Sanskrit epigraphy

Early inscriptions, such as those from the 1st century BCE in Ayodhya and Hathibada, are written in Brahmi script and reflect the transition to classical Sanskrit.

The turning point in Sanskrit epigraphy came with the Rudradaman I inscription from the mid-2nd century CE, which established a poetic eulogy style later adopted during the Gupta Empire.

This era saw Sanskrit become the predominant language for royal and religious records, documenting donations, public works, and the glorification of rulers.

In South India, inscriptions such as those from Nagarjunakonda and Amaravati illustrate early use in Buddhist and Shaivite contexts, transitioning to exclusive Sanskrit use from the 4th century CE.

By the classical period, Sanskrit inscriptions across stone, metal, and other materials became central to documenting royal achievements, religious activities, and societal developments.

The decline of Sanskrit epigraphy coincided with the rise of regional languages in inscriptions, yet its legacy endures in the historical and cultural records it preserved.

[13] In Maharashtra and Gujarat, Brahmi script Sanskrit inscriptions from the early centuries of the common era exist at the Nasik Caves site, near the Girnar mountain of Junagadh and elsewhere such as at Kanakhera, Kanheri, and Gunda.

[21] The evidence of the use of the Sanskrit language in Indic writing systems appears in southeast Asia in the first half of the 1st millennium CE.

Generally in accurate classical Sanskrit, they deploy a wide range of regional Indic writing systems extant at the time.

[28] The Sanskrit language of these inscriptions is written on stone, various metals, terracotta, wood, crystal, ivory, shell, and cloth.