Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c8.s3.t5.3
Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c8.s3.t5.3
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c8.s3.t5.3
Outside of India proper, the oldest Sanskrit inscription is probably the Võ-cạnh (Vietnam) stele inscription, composed in standard Sanskrit prose and verse (*vasantatilakā* and *śārdūlavikrīḍita*).⁵³ Its date is highly controversial, but some time in the third century A.D. is the most likely (see 4.3.7.8); if this date is correct, this record would be at least as advanced linguistically and stylistically as the contemporary epigraphs within India.⁵⁴ From about the fifth century A.D., Sanskrit inscriptions become common in various countries outside of India, particularly Cambodia, Vietnam, and Nepal.