Early South Indian Palaeography c11.58

c11.58

Among the Buddhist works the *Mahavastu* gives a list of thirty names as the varieties of script prevailing in the country. The *Lalitavistara*, a work in Sanskrit dealing with the life of the Buddha,⁴⁰ describes how the Buddha as a boy went to the *lipi śala* (a school where writing was taught) and how Viśvāmitra, his teacher, taught him letters on a writing board of sandal wood and with a golden pen.⁴¹ The book further states that sixty-four kinds of scripts were in use in the country and gives their names. The numbers eighteen, thirty, sixty-four etc., are considered auspicious and some scholars hold the view that these numbers should not be taken seriously. Anyhow, these clearly show that many varieties of scripts were in use in the country even in those days.