Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c2.3

c2.3

It seems advisable to state clearly at the outset the limits which have been set for this study. This is, first of all, a book on epigraphy, not paleography; that is to say, it is mainly concerned with the study of inscriptions and their contents rather than with the forms, varieties, and historical development of the scripts in which they are writing carved into hard surfaces such as stone or metal (*Inschrift*). Also following traditional Indological usage, which is convenient if not strictly logical, I have included inscriptions on seals and sealings but not those on coins, the latter falling into the province of the related but separate field of numismatics. And although paleography as such (in the sense just defined) is not a major focus of this book, it seemed undesirable, indeed, impossible to discuss inscriptions without any reference to writing at all. I have therefore limited myself to a general discussion of the history and development of Indian writing and scripts (see chapter 2), without attempting to trace in detail the historical development of the many Indic scripts. (For further information on paleography proper, the reader is referred to the various sources mentioned in section 8.².1.)