On the seals of Harappa belonging to about 2500 B.C.

The earliest inscriptions are discovered on the seals of Harappa belonging to about 2500 B.C. They haven’t been deciphered to date. The oldest ins-criptions deciphered to date had been issued by Asoka within the third century B.C. An Asokan’ pillar inscription was discovered by Firoz Shah Tughlaq in

Meerut. He introduced it to Delhi and requested the pandits of his empire to decipher it, however they failed to take action. The identical problem was confronted by the British when within the final quarter of the eighteenth century they found Asokan inscriptions. These epigraphs had been first decipheied in 1837 by James Prmsep, a civil servant within the make use of of the East India Firm in Bengal

Now we have numerous varieties of inscriptions. Some convey royal ordeis and selections concerning social, spiritual and administrative issues to officers and other people generally. Asokan inscriptions belong to this class Others are votive information of the followers of Buddhism, Jainism, Vaishnavism, Saivism, and so on., who put up pillais, tablets, temples or photographs as marks of devotion. Nonetheless different varieties eulogise the attributes and achievements of kings and conquerors, and by no means converse of their defeats or weaknesses. To this categoiy belongs the Allahabad inscription of Samudragupta. Lastly, we have now many donative information which refer specifically to presents of cash, cattle, land, and so on., primarily for spiritual functions, made no L solely by kings and princes but in addition by artisans and retailers.

Inscriptions recording land grants, made primarily by chiefs and princes, are essential for the research of the land system and administration in historical India. These had been principally engraved on copper plates They file the grants of lands, revenues and villages made to monks, monks, temples, monasteries, vassals and officers. They had been written in all languages, comparable to Prakrit, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu.

Literary Sources

Though the traditional Indians knew writing, as early as 2500 B.C,, our most historical manu- cripts will not be older than the fourth century A.D., and have been present in Central Asia. In India they had been written on birch bark and palm leaves, however in Central Asia, the place the Prakrit language had unfold from India, manuscripts had been additionally written on sheep leather-based and wood tablets.

These writings are known as inscriptions, however they arc pretty much as good as manuscripts. When punting was not recognized, manuscripts weie valued immensely. Though previous Sanskrit manuscripts arc discovered everywhere in the nation, they principally belong to south India, Kashmir and Nepal. At current inscriptions are principally preserved m museums, and manuseupts in libraries. Most historical books comprise leligioua themes. The ichgious literature of the Hindus consists of the Vedas, the epics, Ramaycma and Mahabhautta, the Puranas, and so on. They throw welcome gentle on the social and cultural situations of ancienL instances however it’s troublesome to utilize tlicm within the context of time and place The Rig Veda could also be assigned to circa 1500-1000 B.C , however the collections of the Athaiva Veda, Yajut Veda, the Biahmanas and the Upamshads belong loughly to 1000- 500 B.C. Virtually metropolis Vedie textual content comprises mteipolations, which usually seem at its starting oi finish however will not be uncommon in its center The Rig Veda primarily comprises prayets, whereas the later Vedlc texts primarily comprise not solely prayeisbut additionally rituals, magic and mythological tales. Howevei, the Upanishads comprise philosophical speculations.