Indian Palaeography c4.3

c4.3

In the past Indian palaeography has been studied mainly in order to provide a chronometer to date otherwise undated monuments or events of history on the basis of the shapes of letters which were reduced to chronological tables. But this method can never supply infallible dates. It is vain to treat the writing styles as an indicator of time any more accurate than any other particular trait in a given culture. The styles are to be understood in a particular context and are an effective means of dating within that context, but outside this sphere they are to be treated as falling within the compass of influence and counter-influence. On this hypothesis it is possible to establish a succession within a given culture and also to relate the different cultures in time. But the link is only cultural. It is not possible to provide a mathematically precise table of dates. However, the following pages will show the value of these links, not only in understanding historical events, but also in tracing the origin of different local cultures.