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Brahmi Script

Brahmi script information

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31 views

Brahmi Script

Brahmi script information

Uploaded by

singhpoornima7926
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Brahmi Script

Origin
One group of scholars is of opinion that the structure of the script as we find in the Asokan
inscriptions must have an earlier phase of development. While some scholars trace this earlier
phase to the time of composition of the Vedas, others argue that the script was essentially a
result of Mauryan sponsorship under Asoka. Some scholars say that its origin might be
hidden in an inspiration from the Old Persian Cuneiform, understandably as a result of
continued cultural contacts between the South Asian and Persian polities. Some scholars have
also put forward some archaeological evidence to argue that the earliest Brahmi had
connections with the script of the Harappan inscriptions.
History of Decipherment and further Developments
Actually, since the ancient inscriptions written in archaic characters that no more resembled
the current scripts by any means, European Orientalists and their Pandits found it really
difficult to decode the absolutely obscure letters written on edicts of Asoka, which were later
found to be well over two millennia old. It took no less than fifty-three years, since the
inception of epigraphic researches by the Asiatic Society, to decipher one of the earliest
known historical scripts of India.
James Prinsep (1799-1840), the then Assistant Assay Master of the Calcutta Mint and a close
associate of William Jones, made the breakthrough revealing the mystery of the earliest
Brahmi letters engraved on the Asokan edicts in 1837.
He also realised that it is the earliest script of historic India and is the parent of all later Indic
scripts. The decipherment of early Brahmi was followed immediately by another great
achievement––the decipherment of Kharosthi.
Debates on the Origin of Brahmi
In spite of nearly two centuries of research on the history of writing in India, the precise
origin of the Brahmi script, the principal script of early India, from which all the later South
Asian and Southeast Asian scripts developed, has still remained improperly known. The
origin of the Brahmi script has been a major debate in the realm of Indian epigraphy ever
since its decipherment in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Like most of the ‘origin theories’ scholarly world dealing with the origin of the Brahmi script
is also divided into two ‘camps’, one advocating for an essentially Indian origin of the script,
while the other providing evidence in support of an extraneous influence and/or derivation.
Recently Richard Salomon has made a comprehensive review of the literature dealing with
the problem of the origin of this script.
Theories of Indigenous Origin
Among the early scholars dealing with the issue, Alexander Cunningham suggested that
Brahmi had its root from a pictographic-logographic script. Another researcher concluded
that an indigenous origin is most likely, although the precise source and development cannot
be specified. R. B. Pandey argued more categorically in favor of an indigenous origin,
concluding that "the Brahmi characters were invented by the genius of the Indian people who
were far ahead of other peoples of ancient times in linguistics and who evolved vast Vedic
literature involving a definite knowledge of alphabet". Several scholars have proposed that
the presumptive indigenous prototype of the Brahmi script must have been the Indus Valley
script. Some recent scholars have argued that Brahmi, as we see in the inscriptions of Asoka,
must have had underwent preceding stage of development and refinement from a pre-existing
system of writing. There are also proposals based on textual reference in Buddhist, Jain and
Classical literature that Indians knew the art of writing well before the Maurya period.

Theories of Foreign Origin

Compared to the school of Indian origin, the group supporting a non-Indian origin of the
script has more supporting evidence.
James Prinsep believed that Brahmi had evolved from the Greek script.
Albrecht Weber made a thorough comparison of the Phoenician and early Brahmi.
An Aramaic origin of Brahmi was first suggested by A.C. Burnell in the year 1874.

Characteristics of Brahmi
Some of the major palaeographic characteristics of the Brahmi script are:
The script is written, in general from left to right
The alphabet consists of six full (initial) vowel signs, thirty-two consonants, eight medial
vowel diacritic signs and the anusvara sign.
The script, as reflected in the edict of Asoka and also in the other inscriptions of the Maurya
and post-Maurya periods, shows a uniform and systematized pattern.

Evolution of Brahmi
1. All the modern Indian scripts developed from Brahmi.
2. Brahmi had a continuous evolutionary development from the 3rd century BCE till date.
3. Early Brahmi developed into Middle and Late Brahmi.
4. Several new features and extensive regionalization characterized later forms of Brahmi.
5. All the Proto-Regional scripts of the Indian subcontinent developed from Late Brahmi.
6. Siddhamatrka developed from Late Brahmi around late sixth/early seventh century CE.
7. The name Siddhamatrka is known from the travel account of the Arab traveler AbuRaihan-
Al-Biruni’s who came to India in the first half of the eleventh century CE.
8. Siddhamatrka developed into Gaudi in eastern India and into Nagari in northern India.
Evolution of Brahmi

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