The Complexity of Indian Writing: A Brief Note

Summary

The article examines the origin and development of Indian writing. It notes that scholars have debated whether writing originated in ancient India or was adopted from outside. Some believe that a strong oral tradition discouraged writing; others argue that Indians used writing but scholars differ on when it began; a third group suggests writing came from Semitic sources. The author aims to establish that Indian writing developed indigenously. He observes that the lack of epigraphic evidence has led some to assume there was no writing, yet the oldest physical evidence—inscriptions of Emperor Aśoka from the third century BCE—shows that writing existed. Indian scripts differ from Semitic ones: they are written left to right and are syllabic, whereas Semitic scripts run right to left and are not syllabic. Aśoka’s edicts demonstrate that writing and reading were common; they could not have been used for public communication if people were unfamiliar with scripts. The script employed, named Brahmi by James Prinsep, later developed into many regional scripts, indicating an indigenous tradition. Paninian linguistics provides further evidence. Panini’s grammar treats the root likh (“to scratch or write”) as a verb and discusses the formation of words such as lipikara (scribe), implying that writing was already common. The author argues that the arrangement of the Rigveda’s padapāṭha and the marking of accents presuppose writing; the preparation of such texts requires a written medium and cannot be explained purely by oral tradition. Epics like the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata use words such as lekha and lekhaka (writing and scribe), and Buddhist sources describe writing as a profession. The Vinayapiṭaka, Jātaka tales and the Lalitavistara list of sixty‑four scripts—including Brahmi and Kharosthī—show that multiple scripts were known and taught. Jain canonical texts also mention Brahmi as the primary script and describe alphabets with twelve or even sixty‑four characters. Kautilya’s Arthaśāstra, dated to the late fourth century BCE, discusses writing in administrative contexts. By compiling textual evidence across Vedic, epic, Buddhist and Jain sources, the article argues that Indian writing was not borrowed wholesale from Semitic models. Instead, it suggests that scripts evolved locally in concert with an oral tradition. The scarcity of early inscriptions is due to the perishable nature of writing materials rather than an absence of writing. Indian scripts likely developed before the third century BCE, and the Brahmi script served as a progenitor for later scripts throughout South and Southeast Asia.