Brāhmī Script & its influence Final AC.pdf
- 2. The history of writing in India, as relevant to this, is closely tied to the Brāhmī script and its derivatives, as well as the Kharoṣṭī script. While the Kharoṣṭī script was important in its time, it remained a regional script and eventually became extinct without any descendants. The Brāhmī script, on the other hand, is the ancestor of one of the major script families worldwide, including indigenous scripts of South Asia and several other major scripts of central and Southeast Asia.
- 3. Brahmanical-Hindu Tradition: Emphasis on spoken language and grammar, with minimal focus on writing. Buddhism and Jainism: Greater appreciation for the written word, particularly notable in Buddhism. Script Diversity: Texts from these traditions list various Indian scripts. Notably, the Lalitavistara's tenth chapter (Lipi- śālā-saṃdarśan-aparivarta) mentions sixty-four scripts, including Brāhmī and Kharoṣṭī, identified by the future Buddha during his childhood.
- 4. The dating of script lists like those in the Lalitavistara poses challenges, with indications pointing to a dating likely no earlier than the fourth century A.D. List of different Geographical names Brāhmī and of terms apparently descriptive and calligraphic characteristics within these lists, such as Aṅgalipi, Vaṅgalipi, and Pūrvavidehalipi, suggest a period when the Brāhmī script had diversified into local variants. Some of the latter might have identified with the various scripts preserved in inscriptions or just fanciful (64)
- 6. Jaina Tradition: Several Jaina canonical Prākṛta texts preserve shorter lists of eighteen scripts. Oldest Forms: Found in texts like the Pannavaṇā-sutta and the Samavāyāṅga-sutta, these lists include Baṃbhī (Brāhmī ) and Kharoṭṭhī (Kharoṣṭhī), akin to Buddhist lists. Independent Origin: According to Bühler, the Jaina list likely predates the Buddhist list, possibly independent. Notable Inclusion: "Javaṇāliyā" (Greek) script, possibly referencing the Greek alphabet (Sanskrit yavanānī).
- 7. Interpretation: The list begins with an introductory remark suggesting that "Brahmi" denotes writing in general, not just a specific script. Script Enumeration: The list includes 18 scripts, bambhīe naṃ livīe aṭṭharasavihalikkhvhāṇe paṇṇatte, ("18 different forms of writing of the Brahmi script are known." )
- 9. Pāli Buddhist Canon: References to writing in texts like Jātakas and Vinaya-piṭaka, particularly mentioning correspondence through letters, lacks certainty of evidences to represent pre-Mauryan India. Pāṇini's Aṣṭadhyāyī: A clear reference to early writing exists in the term lipi/libi 'script', though recent interpretations suggest it might be Aramaic rather than Indian. Archaeological and Epigraphic Evidence: Limited inscriptions with paleographic characteristics hinting at pre- Asokan antiquity, yet debates persist over their origin and development.
- 10. Difference in short or long vowels (in early records of Piprawa, Mahasthan etc) claims to be Pre Mauryan Writing Excavations at Anuradhpura, SLR Literary and Epigraphic Testimony: Mostly vague or ambiguous, offering inconclusive evidence regarding the antiquity of writing in India. Panini's Era: Implies the existence of writing in northwestern South Asia in or before the mid-fourth century B.C., but the type of script remains unspecified.
- 11. Norman remarks (Pre-Mauryan Writing): Absence of surviving written records before Asoka attributed to early writing's use for ephemeral documents. Writing Practices (principally, not exclusively): Before Asoka on stones, writing primarily served economic and administrative functions, as opposed to perishable materials such as palm leaves and cloth. Monumental Inscriptions: Asoka's innovation of monumental inscriptions on stone, potentially influenced by the Archaemenian empire of Iran.
- 12. Hypothetical Pre-Mauryan Writing: Likely Proto- forms of Brāhmī and/or Kharoṣṭhī script, with early forms possibly lacking the vowel length differentiation and consonant group notation. Evolution of Scripts: Early Brāhmī inscriptions suggest rudimentary or absent distinctions between certain characters, implying a gradual refinement leading to the Asokan script.
- 13. Common Principles: Nearly all Indian scripts, including Br Brāhmī ahmi and its derivatives, and Kharoṣṭhī, adhere to similar graphic representation principles. Modified Consonant-Syllabic Script: Historical evolution led to a modified consonant-syllabic script, with the graphic syllable as the basic unit, ending with a vowel. Structure of Graphic Syllable: Typically comprises a consonant, with or without diacritic modifications for the following vowel, and possibly nasalization indicated by the anusvara sign. Addition of Diacritic Strokes: Various diacritic strokes denote vowels like ā i, ī, u, ū, ṛ, etc., added to the consonantal character, with the vowel a inherent in the consonant.
- 14. Example: Early Brāhmī + (illustrated) is read as modern Devanagari, representing the continuity of script evolution. Note: unmarked consonant is to be read as vowel a
- 15. Inherent Vowel Rule: This system introduces certain complexities. Representation of Vowel-Only Syllables: Scripts require a set of full vowel signs in addition to diacritic vowels for syllables without a preceding consonant. Example: Brāhmī (a) Devanagari अ = a and (aa) Devangari= ā etc.
- 16. Special techniques are needed for consonant clusters and final consonants. Clusters are depicted using ligatures, indicating that prior consonants are pronounced with the following ones without an intervening vowel. Example: Brāhmī, the syllable tva must be written as (lamda one having loop earning λ = Devanagari त्व in order to distinguish it from λ I Devanagari = तव.
- 17. Indication of Final Consonants: Final consonants are shown either by a reduced form of the normal consonant or a diacritic sign (virama or halanta) indicating cancellation of the inherent vowel. Example: Devanagari क ् represents 'k' (not 'ka').
- 18. Traditional Typology Challenge: The Indic writing system defies easy classification within traditional script types of logographic (a single character can stand for a unique syllable or for entire word or a unique idea), syllabic (each character represents an entire syllable i.e. one consonant with one vowel ka-ki-ku etc), and alphabetic (characters for each consonant and for each vowel) Note: Logo-graphics use characters that represent semantic units, such as words or morphemes. Syllabaries use symbols called syllabograms to represent syallables and Alphabets use symbols called letters that correspond to spoken phonemes.
- 20. Syllabic Nature: Basic unit is the syllable (aksara), resembling a syllabary, but differs as it separately indicates phonetic components within the syllabic unit. Resemblance to Alphabet: Vowels have separate notation like in an alphabet, but lack full independent status compared to consonants, a defining characteristic of alphabets.
- 21. Limited Alphabetic Status: While Indic scripts feature alphabetic symbols for vowels in "full" or initial vowel characters, these were only used for vowels not preceded by a consonant, preventing them from attaining full alphabetic status. Intermediate Classification: Various terms like "neo- syllabary," "pseudo-alphabet," or "alphabetic syllabary" have been suggested for this type of script, but there is no commonly accepted term yet.
- 22. "neo-syllabary," "pseudo-alphabet," or "alphabetic syllabary" is a segmental writing system in which consonant–vowel sequences are written as units; each unit is based on a consonant letter, and vowel notation is secondary, similar to a diacritical mark. However, "Semi-syllabary" or "semi-alphabet" may be used as general descriptive terms, highlighting its hybrid nature. Whichever term used, the Indic script family, including Brāhmī derivatives, is a key representative of this script type worldwide.
- 23. Kharosthi vs. Brāhmī : While Kharosthi remained geographically limited and faded early, Brāhmī emerged in the 3rd century B.C. as a fully developed pan-Indian script. National Script Status: Brāhmī served as a national script across India Enduring Influence: Brāhmī continued to be the primary script throughout history, giving rise to all modern Indic scripts within and beyond India. Writing History Synonymous with Brāhmī : Excluding Indus script in the proto-historic era and later Persian-Arabic and European scripts, the history of writing in India is essentially the history of Brāhmī and its derivatives.
- 24. Varied Names: Until the late 19th century, the script of Asokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its derivatives had multiple designations like "lath" or "Lāṭ," "Southern Asokan," "Indian Pali," "Mauryan," etc. Introduction of "Brahmi": The term " Brāhmī“ (lipi) was proposed by T. de Lacouperie, inspired by the scripts listed in Buddhist and Jaina scriptures. He noted descriptions in the Chinese Buddhist encyclopedia (Fa yuan chu lin), which associated Brāhmī with left-to-right writing (like Indo-Pali script of the Asokan inscriptions) and Kharoṣṭhī of lalitavistara written from right-to-left (like Bactro-Pali of the northwest rock inscriptions).
- 25. Script Direction Association: Brahmi was suggested for the left-to-right "Indo-Pali" script of Asokan pillar inscriptions, while Kharosthi was linked to the right-to-left "Bactro-Pali" script of northwest rock inscriptions.
- 26. Loose Usage of " Brāhmī ": Modern scholars employ the term " Brāhmī " loosely to refer to the Asokan script, its varieties, and earlier derivatives until the end of the Gupta period in the sixth century A.D. Differentiation of Scripts: Post-Gupta period sees differentiation into distinct regional and local varieties, denoted by descriptive or geographical terms (e.g., Siddhamātṛkā, proto-Kannada). Un-standardized Terminology: Lack of indigenous terms leads to ad hoc terminology for the pre-modern Brāhmī - derived scripts. D. C. Sircar categorizes development stages into "Early (1- 3rd C BC)," "Middle,(3-4 C BC)" and "Late Brahmi" periods (4-6TH C BC), though others refre “L-B as Gupta Script”
- 27. Origins Debate: opinions divided into two main camps: proponents of indigenous Indian origin and those who advocate the borrowing or adaptation from non-Indian (often Semitic) prototype sources. Indigenous Origin Theories: Some early scholars, like Alexander Cunningham, proposed theories suggesting Brāhmī's origin from a pictographic-acrophonic system, potentially influenced by Egyptian hieroglyphic writing. Others suggested an Indus origin, though direct connections between Indus writing and Brāhmī remain uncertain without clear decipherment of the Indus script.
- 28. The Brahmi letter “kha” would be derived from a picto-graphical representation of a hoe or mattock by association with the root khan “to dig”. However, such theories are regarded as imaginative or speculative by some scholars
- 29. Indus Script Features: While direct connections are debated, one notable feature of the Indus script is its use of compounded and diacritically modified forms, reminiscent of patterns seen in historical Indic scripts. Hunter proposed that the Indus script functioned similarly to Brāhmī, possibly indicating vowel variations and influencing Brāhmī vowel diacritics. He also suggested a potential relationship with Brāhmī conjunct consonant formation. These parallels, noted by Hunter and others, are intriguing and suggest a possible historical connection between the scripts. However, due to the un-deciphered status of the Indus script and the significant chronological gap between it and the earliest historical scripts, it's premature to fully explain or evaluate these typological similarities.
- 30. S.R.Goyal remarks that logical structure, geometric forms and geographical uniformity shows the work of gramarian’s (Ashokan period) N. P. Rastogi, in “proposed the origin of Brāhmī script from geometric signs in the Vedic period”. T.P.Verma proposed origin from Buddhist Circles Additionally, there are indications that a Semitic script, possibly Aramaic, influenced Brāhmī to some extent. Despite these theories, all invention hypotheses remain speculative without solid historical or documentary support.
- 31. He was the first to decipher the Brāhmī Scipt. He suggested a possible connection between Greek and the Ancient Indian Scripts… “the oldest Greek is nothing more than Sanskrit turned topsy turvy!” The reverse of the James was suggested by J.Halevy, who derived that six characters of Brāhmī (a, ba, ga, dha, tha, and na) from the corresponding Greek letters the rest from Kharosthi and Aramaic.
- 32. Although the theory of Greek origin fell out of favor, it was recently revived by Falk, influenced by arguments from Halevy. Falk suggests Brāhmī was intentionally created during Asoka's time, modeled on Kharosthi and Greek. He argues Greek influenced Brāhmī direction of writing, monumental style, differentiation of short and long vowels, and formation of specific characters like ʘ tha which connects with ө theta. However, while Greek influence on Brāhmī overall style is plausible, specific character formation seems less likely influenced by Greek.
- 33. The development of Brāhmī system for differentiating vowel quantity appears indigenous, considering India's tradition of phonetic analysis. In Brāhmī, short and long vowel pairs are denoted by a systematic array of variations of a fundamental form or diacritic for each vowel. In contrast, Greek script employs a wholly different and less efficient method, utilizing separate and unrelated alphabetic characters for short and long vowels (e.g., e epsilonl/n eta)
- 34. Brāhmī script shares connections with both Kharosthi and Greek scripts. Influences: Falk suggests Brāhmī is primarily based on Kharosthi with a secondary influence from Greek. Graphic System: The overall graphic system of Brāhmī appears to have been adapted from Kharosthi, indicating a derivative relationship. Character Forms: While some Brāhmī characters (e.g., ˄ ga and ʘ tha), resemble Greek letters (ᵧ gamma and theta ө) however many others cannot be explained by either Greek or Kharosthi influences.
- 35. Early Scholars' Observations: Several early scholars noted similarities between certain Brāhmī letters and characters from the Himyaritic inscriptions of South Arabia. Proposed Derivation: Francois Lenormant and W. Deecke proposed a South Semitic prototype for Brāhmī in the late 19th century. Isaac Taylor's Argument: Isaac Taylor presented a comparative chart supporting a South Semitic (Sabaean) derivation for Brāhmī Supporting Points for South Semantic hypothesis: Taylor argues that the direction of writing in South Semitic inscriptions from right to left, but alo from L-R Plausible Prototypes: Similarities of Brāhmī letters like 𑀩 ba (bet) and द 𑀩 da (dalet), etc support the South Semitic hypothesis instead of north semantic hypothesis, strengthening the case for a South Semantic derivation. Later denied
- 36. Appendages, topsy-tury, triangles etc here are notable exceptions to this trend, particularly in the cases of 𑀩 kha, 𑀩 gha, and ʘ tha, which do not bear any graphic similarity with their non-aspirated counterparts( ┼ ka, ˄ ga, and λ ta), but can be directly traced back to Semitic prototypes, specifically קqoph, חhet, and טtet, respectively. This consistent pattern is unlikely to be coincidental and serves as a strong systemic indication of a Semitic influence. In conclusion, both systemic and paleographic evidence strongly suggest that the Brāhmī script has roots in a Semitic prototype, with Aramaic being the most probable candidate based mainly on historical considerations.
- 38. Displays a Uniformity i.e. a developed form of writing Contains Diacritically modified syllabic script. Full (Initial) Vowel Signs: a, ā, i, u, e, o Consonants: 32 characters Medial Vowel Diacritics: ā, i, ī, u, ū, e, o, ai Additional Signs: Anusvāra (nasal sound marker)
- 39. Initial Vowel Signs: ī and ū is notably absent (likely due to rarity). Missing Vowel and Consonant Signs: ṛ, ṝ, possibly au, (not developed yet) apparently is a later Brāhmī development when Brāhmī was used to write sanskrit. Prakṛta Usage: Certain signs like visarga are not needed for Prakṛta languages of the period.
- 40. After the Mauryan period, Brāhmī script entered a phase of gradual evolution. However, excluding the Bhaṭṭiproḷu and early Tamil scripts, initial changes were mostly minor, preserving the script's resemblance to its Mauryan predecessor. Head-marks: notably, rudimentary head marks began to emerge, especially noticeable in certain inscriptions like the Hathigumpha inscription (in the form of a small triangle at the top of the vertical stroke).
- 41. These marks, appearing as small triangles atop vertical strokes, likely originated from pen and ink writing practices. Initially accidental, they gradually became integral parts of letter forms. Over time, these head marks diversified into various shapes regionally, contributing to distinctive features in medieval and modern Indian scripts like the square "box-headed" script, continuous top lines in Devanagari, curved "umbrella" shapes in Oriya, or the characteristic "check-mark" in Telugu.
- 43. During this period, several notable developments emerged in the Brāhmī script: Equalization of Verticals: Certain characters, like Pa and Sa, exhibited a tendency towards equalizing the two vertical strokes. This trend foreshadowed future developments where letters evolved into square frames, influencing derivative scripts such as Devanagari. Individual Character Developments: Specific characters underwent significant changes:
- 44. ◦ Elongation of Cross-Shaped ka: The vertical stroke of the old cross-shaped the Mauryan Brahmi evolved into a "dagger-shaped" form this letter. ◦ Rounding of ga ˄ : The top of ga was rounded (˄ to ग ∩ ). ◦ Reversal in Direction of D (dha): it took the reversed form D > Ɑ ◦ Angular Forms of ma and va: these letters exhibited a tendency towards angular forms. ◦ Replacement of Curved ra: The old curved ra was replaced with a straight vertical shape. Introduction of New Characters: A few new characters appeared during this period, such as the initial ai, first observed in the Hathigumpha inscription.