BRAHMI SCRIPT
Topic: Epigraphy
- The origin of Brahmi, a script written from left to right, are not as clear.
- Some scholars have suggested an indigenous origin, other an Aramaic origin.
- A problem in accepting the latter theory is that the direction of writing and the forms of the letters in Brahmi and kharoshthi are different.
- Kharoshthi declined and died out in about the 3rd cebtury CE, Brahmi, on the other hand, became the parent of all the indigenous scripts of South Asia, and also of central and Southeast Asia.
- The different stages of the Brahmi script are often labelled on the basis of dynasties, eg: Ashokan Brahmi, Kushana Brahmi and Gupta Brahmi.
- In the late 6th century, Gupta Brahmi evolved into a script known as Siddhamatrika or kutila.
- Nagari or Devanagari was standardized by about 1000 CE and an eastern script took shape between the 10th and 14th centuries.
- From here, it was a short step to the emergence of the Bengali, Asaamese, Oriya and Maithili scripts.
