On the Origin of the Indian Brahma Alphabet c5.37

c5.37

The Jātakas contain also a passage, mentioning the use of writing for legal purposes. In the Ruru Jātaka¹ a debtor invites his creditors to come with the bonds (*iṇapaṇṇāni*), which he had given to them, to the banks of the Ganges in order to receive payment. The same Jātaka, (p. 257) mentions further the custom of inscribing particular important records or compositions on gold-plates. Khemā, the queen of Benares, had dreamt of a gold-coloured deer and had notified to her husband that she must die, if the deer was not found. The uxorious king composed this verse:—