India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c10.s2.17

c10.s2.17

(1) *Lipikara* (III.2.21) as well as its variant form *libikara*, denoted a writer. The term *lipi* with its variant was a standing term for writing in the Maurya period and earlier. *Dhammalipi*, with its alternative form *dharmadipi*, stands for the Edicts of Aśoka engraved on rocks in the third century B.C. An engraver is there referred to as *lipikara* (M. R. E., II) Kauṭilya also knows the term: 'A king shall learn the *lipi* (alphabet) and *saṅkhyāna* (numbers, *Arth.* I.5). He also refers to *saṁjñā-lipi*, 'Code Writing' (*Arth.*, I.12) used at the Espionage Institute. In the Behistun inscription we find *dipi* for engraved writing. Thus it is certain that *lipi* in the time of Pāṇini meant writing and script.