Indian Epigraphy c9.t5.1

c9.t5.1

Wooden slabs or planks with four legs were used in some parts of India in the schools before the introduction of slates. Some mud or chalk was applied to the surface of the wooden slate on which brick powder was evenly spread. Figures of sums were then written with the help of a blunt stick, called *bartanā* or *barthā* in Rajasthan. The astrologers and merchants of Rajasthan made their rough calculations on such wooden ‘slates’ which were also used in some other parts of India even down to recent times.¹