Indian Palaeography from about B.C. 350 to about A.D. 1300 c7.s16.23

c7.s16.23

The ancient MSS. hitherto found in Kashgar, Japan and Nepāl, the oldest of which probably were written in the 4th century,³ show only northern letters. The palm-leaf MSS. of Western India, which begin in the 10th century, agree with the inscriptions of the period, and prove that the northern Nāgarī was generally used in Rājputāna, Gujarāt,⁴ and in the northern Dekhan as far as Devagiri (Daulatābād).⁵ The gradual advance of the northern characters towards the south probably is explained by the predilection of many southern kings for northern customs, and by the immigration of northern Brahmans, castes of scribes, and Buddhist and Jaina monks, to which facts the statements in various inscriptions and the historical tradition bear witness.⁶