Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c8.s4.6

c8.s4.6

In some regions—again, most notably in Maharashtra and Orissa—the regional NIA vernaculars were even elevated to the rank of imperial languages. In such cases one may suspect the influence of neighboring Dravidian-speaking regions, in which epigraphic use of the local vernacular, instead of or in addition to Sanskrit, was a long-established tradition.⁶⁸ In these regions we find the vernaculars regularly used for official records of the usual sorts. Elsewhere, NIA inscriptions are predominantly private in character; especially common are memorial records of various types.