Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c8.s3.t8.2

c8.s3.t8.2

The first level comprises more or less standard classical Sanskrit, found most frequently in inscriptions from the Gupta era down to the early medieval period, particularly in records of the *praśasti* class. Examples of the high classical style are very numerous; among the outstanding ones, in terms of both grammatical correctness than of Sanskrit. The features described are characteristic mainly of the second class of inscriptions, that is, those in informal or "practical" Sanskrit, although Sandhi is left unapplied not only in prose (see 3.3.2) but also, not infrequently, in verse, especially at the juncture between *pādas*.