, contains, besides

the terms yavannmentioned above, the compounds lipikara and libikara, writer (III, 2,21). In addition to these few certain passages, the latter Vedic works contain sometechnical terms such as akara, ka, paala, grantha, &c., which some scholars havequoted as evidence for writing. Similarly, opinions are much divided with respect to theforce of some other general arguments for the early use of written documents and MSS.,drawn from the advanced state of Vedic civilisation, especially from the high developmentof trade and the complicated monetary transactions mentioned in the Vedic works, fromthe use of prose in Brhmaas from the collection, the methodical arrangement, thenumeration, and the analysis of the Vedic texts, and from the grammatical, phonetic, and

lexicographic researches in the Vedgas. But his European prejudice compels him todeny all these evidences by the remark Though some of these points, especially the firstand the last, undeniably possess considerable weight, they have yet not gained generalrecognition, as will always happen if an argumentum ex impossibliis used, even if it shouldbe supported by fuller special enquiries than Sanskrit scholars have hitherto devoted tothese subjects. in their estimation.

On the other hand he admits that on the other hand, there is nothing to bar theconjecture that, even during the Vedic period, MSS. were used as auxiliaries both in oralinstruction and other occasions. He further supports this by adding as an argument infavour of this conjecture it is now possible to adduce the indisputable fact that the Brhmalphabet has been formed by phonologists or by grammarians and for scientific use.8

But, as we will presently see, the Aokan Brhm initially was not devised forscientific use as supposed by Buhler but it was created by some genius in the Mauryancourt to record the dictates of the emperor which was in the local language spoken in the

7 Op. Cit. p. 17-18.8 Ibid p. 18.


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Pataliputra region of Magadha and not for writing Sanskrit with complicated conjuncts.This is evident from the steeply falling number of inscriptions after the death of Aoka.This situation continued during the centuries that followed. Aokan Brhm was used forwriting Prkrit languages in inscriptions of Khravela in Orissa and of the Stavhanas ofAndhra and Maharashtra, and also by the people who donated in construction of Stupaslike Bharhut and Sanchi. I have dealt with the subject in my work on post-Aokan Brhmscript.9 It is the foreign dynasty of Rudradaman who used this script for writing his famousJunagarh Rock inscription in chaste Sanskrit prose. In other parts of country it took time toadopt it for writing Sanskrit language.Importance of Akara:

Writing is visual form of spoken speech, and therefore there are two basic elementsin any writing system: i) sound and ii) sign. It is only the Vedic civilization where languagewas systematically analysed phonetically. They have determined the smallest unit of theirlanguage and called it akara, meaning further phonetic division of which is not possible. At

a later stage it acquired the name vara. Every akara was phonetically analysed andclassified in accordance with the place of its pronunciation in the mouth with the help oftongue. The Hindus fully recognised the role of the vocal cord in the throat also. This cameto be known as akara-samnya and/or vara-sammnya. Once the phonemics of alanguage is determined there can be no problem in creating a writing system by providingvisual sign to each phoneme. Vedic Prtikhyas are the treatises on phonemics. ik, oneof the vedgas is devoted the teaching of pronunciation of Vedic texts. No othercivilization could even touch the fringes of their achievement in this field.

The European scholars failed to recognise this basic factor of writing system

consequently their enquiry has gone in wrong direction. They give emphasis to the visualsigns which is the secondary element in a writing system. Obviously, there had been nosystematic work in the field of phonetics in any other civilization of antiquity. They derivedthe Aokan Brhm writing with squinting eyes by comparing individual signs on thepattern of West Asian scripts.Pre-gvedic Language in Taittiryasahit:

In the Vedic literature there is evidence about the pre-gvedic language which wascodified by Indra. This must have been the primordial language used by the early man. InIndia we call it Prkrit (natural) as against Sanskrit (refined or cultured). It is a wrongassumption that the Prkrits evolved after the Sanskrit.10 The Taittiryasahit relates apage of early history of humanity when people spoke natural language and were notrestricted by any grammatical rules. There seems some sort of chaos prevailing in wordpronunciation and sentence construction. It is pertinent to point out that man descended on

9 Veram, T.P. The Palaeography of Brhm Script in North India: (from 236 B.C. to 200 A.D.), Varanasi,1971, chapters 2, 3 and 4.10s,


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this earth with fully developed organs of speech in his body and he got speech throughdivine inspiration. Language is always associated with the thinking process; simplyproducing sound from the throat, as is done by all other species of animals, cannot beconsidered language. However the story narrated in the Taittiryasahit (6.4.7.3) is quiteinteresting for the study of language among human beings.

There it is said that In ancient times speech was without grammar (avykt). Thenthe devasked Indra to codify this speech for them. Indra wished for a boon that Vyushould hold it (=speech) in the middle for him. Then Indra codified the speech (vg) byholding it in the middle by Vyu.11 Hence language is called aindravyava.12 Here the helpof Vyu to hold the speech in the middle is of seminal importance in the history oflinguistic studies because this is the first ever mention to codify a language and create agrammar for it by analyzing it phonetically. The grammar of Indra (Aindra-vykaraa) iswell known but only a little has survived to us. This incident of codification should bevisualised as the immense work of surveying and sorting out spoken language/s and

standardize (i.e. to refine) it. This primordial language, as ststed above, was some sort ofPrkrit which was desired by the Devas to be refined (sanskrit) by Indra who is known asthe first grammarian. Indra undertook the job and systematically analysed and standardizedit. The help of Vyu in the process clearly indicates that the language was phoneticallyanalysed. In this process, first the spoken phrases might have been analysed into wordsthen these words would have broken into smallest units which were called akaras (i.e.non-destructible) or, phonetically further division of which is not possible.13 These, later on,were given the name vara (the coloured ones) when the process of writing with ink cameinto vogue. The whole alphabet was collectively called Akara Sammnya and Vara

Sammnya (or, Varaml). The initial vara was a. The Taittirya Prtikhya definesvara as That describe and pronounced are vara beginning from a.14 Thus the conceptof varaml, with vowels and consonants came into existence where every consonant wassupplied with the initial vowel a because a vara could not be utter ed without the help ofa vowel; and a was the initial vowel, other varas are its extension or vikriti. This is themost scientific arrangement that has come to us without much modification since millennia.The vedga called ik and Prtikhyas are devoted to the phonetic analysis where the

11tEirIys, Quoted in Dr. Indra aitzaOyae< me< yu pair-ai;k zBdae< ka AalaecnaTmk

AXyyn, vara[sI, 1973, p&0 1,


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place of the origin of each individual akara in the mouth was determined. It is to be notedthat in the process of speech the tongue played vital role. The flexible tongue in humanmouth differentiates man from other animals and this special organ is enumerated as one ofthe five karmendriyas (work organs). In many languages it has become the synonym oflanguage. All other animals and birds cannot use their tongue to produce sounds that canbe called a language. Language necessarily involves thinking process. This is the qualitythat separates man from animal. It is wrong notion that man acquired/learned languagethrough imitation of animals and birds. It is also futile and waste of labour to train animalsto learn language. This was long recognised by Vedic people and entire gveda is full ofpraise of speech because the is(seers of hymns) realised it importance at very early stageof human history.15

The gvedic people were acquainted with akara because every verse was meteredwith counted akaras. There are in all fifteen meters used in the gveda, like Triubh(4x11 akaras), Gytar (3x8) and Jagat (4x12), etc., this shows that the akaras have

already been separated from words and defined and codified by Indra by the time whenthese hymns were composed. The phonetic science of the Vedga ik is a definiteproof of the existence and use of a complete system of varaml in the period of gveda.This science reached culmination in the Prtikyyas of different branches of Vedic studies.So far only six of these have come to us.16

It is important to note that in this counting of akaras in a verse mtr i.e. timetaken in pronunciation of long vowels is not considered; this is later development with theclassical Sanskrit which made the job easy. In pre-gvedic times this cumbersome exercisewas done by Indra as mentined in the Tittiryasahit. The Aindra-vykaraa (grammar of

Indra) was very comprehensive and complicated like a ocean. Devabodha, a commentatoron the Mahabharata has noted that the grammar of Pini was a cow-hoof in comparisonwith the grammar of Indra which was like an ocean.17 However, we can conclude that tocreate a writing system based on a perfect alphabet was no problem. It was created butwithout compromising with the Vedic pronunciation. This, perhaps, made the scriptcumbersome that resulted in its going into oblivion, as explained below.Evidence of Writing in the gveda:

There are two stages of writing that were prevalent in ancient world. It, perhaps,began with incising letters on hard material or impressing on wet clay tablets as we find inancient civilizations of West Asia. In the gveda the word takaa is used for writing.

15 In the study of history Europeans have thoroughly neglected this aspect because there is no place for theman who possessed language. The European scholars content themselves by calling varamla a syllable,inferior to alphabetic writing.16 Dr. Indra, op. cit. p. 2 and 4 of Bhmik.17yaNyJjhar maheNad!Vyase Vyakr[a[aRvat!, pdrTnain ik< tain siNt pai[ingae:pde. Quoted in-artIy iv}an vE-v, 2009,

vara[sI, p&0 139, padiqPp[I,


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gveda (IX. 97. 22), refers to incise speech (takat vk). This mode of writing continueseven today. During the Buddhist period Vinayapiaka mentions the word chinda forincising. Buhler notes The Prjika section of the Vinayapiaka (3, 4, 4) declares thatBuddhist monks shall not incise (chind) the rules which show how men may gain heaven,or riches and fame in the next life, through particular modes of suicide. From this passage itfollows (1) that the ascetics of pre-Buddhistic times used to give their lay-disciples rules,incised on bamboo or wooden tablets concerning religious suicide, which ancient Brahmansand Jainas strongly recommended, and (2) that the knowledge of the alphabet was widelyspread among the people.18 These instances of incision referred by Buhler can be appliedto the writing in the Vedic period because manuscripts might have been incised on somedurable material. The practice of incision continues till date as metal plates like copper etcwere and are still used for donation and eulogies. As said earlier, perhaps, till this stage thealphabet was known as akara. The word vara (colour) for letter is unknown in thegveda. This can be seen in the light of Harappan writing incised on steatite seals etc. This

practice of incising letters continued for writing on ta-patras, and on metals like copperand gold etc. in historical period. This explains the absence of the terms vara(for letters)and lipi(for writing) in the Vedas.

At a subsequent stage writing with colour began and then akaraacquired the namevara. Now the use of wet coulour or ink can be gleaned responsible for the words like lipi,libi,likha, lekh, lekhaka&c. European scholars vainly were in search of the word lipiforwriting in Vedic literature and declared that the Vedic people had no writing system. It is amodern myth created by Europeans that word lipiwas borrowed from Iranian word dipi.This word was used for painting pictures also; the practice still continues. Women folk use

this word for painting on wall at ceremonies like marriage etc.rotriya Akaras:We have found the word rotriya for writing in literature which definitely shows that

the Vedic priests had their own system of writing and that was known only to a veryselective group of people. This system continued till at least the Gupta period. This writingwas called rotriya akariin the drama Mudr-rkasa of Vikhadatta ascribed to theGupta period. In the first act of the drama a disciple of Cakya hands him over a mudr(seal) of Rkasa. This triggers a plan in latters mind to trap Malayaketu an ally of Rkasathrough it. He prepares a letter in this writing of the Vedic brhmaas (rotriya akari)and asks his disciple to get it rewritten, because of its obscurity, in the prevalent script of histimes in the hands of akaadsa. Here Cakya says rotriya akaras, though written withmuch effort, are of definite pronunciation (rotriykari prayatnalikhitnyapi niyata-sphuni bhavati).19 Here he points out two features of the rotriya system of writing: i) thiswas written with much effort or care, and ii) it had definite pronunciation.

18 Op. Cit. p. 19.19Mudr Rkasamof Vikhadatta, Varanasi (Reprint 2001), Act 1.


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This shows that there was a system of writing till, at least, the Gupta period that wasused by the Vedic priests, i.e. the rotriya brhmaas. It had become very scares by the timeof Vikhdatta and only a few could read and write it; Ckya and akaadda were fewamong them. The rotriya writing system perhaps was very complicated one for theyemphasise on imitating correct pronunciation. It must be noted here that the Vedicbrhmaas never favoured the Vedas to be committed to writing because it was feared thatthrough this the exact meaning of the Vedas might be lost forever.20 In this context we marecall Buhlers contention that even during the Vedic period, MSS. were used as auxiliariesboth in oral instruction and on other occasions.21 This is not unlikely. Let us again repeatthat with the classification akaras by Indra, the creation of a system of writing was not adifficult job. If there is an instance of takaa of vk in the gveda22 and if there is anallusion in AV of placing the Veda in the box from which it was taken out23 and if there isan allusion of seeing the vk24 there can be no bar in assuming that writing was known tothe Vedic people for profane literature, if not for the sacred hymns. The Sanskrit language

has complicated conjuncts that require special skill and attention for writing. If we canscare our mind from writing Vedic hymns it is not difficult to imagine that in other walks oflife writing was a necessity for the advanced society of the gvedic period. Even thenemphasis on correct pronunciation of the language cannot be ruled out in all writingsystems. The evidence of rotriya writing, cited above, is indicative of the fact that it wasused by the Vedic priests for writing other Vedic literature other than the sahitaportion.

Today we use diacritics to emphasise hrasva, drghaandplutpronunciations whilewring Vedic hymns in Nagari script. We know that Nagari was evolved from the AokanBrhm which was created for writing Prkrit languages, not for Sanskrit. Gradually it was

adopted for writing Sanskrit by creating new signs. The diacritics to pronounce Vedichymns are adopted these days. However, a few years ago a sign to write the guorgvawas used in printing which resembled the inverted Greek letter omega with a dot above.Now it has been abandoned in modern printing. A similar sign frequently appears in theHarappan script. But we are not sure if the gusign has something to do with Harappanscript or not.

Brhm is named at the top of all lists found in literature that shows its importanceand sacred nature. This was the most revered script of ancient India. The Bhagavatstrabegins with the salutation to the Brhm (amo bambhiye liviye). The Jain tradition relatesthat this script was invented by abhantha to teach his daughter Bambh. In China also

20 It is matter of regret that this over emphasis resulted in exact pronunciation and exact meaning of theVedas have been lost forever. This unlashes the arbitrary interpretations.21 Op. Cit. p. 18.22t]*dI mnsae ventae vak!, \0 9,97,2223ySmaTkaezadudram ved< tiSmNnNtrv dXm @nm!, AwvR0 19,72,124%tTv pZyNn ddzRvac< ivse jayev pTy %ztI suvasa, \Gved


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there is a tradition about Brhm. The Chinese encyclopaedia Fa-Wan-Su-Lin(composedin 668 CE) notes that the invention of writing was made by three divine powers; the first ofthese was Fan (Brahm), who invented the Brhm script, which runs from the left to theright; the second divine power was Kia-lu(Kharoha) who invented Kharoh, which runsfrom the right to the left, and the third and the last important was Tsam-ki, the scriptinvented by whom runs from the top to the down. The encyclopaedia further informs thatthe first two divine powers were born in India and the third in China.25 That India andChina were in mutual contact is evident from this evidence; we have already noted mentionof Chinese script in the Jain lists.

But the most important issue is the identification of the Brhm script of these lists;no doubt it was the most respected name among writing systems of Asia. Undoubtedly itwas used in writing sacred scriptures of the Hindus, that may be the Veda itself, and/ or,alternately related literature. It is tempting to relate this name with the writing systemdiscovered from Harappan civilization because there are definite proofs that it was the

Vedic civilization. But, however, there is one difficulty in this assumption. The Harappanscript is found written on seals that were used for trade and commercial purposes. Thisdeters us from giving the sacred name Brhm to it. As it is evident from a large number ofscripts prevalent in ancient India it is no wonder if the Harappan writing was anothervariety of the script of Vedic specie.

BThe Harappan ScriptGreat Controversy:The Harappan script remains undeciphered even after ninety years of its discovery.After several years of efforts some Western scholars have accepted the failure. In theirdesperate article The Collapse of the Indus Script Thesis: The Myth of a LiterateHarappan Civilization (in Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies, 11:) three frustratedscholars, Steve Farmer, Richard Sproat and Michael Witzel declared in 2004 that the Indussymbols might not have been intended to encode speech at all, but might instead be asystem of religious, political and social symbols not tied to any particular language. Andthat the Indus Civilization was not in fact literate and never used a linguistic system ofwriting. However, no one can object to having such opinion in academic field, but theproblem arises when they try to imposes their researches and compel others to follow it.There are ate least two such instances which we wish to put before the readers.1. Instance of Dr. Bryan K. Wells: I received an email on March 9, 2012 from Dr. S.Kalyanaraman of Chennai which reveals the incident that happened with Dr Bryan K.Wells of Harvard University. Dr. Kalyanaraman writes:

25 Pandeya, R.B. Op. cit. p. 25.


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As I read through Bryan K. Wells, 2011, Epigraphic approaches to Indus writing,Oxford and Oakville, Oxbow Books, some disturbing points emerge, related to academicprejudices in adjudicating a students contributions.

In the Foreword to the book, C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky, makes some incisive

observations and comments on how Bryans doctoral dissertation was dealt with in theacademic setting of Harvard University: Bryan Wellscame to Harvard as a graduatestudent intent on continuing his study of the Indus Civilization and its scriptHe was, andremains, committed to the idea that the Indus script represents writing and its deciphermentwill lead to an understanding of its texts and language. He did not think that at Harvard hisdedication to this goal would meet with resistance. It did. This volume is a substantiallyrevised edition of his doctoral dissertation. Bryans dissertation committee consisted ofmyself as Chair and Dr. Richard Meadow and Professor Michael Witzel. A near final draftof his dissertation was rejected by Meadow and Witzel. Bryan was required to return fromGermany to confront and ostensibly to correct and address its shortcomings. The basic

problem was that Profesor Witzel, influenced by Steve Farmer, had concluded that theIndus script was neither writing nor representative of language.Steve Farmer believes the Indus signs to be magical symbols. In light of Professor

Witzels strong commitment to the non-writing nature of the Indus script Bryans effort wasdeemed spurious and unacceptable. Richard Meadow, less strident in his view as to thenature of the Indus script, nevertheless advised Bryan to tone down his view that the Indusrepresented writing. Approximately six weeks were spent as Professor Witzel balked atany mention of the Indus being a script and having a logo-syllabic nature. He insisted thatBryan substitute the word marks or symbols for script. He was initially in opposition tothe entire thesis. A Professors opinion, which, in this case is a minority view within theprofession, should never be used to impose or prevent an alternative hypothesis from beingaddressed by a Ph.D. candidate. It was not as if Bryan was addressing an untenable, absurdhypothesis. He was to spend weeks of uncertainty, anxiety, and, in a state of near depressionhe puzzled over what to do. The consternation endured and expenses incurred effects hisentire family. (pp. xiii-xv)

2. Instance of Lucy Zuberbuhler: The other instance occurred in November 2011when the news of internet spread about a graduate dissertation on Indus manuscript by oneLucy Zuberbuhler of University of Bern. It is entitled A Comparison of a Manuscript withthe Indus Script (2009). This generated stir among academic circles.

This manuscript in seven lines on a rugged piece of birch bark belongs to the SultaniMuseum in Kabul, established by a gold trader by the name of Ahmad Shah Sulatni onlyfive years ago. Its photograph is exhibited in the Western Himalaya Archive Vienna 2009from which Lucy produced her thesis. The MSS. was found contained in a wooden box onthe lid of which there is a sixteenth century painting of three horsemen playing polo. (Figs.1-2) The writer of the thesis holds This could possibly indicate that the inscribed objectdates from the same time period, which would not necessarily imply, that the text itself was


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not an Indus script composition. It would merely mean that the text was perhaps repeatedlycopied over time from an Indus original. The other important feature, as anyone can notefrom the attached figure, is that there appear several layers of the birch bark, as seen fromthe bottom left corner photograph which, on scientific treatment of material may revealsome more pages of writing. (Fig. 3)

The publication of this dissertation on internet was while welcomed in someacademic circles, the trio of these Western scholars was not happy. There can be noobjection to the conclusion they reached; but problem arises when someone expects that hisdisposition should be followed by all other scholars in the world. Steve Farmer declared onthe internet that The girl who wrote the thesis (Lucy Zuberbuhler) herself has posted onthe List, sending a note to me and Richard Sproat saying that she knows it is forgery andapologizing for all the trouble this has stirred up. Obviously , it is not difficult to imaginewhat might have happened behind the curtain because in her very balanced 55 pagedissertation there is not a single line that slightly indicates this supposed knowledge of

forgery.On the contrary she writes (p. 13) A radiocarbon dating t est would be able toascertain the age of the artifact, but none could be performed in conjunction with thisbachelor thesis. Therefore, it is also impossible to establish whether or not the object is infact a forgery. For this reason the artifact will simply be assessed as if it were authentic andall scenarios remain open.

But, however, such assertions could not stop the zeal of research on the Kabulmanuscript (and Indus script) because one Mr. Daniel F. Salas published a note with figuresin October 2012 on internet which runs as follows:

I have been asked is the Kabul manuscript a forgery. The Kabul manuscripts firstline shows a direct influence of the Indus Valley seals, there are five exact matches muchshow a relationship to the humped bull seals. For the manuscript to be a forgery the forgerwould have to dig up Indus seals and to string them together, here the question is when wasthe manuscript written, was it written before there was a knowledge of Indus Valley orbefore excavating in 1920s. My thoughts are the manuscript was older than 1920 and ties tothe humped bull validate the author as having prior knowledge that is impossible to makeup or create a forgery.He then gives a comparison of written text on a humped bull seal and signs from

the first line of the manuscript. (Fig. 4) Obviously heir claim of the manuscript being arecent forgery, say of 2005 is ludicrous.

We the Direct Inheritors:In context we must point out that the people of India are the direct inheritors oflegacy of Indus writing. For example, I myself have used a wooden plank called takhtduring my childhood for learning alphabet at primary stage. Similar takhts(writing tablets)in terracotta have been discovered from Mohenjodaro (fig. 5).26 That this type of writingtablet continued through the ages is attested i) by a third century BCE terracotta plaque

26 Lal, B.B. The Sarasvat Flows On, New Delhi, 2002, p. 132, fig. 4.70.


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from Yamuna Nagar, which depicts a child pointing out one of the Brhm alphabetswritten on a takht, (fig. 6), and ii) a copperplate with inscription of Gupta age found fromChainpur village near famous Muevar hillock, (Fig. 7) published by the presentauthor,27 also is of similar shape, and iii) a copperplate of the Maukhar king navarm insixth century writing (Fig. 8).28 This continuity of writing material leaves no doubt thatHarappan practice of writing continues till date and that those who declared in 2004 thatthe Indus symbols might not have been intended to encode speech at all, but might insteadbe a system of religious, political and social symbols not tied to any particular language arefrustrated scholars. Their assertion that the Indus Civilization was not in fact literate andnever used a linguistic system ofwriting must be rejected outright.

We conclude our discussion on Indus writing with the remark that we would have towait till its decipherment. There is no doubt that the Indus civilization continues till datewith many of its features.

CThe Aokan BrhmFrom the above discussion it is evident that during the gvedic age there might have

prevalent more than one script as we know for certain that several writing systems wereprevalent in the 300 BCE, and also that names Brhm and rotriya for scripts point outtowards this fact. This assertion gains ground that the vedga called ik and thePrtikyas of the different Vedas have scientifically analysed the phonetics of the Vediclanguage that resulted in recognition of phonemes called akaras. With the existence of awell developed and scientific alphabet there can be no difficulty in creation of a writingsystem by devising signs for them. The other writing systems of ancient world have givenpreference to the signs and neglected the sound analysis of their languages resulting in poorphonetic representation in script. We have also seen that the Harappan tradition of writingon wooden plank continued through the ages till present period showing the continuity ofart of writing from the Harappan period. The lists of a number of writing systems in theJain and the Buddhist literary sources go to prove that Bhratya society was literate sincethe gvedic period. It is irony of history that the only writing system that has survived to uswas devised quite late in the reign of King Aoka of the Mauryan dynasty. George Buhler,

the first scholar who produced a first systematic treatise on the subject, selected the nameBrhm for this script from the lists mentioned above. The reason for the survival of theAsokan script was its simplicity which was created to record the verbal edicts of the

27Verma, T.P. The Chainpur Copperplate and the Muevar Inscriptions, Itihas Darpan, Vol. XIV (1),2009, pp. 69-78 and figures.28Thaplyal, K.K. and Srivastava, V.N., Maukhari Narea navarm k Devakal Tmrapatra, Bulletin ofMuseum and Archaeology, UP, Vol. 41-42, 1988, pp. 77-86 and figure.


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Emperor in local dialect spoken in the Pataliputra region of Magadha. The reason forextinction of other scripts can be discerned in their complicated nature emphasising oncorrect pronunciation of the Sanskrit words. This resulted in their falling into disusegradually.Creation of a New Script by Aoka:

In the following pages we are propounding entirely a new thesis for the origin of theAokan Brhm script. Here we will discuss the circumstances that instigated Aoka todevise a new script for recording his speech delivered in Varanasi at Sarnath on theoccasion of placing the relics of the Buddha on a platform for worship at the culmination ofhis 265 night-halt pilgrimage with the relics collected from eight original stupas.

The history of Aokas visit to Varanasi in the eleventh year of his reign is not foundwritten in the history books but it is a truth that has been deduced by the present authorfrom his Minor Rock Edicts. It is the Ahraura edict which reveals that on this occasion heplaced the relics of Buddha on a platform for worship and delivered a sermon that

dhamawill increase at least by one and a half times and that every one, big or small, canattain svarga by following it. This was the most glorious moment in the history of ourcountry because this inspired Aoka to decide for the creation of a new writing systemwhich we know today as Aokan Brhm. He was so enthusiastic with this event at Sarnath,Varanasi that he decided to record the account of this 256 night-halt pilgrimage as well ashis speech on hard material like rocks and pillars throughout his empire. But obstacle in theendeavour was that he insisted on writing in the local language in which he had deliveredhis famous speech; not in Sanskrit, the language of administration. For this he had to createa new writing system, nay, at least two systems that we know today as Brhm and

Kharoh. Among these the former was adopted to writing in roughly the presentterritories of independent India, i.e. Bharata while other, Kharoh, carved its way inpresent Pakistan and Afghanistan up to Central Asian countries.Aokas Ahraura Edict:

However, Aokas visit to Varanasi (Sarnath), as stated above, is inferred from hisMinor Rock Edict (MRE) at Ahraura near Varanasi. Here Aoka records in the lastsentence This sermon (svana) was delivered (by me) (while) on tour of 256 night-halts(when) Buddhas relics were placed on this platform (and worshipped)29 (esa svanevivuthen due sapan-lti-sati a ma[che] Budhasa salle lohe[ti]. This eleven lineepigraph is one of the most damaged MREs of Aoka but fortunately the last five lines arepreserved which are of utmost historical importance. Here the mention of this platform(a mache) is very important because it points out that the event took place somewherein the vicinity. Ahraura is the nearest natural rocks in the neighbourhood of Varanasi(about 35 kms.). It needs no imagination to note that the king is referring to Sarnath where

29A mache means this platform. The word a occurs in the same sense in 4th RE, line 12 of Kalasiversion and the 4th RE, line 17 of Mansehra version.


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he is known to have established the Dharmarjik-stpa with the relics of the Buddha.Near the site of the engraved inscription in Ahraura is a modern temple of Bhardevi.This deity might have been in worship at the time of Aoka and name Bhaardev isbefitting this fertile piece of land which is surrounded by hills. Aoka perhaps selected thisspot for his inscription for it was a frequented by pilgrims. For his other edicts also onlysuch places were selected.

In this paper we have liberally speculated on the available data in Aokaninscriptions to reach conclusions but these are not against the norms of historical thinkingfor deriving inferences, therefore these are now the part of the history that could not berecorded so far. For example no scholar has speculated about the date (tithi) of thebeginning and end of the pilgrimage of Aoka but we have pointed out a plausible tithi.Similar is the case with the circumstances that lead to the decision of creating a new scriptto record this event. Prevalence of good number of scripts in about 300 BCE was also

known from the Jain and Buddhist sources since Buhler published his work onpalaeography of India in the last decade of nineteenth century but no one has ever utilisedthis information to pointed out that this was the period when Aoka was ruling and that hisscript was not created out of nothing. We are also first to point out that there are twoelements in any writing system, i.e. sound and sign, and it is the phonetic analysis that isvital for any writing system, and that with a scientific varaml, it is not difficult to create anew form of writing; that is exactly what Indians have been doing since the time of gveda.But, however, they were too insistent on maintaining phonetic peculiarities in writing forwhich they devised difficult combination of signs. On the other hand the script created at

the instance of Aoka was initially quite simple without much emphasis on depiction of lowand high pitch of pronunciation and complicated conjuncts of Sanskrit language.A word about the chronology of the promulgation of Aokan edicts will be pertinent

here. It is admitted by many that the Minor Rock Edicts were the earliest to be engraved.30The set of fourteen Rock Edicts, being recollections of the king about his efforts towardsdhama during his reign, were drafted and engraved next and the Pillar Edicts were thelast in the series. The language of edicts shows that these were dictates by the emperor. Itwas the Mgadh of Pataliputra region. But it would be wrong to assume that this was theofficial language of the Maurya administration during Aokas time, and that Sanskrit wasnot used as advocated by H.C. Raychaudhuri while dealing with the date of Arthastra. 31The official language of the administration during Maurya period was Sanskrit as evincedby Arthastra of Kauilya.Archaeology of Sarnath:30 Barua, B.M. Asoka and His Inscriptions, Part I, Calcutta, New Delhi, 1968, p. 16.31The Age of Imperial Unity, Bombay, (1951) pp. 285 ff.


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The two stpas at Sarnath are remains of Aokas pilgrimage to Varanasi which wasadministered directly from Magadha since the time of Bimbisra and Ajtaatru.32 This wasthe reason Aoka addresses to the Mahmtras of Paliputra in his Sarnath pillar edict, notto the local authorities.33 This pilgrimage of 256 night-halts at various places in his empireculminated at Sarnath where he placed the relics of the Buddha on a platform (macha) atthe spot which is now known as Dharmarjik-stpa on a stpa was raised to mark the spot.Now the stpa has extinct, only the foundation remains. This is situated to the south of theMlagandha-ku from where the Lord Buddha is said to have turned the Wheel of Lawinto motion (Dharma-chakra pravartana) a few centuries earlier. Another platform wasbuilt about a hundred metre to the east of this place for the Emperor to address the peopleon the occasion. From here Aoka delivered the famous Sermon (svana), recorded in allhis MREs, and wished that the Dharma will increase at least one and a half times. Thisdesire-making platform was perpetuated by building a stpa called the Dhamekha(=Dharmek or desire for Dharma) which is at present the most dominating structure at

Sarnath. Cunningham had excavated Sarnath from December 1834 to January 1836. It issaid that he bored a hole into this stpa and found no relics deposited inside. Only, at thedepth of three feet from the top he discovered an inscribed stone containing the famousBuddhist formula ye dhamm hetu pabhav etc. in 6th century script.34 Thus theDhamekha is only a commemorative stpa. The desire of Dharma (dharmek) by Aokapreserved in the name Dhamekha lingered in the memory of the people though theincident attached with this is forgotten. Perhaps the yearly melon Buddha Prim day isa continuum of the event. (Fig. 9)

As per our estimation the Ahraura was the first ever edict of Aoka engraved on a

rock. Though copies of this edict were sent throughout the empire but Ahraura is the onlyedict to mention the original intent. Professor K.K. Thaplyal has noted that seventeencopies of this record were known to have come to light from different parts of the countrytill 2009. The eighteenth one was discovered by a team of scholars of Jna Pravha,Varanasi, on 15th of January 2009 from Ratanpurwa, Bhabua district of Bihar, on the UP-Bihar border in Kaimur ranges. This is the 18th MRE of Asoka.35 The Sahasram in Rohtasdistrict (Bihar) and the Ratanpurwa in Bhabua district (Bihar) are recovered with more orless complete text but the Ahraura MRE in Mirzapur district of UP is much damaged,perhaps because it is so close to the habitation. Only 5 last lines of this eleven line epigraphare preserved and most of the lines from 1 to 6 are damaged.The Discovery of Ahraur MRE:32 Ibid, p. 20 and 23.33 Sircar, D.C., Select Inscriptions, (1965), Calcutta, p. 72.34 Bhikshu Dharmarakshita, Srantha(Hindi) 1961, Varanasi, p. 105-06.35Verma, T.P., The Discovery of the Ratanpurawa Minor Rock Edict of Aoka Itihas Darpan, Volume14(1) 2009, pp. 62-68. Thaplyal, K.K., A New Aokan Inscription from Ratanpurwa, 2009, Varanasi.


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The discovery of Ahraura edict was announced by Prof. G.R. Sharma of AllahabadUniversity in news papers on 11th November 1961. However, Prof. A.K. Narain of BanarasHindu University claimed that it was discovered and reported by R.G. Pandey of ASI muchearlier. Prof. Narain published an article in the Bhrat, (Research Bulletin of College ofIndology, Banaras Hindu University) No. 5 Part I (1961-62) pp. 97-105. Prof. V.V. Mirashialso published an article in the same issue on pp. 135-40. Later Prof. D.C. Sircar treated thesubject in his detailed article in Epigraphia Indicavolume XXXVI (1965-66), pp. 239-48.

According to Professor Sircar The great importance of the Ahraura version ofMinor Rock Edict I is that it begins and ends differently from any of the other knownversions. Unfortunately, as indicated above, the earlier part of the record is damaged, sothat it is not possible to determine the correct reading of this section; but it is a matter ofgreat satisfaction that the reading of the concluding part, which is of exceptional interest, isbeyond doubt.36

Thus undoubtedly this is the earliest edict of Aoka but before we proceed on the

subject it is necessary to talk about the 256 night-halts pilgrimage of Aoka that inspiredhim to take steps that greatly influenced the course of history of India.Background of Aokas Pilgrimage:

In his 13th RE Aoka recalls that in the 8th year of his reign he conquered Kalinga,and in this war one hundred thousand people were killed and one and a half times of theseone hundred thousand people were displaced. His heart-felt grief over this misery of thepeople and the futility of conquest by war is recorded in this RE.37 This, again, is reflectedin the administrative instructions given to the Mahmtras of Tosali in his separate RockEdict. And in Samp, modern Jaugada, there is another separate RE.38 These two

separate edicts give a glimpse of Aokas mind on this tragedy. That Tosal was the capitalof Kalinga, and that was visited by Aoka, is confirmed by the Hathigumpha inscription ofKhravela. Here it is claimed that three hundred years ago Nandarja excavated a canaland brought it to Tanasuliya (Aokas Tosal) the capital.39 I have identified this Nandarjawith Aoka because his grandfather Chandragupta is repeatedly called Nandnvaya (ascion of Nanda family) in the Mudr-Rkshasa Naka of Vikhadatta. In later Indianliterature also the Mauryas are known as belonging to the family of the Nandas. 40

Aoka contemplated on the issue for almost two years. This inclination towardsspirituality attracted him to the teachings of the Buddha. But, as a king, he preferred hisduties towards his people than his personal spiritual gains by becoming a monk. He madeseveral changes in his personal life style and eating habits.

36Ep. Ind. XXXVI, p. 240.37 Sircar, D.C. SI, I, p. 35; RE XIII.38 Ibid. P. 40- 44 and p. 44-46.39 Ibid. P. 213 ff.40Cf. T.P. Vermas article Can Aoka be identified with Nandarja of the Hathigumpha Inscription ofKhravela, in Prgdhr, No. 6, Journal of the U.P. state Archaeological Organization, pp. 185-88.


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But however there seems some confusion about the dates of his pilgrimage of 256night-halts, the subject of all his MREs. We have mentioned that he conquered Kalinga inhis eight year. In the eighth Rock Edict he states that in the tenth year of his reign hevisited Bodh-Gaya and from where he begins the dharma-ytror pilgrimage (of 256 night-halts).41 This is confirmed by his confession (recorded after the end of the pilgrimage) thatI have been upsaka since more than two and half a year (adhikni atiyni vasni yahak upsake) but could not do much effort towards Dharma for one year (no to khova prakante husa eka savachara) but since more than a year I have done muchafter coming to the Sagha (stireke tu kho svachare ya may saghe upavte baca me palakte) (Brahmgiri version). This gives a fair account of the period of more thantwo and half a year. Out of this period he was not so active for a year then he came toSagha (i.e. Sabodhi) and from he started for the pilgrimage (dharama-ytr) of 256night-halts with the relics of the Buddha that culminated at Sarnath on the Buddha-Prima night, the birthday of the Lord. This is the subject matter of all his MREs with

minor variations. Thus the pilgrimage of Aoka took place in his eleventh regnal year.There seems some error of calculation when Dr. Sircar asserts that it took place in thethirteenth regnal year.42

Dr. D. C. Sircar restores the fragmentary Ahraura MRE with the help of Sahasrmand Rpanth versions as follows sdhik[ni ahatiyni a upsake sumi na] cha bha

palakate[,] [savachhale sdhike a sumi haka sagha upeta bha] cha palakate

[,]. He elaborates it as follows:

These two sentences show that, when the edict was promulgated, Asoka had been

an upsaka(lay follower of the Buddha) for a little over two and a half years, that he wasnot zealous [in the matter of Dharma at first] and that he became zealous [in the matter ofDharma] for a little over one year [about the end of the said period of a little over two anda half years]. Thus there is mention here of three periods of time, (1) first giving the wholeperiod from his initiation into Buddhism down to the date of the edict as more than twoand a half years, (2) the second referring to the initial period of his inaction withoutspecifying its length, and (3) the third mentioning the period characterized by his zealousactivity in relation to Dharma, the length of which is given as more than a year. 43 Thus it isclear that 256 days of pilgrimage are included in this two and a half years period; perhaps,

it can be allotted to the period more than a year (savachhale sdhike).Real Purport of Number 256:The number 256 days is indicative of a well chalked-out programme for the royal

pilgrimage. On calculation these 256 night-halts come to 8 months and 16 days, i.e. 17

41 RE VIII, sae devan


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fortnights or 18 uposathas if we include the starting day. We may also assume that heperhaps planned it to begin from Bodh-Gaya on the first uposatha day, and, to beconcluded on the eighteenth uposatha, i.e. on 256th night, at Sarnath. Certainly it wasplanned to fall on the uposathaday of Buddha Prim, i.e. the birth day of the Buddha. Ifso, the pilgrimage must have started on the uposathaday of the month of vina so that theeighteenth uposatha should fall on the full moon day in the month of Vaikha, thebirthday of the Buddha.

D. C. Sircar clearly missed the real purport of the number 256 days because hecalculated under the influence of the Christian calendar. However, his calculation is likethis: ... that Aoka began to promulgate his edicts relating to Dharma twelve years afterhis coronation, i.e. in the thirteenth year of his reign, and that Minor Rock Edict I was oneof the earliest edicts, if not the earliest one, issued by the Maurya emperor. Thus thepresent edict was issued in Aokas thirteenth regnal year when he was away on apilgrimage which had already lasted 256 days, i.e. a little over eight and a half months, or

nearly three fourths of a lunar year of three hundred and fifty four days.44 ObviouslySircar, calculating on the basis of the Christian calendar, failed to realize the religiousimportance of 256 night-halts. He further notes that Minor Rock Edict I is the onlyinscription of Aoka which states that he set out on a long tour of pilgrimage, in the courseof which the edict was promulgated, and the Ahraura version of the edict is the onlyAokan record which states that the pilgrimage was undertaken immediately after theinstallation of the relics of the Buddha on a platform no doubt for worship.45 (Emphasis isin the original)

He clarifies this statement by asserting that the venue of the worship the relic was in

the capital and holds that According to Buddhist tradition, Aoka built the Aokrma atPaliputra and no less than 84,000 Buddhist monasteries in various cities within hisempire.46 Under this impression he twists the statement of the king that the pilgrimagewas undertaken immediately afterthe installation of the relics of the Buddha.

Nonetheless the MREs of Asoka vary in minor details but never neglect to mentionfour things: 1) Kings association with Buddhism since last two and a half years but he couldnot do much effort. 2) People of Jambudvipa were instructed in Dhama by the kinghimself and those who did not know about the gods were amalgamated with them (amisdev mis ka). He was so ardent with this achievement that he mentioned in his speech(svana) that all, small or big, can make effort to dharma and attain svarga, and thatdharma will increase by at least one and a half times. 3) That, this edict should be writtenon rocks (pavtesu), on stone pillars (silhabhe) as well as on pillars of buildings(slhabhe). 4) This sermon was delivered by him while he was on 256 th night-halt tour.

44Ep. Ind., Vol. 36, p. 245.45 Ibid.,p. 245.46 Ibid.


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But however, it should be noted that the Ahraura version of MRE does not mention thethird point. This is indicative of the fact that the idea of recording this incident throughouthis empire occurred to the emperor after the promulgation of the Ahraura edict.

Therefore Sircar is not right when he says that the pilgrimage was undertaken

immediately after the installation of the relics of the Buddha (at Pliputra). It is not likethat. The Ahraura edict does not slightly indicate that the pilgrimage was undertakenimmediately after the installation of the relics of the Buddha. Rather is specificallyannounces that this sermon (svane) (was delivered by me while I am) on 256 night (days)tour when the relics of the Buddha are placed on this platform (a mace). This pilgrimagewas undertaken by Asoka during his thirteenth regnal year, as accepted by Sircar, and theBuddhist tradition of building Aokrma at Paliputra and 84,000 monasteries must betaken as reminiscence or an event of the past. We cannot escape the fact that the Ahrauraedict mentions the happenings at Sarnath. There are two reasons to relate this incident withthis place. Firstly, Ahraura is in the vicinity of Sarnath and not of Pataliputra, and therefore

this was the venue of the placement of the Buddhas relics on this platform. Secondly, weknow for certain that the relics of the Buddha were recovered from the Dharmarjik-stpaat Sarnath. The existence of the Dhmekha-stpa also is a evidence as we have pointed outthe origin of its name. These two facts go against the view of Prof. Sircar. It will be mostnatural to think for Asoka to have given preference to the place from where the Lord hadturned the Wheel of Law for concluding ceremony of his pilgrimage. It need not remindthat only four places are considered holy that are connected with Buddhas life: i) Lumbini(his birth place), ii) Bodh-Gaya (place of enlightenment), iii) Sarnath (declaration of hisdoctrine), and, iv) Kunr, where he attained Nirva. It will be in the fitness of things to

think that this pilgrimage started from Bodh-Gaya and culminated at Sarnath; theremaining two places also might have included in the itinerary.Archaeologists are aware that the relics of the Buddha were deposited in the

Dharmarjik-stpa in a stone-box at Sarnath. V. S. Agrawala, in his booklet Sarnath forASI, notes As a matter of fact, a stone box was found inside this stpa containing a reliccasket with some relics and ashes. The relics were thrown into the Gang at the instance ofJagat Singh. The casket has since disappeared, but the stone box is preserved in the IndianMuseum.47 In its third revised edition (Hindi) Achyutananda Jha adds At present only its(Dharmarjik-stpas) ruins are existing because in 1794 men of Babu Jagat Singhdestroyed it. At that time a round stone casket was found inside it at the depth of 8.25meters.48 Thus the claim of Sarnath for the display of the relics on a platform hasarchaeological support.

47Srnth. Department of Archaeology, India, 1956, p. 11.48 Srantha(1992, 3rd edition), (Hindi) p. 13.


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The concluding sentence of the Ahraura edict runs as esa svane vivuthen duvesapana lti sati a mace budhasa salle loheti.49It simply means This Sermon (wasdelivered by me) from the camp (vivuthena) on two hundred and fifty-sixth night (-halt)and the relics of the Buddha were placed on this platform (a mace).Here a mace(this platform) denotes the Dharmarjik stpa at Sarnath where the relics of the Buddhawere placed for worship and Asoka delivered his famous svana (sermon) from anotherplatform which is now called the Dhamekha stpa.

Prof. Sircar has twists his translation of the sentance by adding several connectingphrase that runs as This declaration (has been made by me while I am) on a tour (ofpilgrimage) for 256 nights (i.e. days) since the relics of the Buddha ascended (i.e. werecaused to be installed by me on) the platform ( for worship).50 (Emphasis is in theoriginal). Obviously this translation is done to suit his contention. Perhaps Dr. Sircar isconscious of this concoction because he tries to justify his interpretation by saying Theabove sentence may be compared with the two concluding sentences of the Sahasrm

version which runs as follows: iya cha savane vivuthena [,] duve sapan-lti-sat

vivuth ti 256 [,] (Sanskrit ida cha rvaa vyushitena [may rvitam], dve

shapachshad-rtri-sate vyushita[aham] iti256); and And this declaration [has beenmade by me while I am] away on a tour [of pilgrimage]. [I am] away on a tour [ofpilgrimage] for two hundred fifty-six nights--- 256.51

We need not comment on this twist which is obvious; but it should be pointed outthat there is one fundamental difference between the Aharura edict and the remainingones: the former mentions the concluding of the pilgrimage while the rest were prepared

later as information copies of the same.It need not emphasise that the pilgrimage of Asoka, undertaken in his thirteenth

regnal year, was a grand success that exited him to make it the subject matter of all hisMREs. We agree with Prof. Sircars chronological scheme of two and a half years except hiscontention that the journey of 256 days started after placing and worshiping the relics of theBuddha on platform from the capital Pataliputra. We have no information about thestarting point of this pilgrimage but can emphatically say that the whole trip was a calkedout. The tradition knows that Asoka exposed the original stpas of the Buddha, collectedrelics and made 84 thousand stpas and monasteries over them. He could not have missed

to build one at the place where the Lord had preached his First Sermon, i.e. Sarnath. Thusit is logical to think that his long pilgrimage of 256 days was planned in such a way as toculminate there. It does not require much imagination that it must have began from a placelike Bodh-Gaya, nearer to the capital, where the Lord got enlightenment. He already had a

49 Sircar, D.C. Ep. Ind. 36, p. 247.50 Ibid, p. 248.51 Ibid, p. 244.


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Dharma-ytrof this place in his tenth regnal year.52 Certainly the Sarnath ceremony wasdesigned to fall on Buddhas birthday i.e. Vaikha Prm night, i.e. 256th night was theBuddha Prim. We will elaborate this shortly.

Hence, the importance of this pilgrimage needs no emphasis. In his RE VIII Asokarecords the aims and objects of a pilgrimage and enumerates five purposes of dhama-yt; i) to have daranaof the Brhmaas and ramaas and give dna to them; ii) havedarana of the elders, i.e. Therasand arrange funds for their livelihood; iii) to meet thepeople (janas) of the janapadas; iv) to instruct them in dhama; and, v) to answer theirqueries (about dhama).53 This was the agenda that he followed in his religious tour of 256days.

Reflection of the above objectives can be seen in his Rpnth MRE which is betterpreserved. There he says:

Devanapiya said thus: Since last two and a half years I am upsaka. I could not domuch effort. But now more than a year have lapsed I came in the fold of the Sagha and am

doing much effort. During this period in the Jambudvpa, i.e. in my empire, those deitieswho were not known were made known to the people (i.e. people were preached aboutdharma: (amis dev mis ka). This is the result of effort (pakamasa). It is not that onlybig people can achieve this; even small people can get abundant svarga through effort(palakama). For this purpose savanas (sermons) are arranged so that the big and thesmall should do effort. The bordering people should also know that the results of thiseffort are ever lasting. Thus purpose (ahe) (of dharma) will increase; it will increase oneand a half times. [Then he desires that] it should be written on the hills, (or rocks,pavatesu)accordingly. Where there are building pillars (sl habhe) and stone pillars (sil habhe)

[in stone buildings or in caves or in houses? or free standing pillars] it should be written.With this religious script (dhama lipi) you should send an officer on tour (onencampment) all over the area of your operation. This sermon was delivered (by me) whileon tour of 256 (nights encampment), or living out of home (vivs).54

The Ahraura inscription is unique in the sense that This svana (sermon) (wasdelivered by me) from the camp (vivuthen) on (the conclusion of the Dharma-Ytr lastingfor) two hundred and fifty-sixth night(-halts) when the relics of the Buddha were placed onthis platform. There is no instruction in this epigraph to write it on rocks or pillars etc. orthere is no instruction for his officers to go on tour for its propagation, etc. Thus it would bein the fitness of situations to think that perhaps up till the conclusion of this pilgrimageAsoka had not thought of propagating this sermon throughout his empire, or even ofrecording it on permanent objects. Obviously the idea occurred to him after he had ordered

52 For VIII Rock Edict, see Sircar, SI, I, pp. 27-28.53 Ibid.54 Sircar, D.C. SI, I, p. 48.


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this edict to be written at Ahraura. Here we see the germs of creation a new writing systemto record his speech.Creation of a New Script for Edicts:

The most important corollary of this pilgrimage was the creation of a script withentirely new signs. It was Buhler who suggested the name Brahm for the Asokan scriptbecause he found this name at the top of all lists of writing systems and, at that time thiswas the only known script in India from which majority of scripts have evolved. Now withthe discovery of the Harappan writing system the situation has changed. Under newcircumstances the latter seems stronger claimant for the name Brhm.

Returning to the Asokan Brhm script we know that individual shapes of the lettersof this script were derived from the simple geometrical signs like line, angle, triangle,square and circle etc. Tracing back the development or evolution of the Brhm scriptwhen we reach to the second century BC, we feel that we are not far from the originalsource from which the Asokan Brhm was derived.55The simple primitive angular form

of Asokan script shows that it was not long before that this script was invented. 56 Theappreciation Isaac Taylor runs as follows: Bold, simple, grand, complete the characters areeasy to remember, facile to read and difficult to mistake, representing with absoluteprecision the gradual niceties of sound which the phonetic analysis of Sanskrit grammarianshad discovered in that marvelous idiom. None of the artificial alphabets which have beenproposed by modern phonologists excel it in delicacy, ingenuity, exactitude andcomprehensiveness.57

The Sanskrit varamlexisted in the time of Pini, a few centuries before Asokais undisputed. Although Buhler suggested the existence of script in the fifth century before

the Common Era no one believes that Asokan Brhm was used by Pini, the writer ofAdhyy. Thus the present varaml was there in common use before the time ofPini who reorganized it in a new phonetic order in the Mhevra-stras. With theexistence of a scientifically arranged varaml the existence of a script cannot be denied.The mischievous argument advanced by European scholars that instruction in Vedic periodwas given orally and that they never felt the necessity of writing system because they hadalready brought to perfection another and very excellent method (i.e. learning by heart) ofhanding down literary productions58 was motivated by Euro-centric thinking and under-rating of Vedic civilization. It is still believed by many that no script was known to theVedic people.

55Verma, T.P. Fresh Light on the Origin of Brhm Alphabet Journal of the Oriental Institute, Baroda, Vol.XIII, No. 4, June 1964, p. 360.56 Verma, T.P. Palaeography of Brhm Script in North India, Varanasi, 1971, p. 8.57 Taylor, The Alphabet, Vol. II, p. 289; quoted in my article in JOI, vol. XIII, July 1964, p. 366.58 Rhys Davids, Buddhist India, pp. 112-13; quoted in The Age of Imperial Unity, Bombay, 1951, p. 584.


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They easily side tracked the information that Indians used a large number of writingsystems in 300 BCE i.e. during the time of Asoka these scripts were prevalent; and whoknows this was included in these lists of scripts in Buddhist and Jain literature.

No doubt the Asokan script was created at the instance of the emperor as putforward above. As it is possible to trace forward the evolution in signs of Asokas Brhm,so also it is possible to trace back its history from almost any stage. In the process of tracingback when one reaches the edicts of Asoka one feels that he is not far from the originalsource, although Buhler and many others have traced several varieties of Asokan letters.But these variations can be attributed to individual mannerism of the scribes. The simpleangular form of Asokan script shows that it was created during his reign. Actually the nameBrhm was high jacked by Buhler for the script of Aoka. It was simply because theHarappan writing was not before him. We have already discussed the issue earlier.

The historical importance of this event has never been fully assessed. It proved to bethe turning point in the history of India because Aoka resolved to put to writing his

sermon in a script that was created at his instance. Thus he initiated the tradition of writingfor the people in a script now called Brhm (and Kharoh also) that was evolved from theexisting Sanskrit varaml. Aoka started the tradition of writing the achievements ofkings, which, in due course of time was adopted by other kings who flourished after him.Not only this, the script was adopted by the people in general for its simplicity and alsobecause they could write their own language with this. Its simplicity proved its strength andall other writing systems gone into oblivion because of, we can say now, their most scientificnature.

Bibliography:\Gveds


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Lal, B.B. (2002) The Sarasvat Flows On, New DelhiLucy, Zuberbuhler (2009), A Comparison of a Manuscript with the Indus Script, University of

Bern.Majumdar, R.C. (Ed) (1951) The Age of Imperial Unity, BombayMajumdar, R.C. (Ed,) (1951) The Vedic Age, fourth impression, 1956, Bombay

Pandeya, R.B. (1957) Indian Palaeography, VaranasiSachau, Edward C, Alberunis India, first Indian reprint, 1964.Sircar, D.C. (1965) Ahraura Inscription of Asoka, Epigraphia Indica, Vol. 36, pp. 239-248.Sircar, D.C. (1965) Select Inscriptions, Volume I, Calcutta.

Sudyumn Acharya, (Ed.) -artIy iv}an vE-v, vara[sI, 2009,

Thapalyal, K.K. and Srivastava, V.N. (1988) maEoir nrez $zanvmaR ka devklI tap,Bulletin of

Museum and Archaeology, UP, Volume 41-42, pp. 77-86.Thapalyal, K.K. (2009), A New Aokan Inscription from Ratanpurawa, Varanasi.Verma, T.P. (1964) Fresh Light on the Origin of Brhm Alphabet Journal of Oriental Institute,

Baroda, Volume XIII, No. 4, June 1964.Verma, T.P. (1971) The Palaeography of Brhm Script in North India(from 236 B.C. to 200 A.D.),

Varanasi.Verma, T.P. (1995-96) Can Aoka be identified with Nandarja of the Hathgumpha Inscription of

Khravela? Prgdhr, No. 6, Journal of the UP State Archaeological Department, pp. 185-88.

Verma, T. P. Discovery of the Ratanpurawa Minor Rock Edict of Aoka, Itihas Darpan, Volume14 (1), pp. 62-68.

Verma, T.P. The Chainpur Copperplate and the Muevar Inscription, Itihas Darpan, Volume 14(1) pp. 69-78.


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Fig. Indus Manuscript and the container box

Fig. 2 Birch-bark manuscript in Harappan Script
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B7m025elco0/UH41jr1Hb4I/AAAAAAAATv4/S-Z81OdNXy0/s1600/ScreenShot444.bmphttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jkYMV7NmJ4M/UH42f_ilbfI/AAAAAAAATwQ/CluekiYDDeE/s1600/ScreenShot446.bmp


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Fig. 3. Left bottom corner of the manuscript showing different layers with traces of writing

Fig. 4 Indus seal and specimen from the manuscript showing similar sequence of letters
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eScP_lbUwGo/UH5PxWXKoPI/AAAAAAAAT1M/ZbmqmiQO1xs/s1600/ScreenShot467.bmphttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5WA8CJDAX4g/UH429kbw4sI/AAAAAAAATwc/2dHFVnDfJ6g/s1600/ScreenShot447.bmp


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Figs. 5 Terracotta writing plaque Fig. 6 Terracotta figure depicting a child writin onwooden plaque

Fig 7 Copperplate inscription (Gupta period) written on wooden shape writing plaque


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Fig. 8 Copperplate inscription (6th century CE) on the similar shape plaque


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Fig. 9 The Site plan of Sarnath showing the site of Dharmarjik-stupa (left) andDhamekh-stupa (right)

writing in rigveda (tp verma)

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