Indian Palaeography from about B.C. 350 to about A.D. 1300 c8.s5.t1.1

c8.s5.t1.1

For the history of the Sanskrit alphabets in the Tamil districts during the period after A. D. 350, we have only the Sanskrit inscriptions of the Pallavas, Colas and Pāṇḍyas from the eastern coast, among which only those of the first-named dynasty can lay claim to a higher antiquity. Corresponding inscriptions from the western coast are hitherto wanting. For this reason, and because only a small number of the eastern documents have been published with good facsimiles, it is as yet impossible to give a complete view of the gradual development of the letters.