Indian Epigraphy c8.s2.t1.1

c8.s2.t1.1

The earliest use of a regional language in Indian inscriptions is noticed in certain small records discovered in the Tamil country. Their language is believed to be Tamil and they belong to the early centuries of the Christian era probably to the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D.¹ From the 6th century A.D., Tamil began to be used along with Sanskrit in the copper-plate grants of the Pallava kings and from that time its use in inscriptions increased gradually. The charters of the Imperial Pallavas discovered in the Telugu-speaking area are written in Sanskrit, while those of their grants which were meant for the Tamil-speaking region are written partly in Sanskrit and partly in Tamil. To the first group belong the Vunnaguruvayapalem plates² of Parameśvaravarman I (c. 669-700 A. D.) and the Reyuru plates³ of Narasiṁhavarman II (c. 700-25 A.D.). Both these records are written in early Telugu-Kannaḍa script. The Kuram plates⁴ of Parameśvaravarman I, the Kasakudi and Taṇḍantoṭṭam plates⁵ of Nandivarman II Pallavamalla (c. 730-96 A.D.) and the Bahur plates⁶ of Nṛpatuṅgavarman (9th century A.D.) are written in the Sanskrit and Tamil languages in Grantha and Tamil characters respectively. The Udayendiram plates⁷ of Nandivarman II Pallavamalla are, however, written in Sanskrit.⁸