Indian Epigraphy c6.s4.7

c6.s4.7

Another important characteristic of inscriptions is that their texts are generally free from variant readings as they were not usually liable to modification like those of literary works which were copied and recopied by people in later times. Casual references to historical events or personages found in epigraphic records are generally more useful than similar mention in literary works. This is because such works are usually known from late copies and the date of their composition is very often uncertain while an inscription can be assigned to a definite period on palaeographic grounds even when it does not bear a date in any era.