Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c8.s3.t7.1

c8.s3.t7.1

Near the end of the pre-Christian era, we find a smattering of inscriptions of Brahmanical content recording religious donations and foundations in standard or nearly standard Sanskrit, and we may assume that these are isolated survivals of what must have been an increasingly common practice in this period. About the beginning of the Christian era, we begin to find more examples of epigraphic Sanskrit among the abundant inscriptions from Mathurā and surrounding regions, and it appears to be more than coincidence that this development appeared at precisely the time when this area of northern India came under the domination of the Scythian "Kṣatrapa" rulers (see 3.2.3.2). This suspicion is confirmed by the appearance, in the next century, of Sanskrit inscriptions in the domains of the early Western Kṣatrapas in Maharashtra and Gujarat, culminating in Rudradāman's Junāgaḍh rock inscription, the first long epigraphic text in virtually classical language and style.