Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c9.s2.t4.12

c9.s2.t4.12

An important epigraphic site of the Śuṅga period in southern India is the *stūpa* at Bhaṭṭiprōḷu (Krishna Dist., AP), which yielded ten short Buddhist relic dedications (SI I.224–8). These inscriptions are of particular interest for their dialectal and especially their paleographic peculiarities, including the use of a diacritic mark to indicate postconsonantal *a* (see 2.2.5.1). Several early dedicatory *stūpa* inscriptions resembling those from northern India (Bhārhut and Sāñcī) in form, content, and paleography have also been found at Amarāvatī (*Ancient Ceylon* 3, 97–103).