Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c11.s2.14

c11.s2.14

The next landmark was the publication in 1877 of the first volume of the Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum (CII),¹¹⁶ Cunningham's *Inscriptions of Asoka*. The need for such a series, along the lines of the Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum, had long been felt, and as early as 1837¹¹⁷ Prinsep referred to "the long-expected '*Corpus inscriptionum Indicarum*.'" According to Cunningham's preface, the series was originally planned for three volumes, containing the inscriptions of Aśoka, of the Indo-Scythians and Satraps, and of the Guptas and contemporary dynasties, in order "to bring together, in a few handy and accessible volumes, all the ancient inscriptions of India which now lie scattered about in the journals of our different Asiatic Societies" (i). Although the actual subsequent publication of the CII differed considerably from this original scheme, and although Cunningham's edition of the Aśokan edicts was soon to be superseded by Émile Senart's *Les Inscriptions de Piyadassi* (1881), and eventually by E. Hultzsch's revised edition of CII 1 in 1925, the publication of this volume was nonetheless a major development in setting the precedent for the continued publication of the CII up to the present day. The volume also illustrates the continuing discovery of Aśokan inscriptions, including new versions of the rock edicts from Kālsī and Jaugaḍa and minor rock edicts from Sahasrām, Rūpnāth, and Bairāṭ.