On the Origin of the Indian Brahma Alphabet c5.22

c5.22

With the further exploration of Indian literature various additional pieces of evidence have come to light, which somewhat modify the above inferences and tend to show that writing was extensively used for the most various purposes at an earlier period. A closer scrutiny of the ancient Dharmasūtras has proved that there is at least one among them, the so-called Vāsiṣṭha Dharmaśāstra, which in general mentions written documents (*lekhya*) as a proof of ownership (XVI, 10) and enjoins in particular (XVI, 14—15) that in disputes about houses and fields the judicial decisions shall be given in accordance with the documents if the evidence of the neighbours disagrees, and that they shall be based on the statements of the old men and of the guilds, in case conflicting documents are produced.¹ Regarding the age of Vasiṣṭha's Institutes of the Sacred Law nothing definite is known. It is only possible to say that this work is a real Dharmasūtra, that it was originally composed for the use of the students of a northern school connected with the Ṛgveda and was considered to be of *general* authority before the eighth century of our era.² With respect to its relative position among the works on the sacred law, it is possible to assert that it is older than the famous Manusaṃhitā, where one of its rules is quoted and the name of its supposed author [7] is mentioned, while in its turn it quotes the ancient Dharmasūtra of the Mānavas, on which the homonymous metrical lawbook is founded.¹ It is also later than Gautama's Dharmasūtra and probably belongs to the period, when special law-schools had come into existence and taught the sacred and civil law iu rivalry with the teachers of the Vedic schools. These circumstances make it difficult to deduce from its mention of written documents more than the obvious general conclusion that the art of writting was commonly used in daily life and its importance for legal purposes was recognised during the period, when new Vedic schools were still founded, and that it is erroneous to consider the admission of written documents as legal evidence to be a distinctive mark of the metrical manuals of the special law-schools. On general grounds it is probable that the composition of the Vāsiṣṭha Dharmaśāstra falls some centuries before the beginning of our era. To such a conclusion points *inter alia* the fact that it is older than our Manusaṃhitā. But for the may deceive him, obtain his daughter and live comfortably'. He himself took a leaf (*paṇṇa*), wrote as follows, 'I have sent my son N. N. to thee; mutual connexion by marriage is suitable for us; give, therefore, thy daughter to this boy and let him live there; when I have time, I will also come', and he sealed the letter with the Sheth's seal. Then he took money for the journey, perfumes, clothes and so forth according to his pleasure, travelled to the neighbouring kingdom and stood before the Sheth there, respectfully saluting him. Then the Sheth asked him, 'Friend, whence hast thou come?' 'From Benares.' 'Whose son art thou?' 'The Benares Sheth's.' 'For what purpose hast thou come?' Thereupon Kaṭāhaka handed over the letter, saying, 'You will know it, when you have read this.' The Sheth read the letter, and exclaiming, 'Now I live indeed!', he gave him joyfully his daughter and established him there."\n1