Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c13.s2: 8.2 Secondary Sources: Handbooks and Reference Works

Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c13.s2

Language: English

c13.s2.t1 8.2.1 Handbooks of epigraphy and paleography — 16 parts
c13.s2.t2 8.2.3 Miscellaneous studies and collections — 2 parts

8.2 Secondary Sources: Handbooks and Reference Works

8.2.1 Handbooks of epigraphy and paleography

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The only truly authoritative handbook of Indian epigraphy (as opposed to paleography) is D. C. Sircar's *Indian Epigraphy* [SIE]. Though not comprehensive in all respects, this is the definitive work on the subject to date. Technical matters such as dating systems and official and legal terminology are treated in particular detail. Also useful, though partly overlapping, is Sircar's "Introduction to Indian Epigraphy and Palaeography" [IIEP] in JAIH 4, 72–136. K. V. Ramesh's *Indian Epigraphy* [RIE] is not a comprehensive handbook but rather a collection of essays on various epigraphic subjects. G. S. Gai's *Introduction to Indian Epigraphy [with Special Reference to the Development of the Scripts and Languages]* [IIE] provides a brief general survey of the subject from a primarily southern Indian point of view.

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A useful though outdated general survey is found in ch. 1, "Epigraphy," by J. F. Fleet, of vol. 2 of *The Imperial Gazetteer of India*, 1–88 [IGI].¹² Also useful is Fleet's survey of "Indian Inscriptions" in the 11th edition (1910–11) of the *Encyclopaedia Britannica* (s.v. "Inscriptions," vol. 14, 621–6). More up to date, but briefer, is the section on epigraphy (I.156–72) in L. Renou and J. Filliozat, *L'Inde classique* [IC].

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¹² Fleet's essay "The Present Position of Indian Historical Research" (IA 30, 1901, 1–27; see also 7.1.1) is essentially a briefer version of the same work.

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An excellent brief summary of southern Indian materials is to be found in K. A. Nilakanta Sastri’s *History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagara*, 13–9.

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Despite its title, Raj Bali Pandey’s *Indian Palaeography* [PIP] is not strictly speaking a work of paleography but more a general study of epigraphy. It generally reflects a traditionalist point of view, as manifested, for instance, in Pandey’s arguments in favor of an indigenous Indian origin for both Brāhmī and Kharoṣṭhī scripts. The first volume of Vāsudeva Upādhyāya’s *Prācīna Bhāratīya Abhilekha*¹³ discusses Indian inscriptions in general terms and with reference to their importance for the study of Indian history and culture. A series of articles published by D. B. Diskalkar in *JIH* 32–38 constitutes in effect a general introduction to the field; although deficient in some respects, this work has the merit of covering a broader range than the other general works, including surveys of inscriptional materials in all languages (including European and other non-Indic languages) from all periods.¹⁴ The chapter on “South Indian Epigraphy” in T. N. Subramanian’s *South Indian Temple Inscriptions* [SITI] (III.2, 161–251) also gives a useful overview of the subject and is not strictly limited to southern India. V. V. Mirashi’s brief survey of “Epigraphical Research”¹⁵ concentrates on dating systems and eras.

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¹³ On vol. 2 of this work, which contains an anthology of Sanskrit and Prakrit inscriptions, see section 8.1.3.1.

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¹⁴ See the bibliography, s.v. Diskalkar, for details.

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¹⁵ In P. J. Chinmulgund and V. V. Mirashi, eds., *M. M. Chitraoshastri Felicitation Volume: Review of Indological Research in Last 75 Years* (Poona: M. M. Chitraoshastri Felicitation Committee and Bharatiya Charitrakosha Mandal, [1967]), 505–29.

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Most other standard works on the study of Indian inscriptions are primarily or exclusively paleographic, rather than epigraphic, studies. Outdated but in some respects still the standard and model for later works is Georg Bühler’s *Indische Palaeographie von circa 350 A. Chr.–circa 1300 P. Chr.* [BIP], more usually cited from J. F. Fleet’s English translation (*Indian Paleography from About b.c. 350 to About a.d. 1300*). Gaurīśaṃkara Hīrācaṃda Ojhā’s *Bhāratīya Prācīna Lipimālā*, though also outdated, includes useful plates with specimens of various scripts in facsimile. The most important recent paleographic study is Ahmad Hasan Dani’s *Indian Palaeography* [DIP], which significantly refines and revises the standard terminology and understanding of the development of Brāhmī script and it derivatives. Also useful are the sets of script charts for “Ancient Indian Alphabets,” “Medieval Indian Alphabets,” “Indian Alphabets Abroad,” and “Ancient Indian Numerals,” prepared under the supervision of P. L. Gupta.

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Harry Falk’s *Schrift im alten Indien* [SAI] is, as the title indicates, strictly speaking neither a study of epigraphy nor of paleography as such, but rather of the origin, history, and cultural position of writing, epigraphic and otherwise. Nonetheless it contains a wealth of information on epigraphic and paleographic materials, including an extensive bibliography (15–66).

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Besides these general texts, there are numerous specific studies of various aspects of Indian epigraphy and paleography, such as Chandrika Singh Upasak’s *History and Palaeography of Mauryan Brāhmī Script* and Thakur Prasad Verma’s *The Palaeography of Brāhmī Script in North India*. Southern scripts are covered in Arthur Coke Burnell, *Elements of South-Indian Palaeography*, C. Sivaramamurti, *Indian Epigraphy and South Indian Scripts* [IESIS], and T. V. Mahalingam, *Early South Indian Palaeography* [ESIP]. The paleography of Kharoṣṭhī is treated in Charu Chandra Das Gupta, *The Development of the Kharoṣṭhī Script* [DKS]. Brāhmī script as found in central Asian manuscripts is analyzed in detail in Lore Sander, *Paläographisches zu den Sanskrithandschriften der Berliner Turfansammlung*. There are also some *India from About A.D. 500* in EI 7 and 8; H. Lüders, *A List of Brahmi Inscriptions from the Earliest Times to About A.D. 400* in EI 10; and D. R. Bhandarkar, *A List of the Inscriptions of Northern India in Brahmi and Its Derivative Scripts, from About 200 A.C.* in EI 19–23 [revision of Kielhorn's list in EI 5].

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Other important lists¹⁶ include: Hira Lal, *Inscriptions in the Central Provinces and Berar*; Hariharanivāsa Dvivedī, *Gvāliyara Rājya ke Abhilekha*; A. V. Naik, "Inscriptions of the Deccan: An Epigraphical Survey" (*Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute* 9; contains an extensive and useful introduction as well as relatively detailed descriptions of each inscription); Robert Sewell, *The Historical Inscriptions of Southern India . . .*; and T. V. Mahalingam, *A Topographical List of Inscriptions in the Tamil Nadu and Kerala States*. For Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions, N. G. Majumdar, "A List of Kharoṣṭhī Inscriptions" in *JASB*, n.s. 20, 1924, 1–39, is by now outdated and superseded by Konow's *Kharoshṭhī Inscriptions* (CII 2.1). The latter, in turn, is now extensively supplemented by the references provided in Gérard Fussman's "Gāndhārī écrite, Gāndhārī parlée" (see the bibliography), 444–51 and 488–98.

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¹⁶ For further references, mostly to lists of primarily local interest and of non-Indo-Aryan inscriptions, see the bibliographic accounts in SIE 10 n. 2; IIEP, 134–5 (s.v. "Lists of Inscriptions"); and EINES, 89. See also the references given in section 8.1.3. For lists of Indic inscriptions from Southeast Asia, see sections 4.3.7.5–4.3.7.11.

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Lists of inscriptions of particular dynasties are also to be found as appendices to some dynastic histories; for instance, "Inscriptions of the Candellas" (Appendix A) in R. K. Dikshit, *The Candellas of Jejākabhukti*; "List of Pratīhāra Inscriptions of Kanauj" (Appendix A) in B. N. Puri, *The History of the Gurjara-Pratīhāras*; and "Important Inscriptions of the Vātāpi Chalukyas and Their Contemporaries" in K. V. Ramesh's *Chalukyas of Vātāpi*.

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For information on provenance of inscriptions, see R. Stroobandt's atlas of *Epigraphical Find-spots*. Toponyms mentioned in inscriptions are collected and identified in Parmanand Gupta's *Geography in Ancient Indian Inscriptions*.¹⁷

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¹⁷ For further information, see section 7.6.

8.2.3 Miscellaneous studies and collections

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Important recent collections of epigraphic essays by different authors include Noboru Karashima, ed., *Indus Valley to Mekong Delta: Explorations in Epigraphy* [IVMD], and Frederick M. Asher and G. S. Gai, eds., *Indian Epigraphy: Its Bearing on the History of Art* [IEBHA]. Also useful for epigraphic researches are the collected papers of various specialists in the field. Particularly important are the *Kleine Schriften* of Franz Kielhorn and Heinrich Lüders, and also Lüders' *Philologica Indica*. The collections of D. C. Sircar's essays on epigraphic and related subjects are indispensable: *Early Indian Numismatic and Epigraphical Studies* [EINES], *Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India*, *Studies in the Political and Administrative Systems in Ancient and Medieval India*, *Studies in the Religious Life of Ancient and Medieval India*, and *Studies in the Society and Administration of Ancient and Medieval India*. Other recent collections with large epigraphic content are V. V.

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Mirashi's *Studies in Ancient Indian History and Studies in Indology*, Jagannath Agrawal's *Researches in Indian Epigraphy and Numismatics*, and G. S. Gai's *Studies in Indian History, Epigraphy and Culture