Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c7.s2.t5.8

c7.s2.t5.8

The other (non-Aśokan) early Brāhmī inscriptions, such as Sohgaurā, Piprāwā, and Mahāsthān (2.1.2), have an even more primitive orthography. They have no conjuncts, and do not distinguish *i*/*ī* or *u*/*ū* at all; Piprāwā seems not to have long vowels at all, except for one doubtful *ā*. These inscriptions also have a few variant letter forms, such as the *ma* (४) at Sohgaurā; but due to the paucity of the materials it is difficult to evaluate their chronological significance. Thus while some scholars have attributed an early, pre-Mauryan date to some or all of this group, others (e.g., Dani, DIP 56–7) have dated them to the post-Mauryan era. All in all, it seems most likely that they are roughly contemporaneous with the Aśokan inscriptions. Their primitive orthography does not prove an early date for the inscriptions themselves, only the use of a less formal style than that of the Aśokan inscriptions, which occasionally show early signs of the influence of Sanskritic orthography.