The Mauryan Polity c13.s12.6

c13.s12.6

Bühler speaks of leaves of *tāḍa-tāla* and *tāḍi-tāla* as writing materials of the Buddhists.³ H. P. Śāstri also speaks of two kinds, narrow and broad, called *tala* and *teḍet*.⁴ Megasthenes⁵ and Arrian¹ refer to *tāla*, and even to-day in spite of the growing popularity of paper, orthodox pandits prefer to write in the palmyra leaves especially the writing of horoscopes. Tradition is so strong in India that even now when our boys are sent to school on the first day they are sent with a palmyra leaf with alphabets inscribed thereon. It therefore stands to reason that palmyra leaves were used as writing materials from earliest times known to literary history. If Megasthenes was not fully posted with the correct information at least we have the evidence of other Greek writers such as that of Nearchos, which falsifies the theory of Megasthenes and bears testimony to the statement of the *Kauṭalīya*.² These well-authenticated documents give the lie direct to the statement of Max Müller that the art of writing did not exist in India before the 4th century B.C.³ Haraprasad Śāstri has drawn attention to an important data which may be adduced as a serious argument for the ancient character of the *Gṛhya-sūtras*. In the list of the *saṃskāras* of the *Gṛhya-sūtras* of old, the first initiation into the mystery of learning is not mentioned as a sacrament, while the *Arthaśāstra* mentions it definitely. Therefore some time after the composition of the *Gṛhyasūtras* and much earlier than the *Arthaśāstra* the art of writing must have been evolved. A pre-Buddhist work like the *Vāsiṣṭha Dharmasūtra* refers to written documents (*lekhya*). This art had advanced so much that bad writing was discouraged.⁴