Indian Epigraphy c9.t1.8

c9.t1.8

The leaves for writing a particular book were cut to the same length and a wooden plate each was placed at the top and the bottom of the leaves arranged according to order. A hole was made about the middle of the leaves of a manuscript (and sometimes also of the covers) for a string to pass through. The string was meant for binding the material about the middle of the packet and it string prevented the leaves from moving away from their proper places.¹ Sometimes, manuscripts of several books were preserved together in the same way. When the leaves of the manuscripts were considerably long in size, two holes were made instead of one, one of them about the middle of the left half and another about the middle of the right half. The availability of paper as a cheap writing material gradually pushed palmyra leaves out of use. Early Buddhist literature refers to *panna* or *parna* (i.e. leaf) as a popular writing material.² The reference is no doubt to palmyra leaves.