Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c12.s2.t1.26

c12.s2.t1.26

Altogether, the inscriptional records embody both the best and worst of Sanskrit poetry: its richness and variety of style and imagination, and its stiffness and pedantry. All of the standard features of the classical tradition—the various regional styles, the many *alaṃkāras* of sound and sense, the elaborate wordplay and manipulations of multiple meanings, even the *citra-kāvya* or visually configured verses³¹—are abundantly attested. In short, the inscriptional corpus constitutes an important branch of Indian literature as a whole which is not only significant as a historical tool but also worthy of study as a literary corpus in its own right.