Sanskrit epigraphy

Early inscriptions

The earliest known stone inscriptions in Sanskrit, dating to the first century BCE, are written in the Brahmi script. These include the Ayodhyā and Hāthībādā-Ghosuṇḍī inscriptions, which are described as essentially standard and correct Sanskrit with a few exceptions reflecting informal usage. Other important Hindu inscriptions from the 1st century BCE in relatively accurate classical Sanskrit and Brahmi script are the Yavanarajya inscription on a red sandstone slab and the long Naneghat inscription in a cave rest stop in the Western Ghats. From the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, the earliest Sanskrit and hybrid dialect inscriptions appear in Mathura, attributed to the time of the Indo-Scythian Northern Satraps and the Kushan Empire.

The most significant of these is the Mora Well Inscription, a dedicatory inscription linked to the cult of the Vrishni heroes, mentioning a stone shrine and images. Other notable 1st-century inscriptions in reasonably good classical Sanskrit include the Vasu Doorjamb Inscription and the Mountain Temple inscription. These early inscriptions are related to the Brahmanical tradition, except for one from Kankali Tila which may be Jaina; none are Buddhist. Later 2nd-century inscriptions include some Buddhist Sanskrit examples.

Northwest India

In Maharashtra and Gujarat, Brahmi script Sanskrit inscriptions from the early centuries of the common era are found at the Nasik Caves, near Girnar mountain in Junagadh, and at sites such as Kanakhera, Kanheri, and Gunda. The Nasik inscription from the mid-1st century CE is a fair approximation of standard Sanskrit with hybrid features.

The Junagadh rock inscription of Western Satraps ruler Rudradaman I, dated to around 150 CE, is the first long poetic-style inscription in more or less standard Sanskrit that has survived. This inscription represents a turning point in Sanskrit epigraphy, as its style became the prototype for the eulogy-style Sanskrit inscriptions of the Gupta Empire era. No similar inscriptions are found for about two hundred years after Rudradaman's reign.

South India

The Nagarjunakonda inscriptions are the earliest known substantial South Indian Sanskrit inscriptions, probably from the late 3rd century or early 4th century CE. These inscriptions are related to Buddhism and the Shaivism tradition of Hinduism, with some written in verse-style classical Sanskrit and others in prose with hybridized Sanskrit. An earlier hybrid Sanskrit inscription on an Amaravati slab dates to the late 2nd century, and later ones include Sanskrit alongside Prakrit inscriptions.

After the 3rd century CE, Sanskrit inscriptions dominate, and between the 4th and 7th centuries CE, south Indian inscriptions are exclusively in Sanskrit. In eastern South Asia, minor Sanskrit inscriptions from the 2nd century are fragments; the earliest substantial true Sanskrit inscription from Susuniya (West Bengal) dates to the 4th century. In Dehradun (Uttarakhand), inscriptions in more or less correct classical Sanskrit are dated to the 3rd century.

Southeast Asia

Sanskrit's use in Indic writing systems is first seen in Southeast Asia during the first half of the first millennium CE. Some Vietnamese examples are bilingual, pairing Sanskrit with a local language in the Indian alphabet. The earliest known Sanskrit inscriptions in Indic scripts date from the 4th century in Malaysia, the 5th to 6th centuries in Thailand near Si Thep and the Sak River, the early 5th century in Kutai on eastern Borneo (the Mulavarman inscription), and the mid-5th century in western Java.

Both northern and southern Indian script families appear in the region, though the rounded southern forms are far more prevalent. The Pallava script, a key prototype, spread and later evolved into Mon-Burmese, Khmer, Thai, Lao, Sumatran, Celebes, Javanese, and Balinese scripts. From around the 5th century onward, Sanskrit inscriptions become widespread across South and Southeast Asia, with major finds in Nepal, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

Did You Know?

• Sanskrit inscriptions were written on materials including stone, various metals, terracotta, wood, crystal, ivory, shell, and cloth.
• Donative inscriptions record donations of temples, stupas, images, land, monasteries, pilgrim travel records, and public infrastructure such as water reservoirs and irrigation measures.