The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c21.72

c21.72

All the documents are written in various forms of Prākrit, that is to say, vernacular dialects closely allied to both literary Sanskrit and the Pāli of the Ceylonese Buddhist books, but not identical with either.¹ They were therefore obviously intended to be read and understood by the public generally, and their existence presupposes a widely diffused knowledge of the art of writing. The inscriptions designed for public instruction were placed either in suitable positions on high roads or at frequented places of pilgrimage where their contents were ensured the greatest possible publicity.