Component-I (A) – Personal details:

Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.

Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. & Dr. K. Muniratnam Director i/c, Epigraphy, ASI, Mysore

Dr. T.S. Ravishankar Director (Epigraphy) (Retd), ASI, Mysore

Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.

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Component-I (B) – Description of module:

Subject Name Indian Culture

Paper Name Indian Epigraphy

Module Name/Title Development of Regional Languages in Epigraphy

Module Id IC / IEP / 18

Knowledge of all the early Regional Languages scripts and Pre requisites inscriptions from 6thCAD to late medieval period in India.

To understand our Rich Indian History, Culture, Languages Objectives belonging to various Dynasties, and Emperors.

Tamil, Tulu, Malayalam, Assamese, Bengali, , Arabic, Keywords Oriya, , Telugu and Persian.

E-text (Quadrant-I) :

1. DRAVIDIAN LANGAUGES: (Tamil):

India is singularly rich in epigraphs found throughout the sub-continent written in varied scripts and languages. It is needless to say that the inscriptions from one of the main and primary source in understanding not only our political history also our rich tradition and culture. When we look at our country from the linguistic point of view, perhaps no other country has such diverse and varied languages and scripts. For nurturing and patronizing various languages in the north, as well as in the south, the various dynasties that ruled over different part, of India had a major role to play. As we know the earliest epigraphical records are written in Prakrit and subsequently followed by Sanskrit. So practically around 6th CAD onwards we have inscriptions written in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam. In North India around early medieval period we find different languages emerging subseqnently in the medieval and late medieval period we have large number of Arabic and Persian inscriptions to understand the medieval history and monuments.

Before we take up one of the major Dravidian language i.e, Tamil for a brief review, Tamilnadu yielded some early Brahmi cave inscriptions. Their script so evolved as to suit the phonology of that ancient Dravidian tongue. The earliest users of this Brahmi script in the Tamil country were followers of . They opted the local language of Tamil as their medium of religious propagation. They are quite archaic in nature and on palaeographical grounds they can be dated much earlier period.

Among the Dravidian languages, inscriptions engraved in Tamil language are quite large in number, which are reported from different parts of Tamilnadu and other adjacent states belongs to the early centuries of the Christian era probably to the 2nd and 3rd Centuries A.D. Though the early Pallavas records especially their charters were written in Prakrit and the later Pallavas from the 6th century A.D. Tamil began to be used along with Sanskrit in the copper plate grants of the Pallava kings and from that time its use in inscriptions increased

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gradually. The charters of the Imperial Pallavas discovered in the Telugu speaking area are written in Sanskrit, while those of their grants which were meant for the Tamil speaking region are written partly in Sanskrit and partly in Tamil. To the first group belong the Vunnaguruvayapalem plates of Paramesvaravarman I (c. 669-700) A.D. and the Reyuru plates of Narasimhavarman II (c. 700-25 A.D) Both these records are written in early Telugu Kannada script. The Kuram plates of Paramesvaravarman I the Kasakudi and Tandantottam plates of Nandivarman II Pallavamalla (c. 730-96) A.D. and the Bahur plates of Nrpatungavarman (9th century A.D) are written in the Sanskrit and Tamil langauges in Grantha and Tamil characters respectively The Udayendiram plates of Nandivarman II Pallavamalla are, however, written in Sanskrit.

The Copper plate charters of the early Chola Kings are generally written partly in Sanskrit and partly in Tamil like the second group of Pallava grants referred to above. Mention may be made in this connection of the large Leiden plates of Rajaraja I (985-1016) A.D> The TIruvalangadu plates of RajendraChola I (1012-43 A.D) and the Anbil plates (c.960 A.D) of Sundarachola But the Thirukkalar copper plate grant plates of Rajadhiraja I Kulotunga I Rajaraja II and Kulotunga III written in Tamil only. It may be noted that the Tiryunelveli Plate (1021 A.D) of BhaskaraRavivarman of is written in the Tamil language and the Vattelutu script excepting the passage Om NamoNarayanaya Nama at the end, which is in the Sanskrit language and in the triangle headed North Indian alphabet. The smaller Leiden plates of Kulottunga I (1070- 1120 A,D) are also written completely in Tamil. Thus Tamil was more frequently used alone in Chola Official charters from the 11th C.A.D. Early Pandya charters are written in Sanskrit and Tamil but, unlike the Pallava and Chola grants, the Tamil part is written in the Vatteluttu alphabet instead of the Tamil Script. Later Pandya documents, such as the copper plate grant of Vira Pandya dated Saka 1392 (1470 A.D) are however, written in Tamil.

Among the recent discoveries, is the one from TIruIndalur (Kulukkanimuttam) in Nagapattinum district is a unique record in many respects. It is the largest copper plate set so far discovered. A set of copper plates consisting of 85 sheets, written Tamil and Grantha Characters. The King is identified with the Chola King Rajadhiraja, issued in his 35th regnal year.

One of the Plates of Indalur Set Copper Plate.

The early copper plate grants of the subordinate families, e.g, the Udayendiram plates of the Ganga Bana Chief Prthvipati II Hastimalla who was a feudatory of CholaParantaka I (907 53

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A.D) are similarly written partly in Sanskrit and partly in Tamil. But late medieval rulers like the Nayakas of Tanjavur and Madurai issued their charters either in Telugu sometimes Telugu and Sanskrit) or in Tamil While the grants of the Setupatis of Ramanathapuram are generally only in Tamil. There are large number of Tamilk inscriptions belonging to Vijayanagarrulers too.

1.1 KANNADA

Next to Tamil, Kannada is the earliest and most important of the Dravidian epigraphic languages. Kannada appears in inscriptions from the 6th C.A.D. An inscription of ChalukyaMangalesa (598-610A.D) outside the Vaisnava cave at is one of the earliest records in the Kannada language. The inscription of about the end of the 6th Century is also written in Kannada while there is a Kannada endorsement at the end of the inscription (634 A.D) which may be slightly later than the main record.

In the recent years excavations conducted at Talagunda, , yielded many interesting archaeological remains, including one early Kannada inscription found engraved on the left side Balustrade of Pranavesvara Temple. It is written in Kannada language and archaic variety of Kannada script. This also can be considered as one of the early Kannada Inscription. The copper plate grants issued by the Chalukyas of Badami are written in Sanskrit, though most of the stone inscriptions of their age, both official and private, are in Kannada. The introductory part of an inscription (699 A.D) of ChalukyasVinayaditya is written in Sanskrit. But its latter part containing the details of the grant is in Kannada which is called Prakrtabhasa in the epigraph. Similar is the case which most of the official records of later imperial dynasties of the Kannada speaking area, such as the Rastrakutas, the later chalukyas, the Kalacuris and the kings of . Among the copper plate grants of the time of the Rastrakutas, as few like the British Museum Plates (804 A.D) of Govinda III are written in the Kannada language. The Haldipur plates of the Pallava chief Gopala, who seems to have flourished in the 8th Century A.D are written partly in Sanskrit and partly in Kannada. The Kalas inscription (930 A.D) of the time of Govinda IV contains good specimens of Kannada poetry in various metres.

VADDAGERE STONE INSCRIPTION (kannada script)

A few copper plate grants of the Vijayanagara kings, who generally used the Sanskrit language and Nandinagari characters for their charters, are written either in Sanskrit and

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Kannada or in Kannada only. Late rulers like the chiefs of Keladi and Mysore generally used Kannada for their official charters.Private Stone inscriptions of the age of the medieval dynasties are, in the majority of cases, written in Kannada, although some of them have a portion written in Sanskrit.

1.2 TELUGU

Like Kannada Telugu first appeared in inscriptions at about the end of the 6th C.A.D. The official charters of the early ruling families of the Telugu speaking area belonging to the 5th and the following centuries are written in Sanskrit, grants written in Telugu appearing only from about the 9th C.A.D. A number of stone inscriptions dating from the close of the 6th Century A.D. are, however, written in Telugu. The earliest Telugu inscriptions are those belonging to the Telugu Codas of Renandu which have been discovered in the Anantapur and Cuddapah Districts and assigned to the period between the 6th and 8th C.A.D. Some of the earliest amongst them, written completely in Telugu, are the Kalamalla and Erragudipaduinscriptions of ErikalMuturajuDhananjaya who flourished about the close of the 6th and the beginning of the 7th C.A.D. The PottadurtiMalepadu inscription is another early epigraph in Telugu belonging to the Telugu Coda family. Records like the Bhairavakonda inscription of the time of Vikramaditya, probably belonging to the same royal house and flourishing about the middle of the 8th Century, are written is Telugu, with an admixture of Sanskrit, Most of the private records of the following centuries are in Telugu.

Of the copper plate grants of the Telugu Choda family, the Malepadu plates of Pounyakumara and the Madras Museum plates of SrikanthaChoda are written in Sanskrit, but the Madras Museum Plates of BalliyaChoda, who seems to have flourished about the middle of the 9th century are written in Telugu. This is the earliest copper plate grant in Telugu so far discovered.

The copper plate grants of the early Chalukya kings of Vengi are written in Sanskrit but a few charters like the Ahadanakaram plates of IV or V are written partly in Sanskrit and partly in Telugu. The stone inscriptions of the Chalukya age are generally written in Telugu. Thus the Vipparla inscription of the time of Jayasimha I and the Lakshmipuram inscription of the reign of Mangiyuvaraja both of the 7th C.A.D> are in Telugu. There are also some Telugu inscriptions of the 7th and 8th centuries quoting regnal years of the Chalukya kings of Badami whose copper plate grants found in the Telugu speaking area, however, are all written in Sanskrit, Among the 10th century copper plate grants in Telugu mention may be made of the Madras Museum plates (Saka 893 for 891) of Bhuvanatrinetra. The stone inscriptions of the medieval rulers of the Telugu speaking area, eg., the Eastern Gangas, Chalukyas, Chindas, Telugu Chodas, Kakatiyas, Reddis, Gajapatis the Vijayanagara Kings, the QutubShashis of Golkonda and others, are generally written in Telugu, while the copper plate grants of some of these rulers so far known are written in Sanskrit although often they contain a section in Telugu especially in the description of the boundaries of the gift lands.

Some of the copper plate grants of the Reddis e.g., the charters of Komatagiri dated 1385 and 1403 A.D. are written partly in Sanskrit and partly in Telugu The Vijayanagara kings generally used Sanskrit in their charters; but there are a few of their copper plate grants in Telugu e.g, some of Krishnadevaraja and Achutaraya. Among late medieval rulers, the

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Nayakas of Madurai and Tanjavur sometimes used Telugu in their charters in some cases along with Sanskrit.

MOTUPALLI TELUGU INSCRIPTION

1.3 MALAYALAM AND TULU

Compared with the other three major Dravidian languages, Malayalam is of much less epigraphic significance. Tamil was exclusively the epigraphic language of the Malayalam speaking area till the 14th C.A.D. and inscriptions in Tamil were engraved in that region in the Vatteluttu alphabet. But Malayalam influence is noticed in a few records of the 13th century such as the Suchindram inscription of the Kollam year 403 (1228-29 A.D) One of the earliest epigraphs in Malayalam language is the Attingal inscription of 1452 A.D. written in Vatteluttu characters. Another 15th Century epigraph in that language is the Tonnal inscription of 1474 A.D. Only the first two links of which are in Sanskrit written in Grantha. Of the 16th century epigraphs in the Malayalam, language mentions may be made of the Tripunitura Inscription of 1584A.D. Out of later records, we may refer to the Parurinscrfiptions of 1624 A.D. Manambur inscription of 1635 A.D. Vettikkavila inscription of 1648 A.D> and Verapoli copper plate grants of 1718, 1760 and 1780 A.D.

The Tulu language, spoken in the South Kanara District of and written in the Malayalam alphabet, has no literature and alphabet of its own. A few late medieval inscriptions written in the Tulu language and Malayalam characters, have been discovered. The palaeography of these epigraphs is comparable to that of an inscription of

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KulasekharaAlvar who may possibly be identified with the Alupa ruler KulashekharaAlupendra IV flourishing in the first half of the 15th Century.,

2. NEO INDO ARYAN LANGUAGES:

It is observed that Neo Indo Aryan Epigraphy is virtually an untouched field, and much study and research need to be done. As we understand in the tracts where the Neo Indo Aryan languages were spoken, Sanskrit was in general use in the early medieval period in preference to the regional languages. Independent Hindu rule was ousted by the Muhammadans from wide areas of the region in question. But, wherever in this area independent or semi-independent Hindu rulers flourished during the late medieval period, we notice occasional use of the regional languages in their official charters. Private records of the said period were often written in the regional languages in many parts of the country. There are many bilingual epigraphs in Sanskrit and one of the regional languages. Some records are written in more than one regional language. There are also inscriptions written in more than two languages.

2.1 MARATHI

The epigraphic material in Marathi is the most abundant and best documented among the NIA languages. It is estimated a total of some three hundred inscriptions in Marathi, of which about two hundred are from proper.

Among the Neo Indo Aryan languages, Marathi appears first in epigraphic records. One dof the earliest specimens of the is found in the Marmuri copper plate grant (1974) A.D. of the Chalukya prince IrivabedangaSatyasraya. Certain private records of the 11th Century, such as Dive Agar plate of 1060 A.D. and the SravanaBelagola epigraph of

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C.11198 A.D> are written in Marathi. In this connection, reference may also be made to the AmbeJogai (1144 A.D) Ranjali (1148 A.D), Chiplun (1156 A.D), Parel (1186 A.D), Navasem (1239 A.D) and Ranebennur (1252 A.D) Stone inscriptions. The earliest Marathi literary work in the Jnanesvari (the popular name of the Bhavarthadipika by Jnanadeva), a commentary on the Gita. Which was composed much later than some of the above records in 1296 A.D. The Velapur stone inscriptions of 1300 A.D.are slightly later than the date of the composition of the said work.

A number of epigraphs of the time of the AdilShahi Sultans are written in Marathi. Among bilingual inscriptions written in Marathi and another language, mention may be made of the Kandarpur plate of the Yadava King Jaitugi (1191 – 1210) A.D> and the Lepakshi (Anantapur District) temple inscription of the 16th C. both in Kannada and Marathi, the Cuddapah Telugu Marathi inscriptions. The Dabhoi inscription of 1652 A.D. records the purport of a farman of Muhammad Adil Shah of Bijapur. Two of the three Marathi inscriptions, discovered in the District containing dates in the Shahur years 979 (`1579A.D.), 1001 (1601A.D.) and 1010 have their Persian Counterparts The first of them mentions Ali Bardi (1542-79 A.D)

There are several copper plate grants in Marathi issued by Maratha rulers such as the chiefs of Tanjavur.

2.2 HINDI AND ITS DIALECTS AND ALLIED LANGUAGES

A number of Hindi inscriptions, mostly on images and hero or Sati stones, were discovered in the former Gwalior State now merged in . The earliest of these records is on a Jain image from the Shyopur region and the date in it has been tentatively read as V.S. 1078 (1022 A.D). The Bhonrasa (old Gwalior State) inscription of 1483 A.D referring to Sultan Ghiyasuddin of Malwas is written in Persian and Hindi. Among Hindi records of the time of the Gond rulers of Madhya Pradesh, reference may be made to a grant (1550A.D) of Dalpat Shah, son of Samgram Shah. The Damoh inscription of the time of Muhammad shah II of Malwa is dated in 1512 A.D.

There are many official and private records of the late medieval period, which are written in Hindi or one of its dialects. Among the dialects of Hindi, some late medieval copper plate grants issued by the Hindu rulers of the KumaunGarhwal region in the Himalayas are written in the local dialect.

Rajasthani was used by the rulers of the various states in Rajasthan in writing their official charters. An early charter in this dialect is the copper plate grant of GuhilaMokalasimha of Mewar, which is dated in V.S. 1431 (1375A>D) numerous private records in Rajasthani belonging to the late medieval period are found in different parts of Rajasthan.

There are a few copper plate grants of the rulers of Sambalpur, which are written in a dialect of Hindi. Late medieval private records in the various dialect of Hindi. Late medieval private records in the various dialects of this language have been discovered in large numbers.

Very few inscriptions in the Nepali language have so far been published. A few short Punjabi and Hindi epigraphs were found near Baku, USSR are studied and documented.

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2.3 GUJARATI

The language of a number of inscriptions, discovered in Kathiawar and belonging to the second half of the 14th Century, is an admixture of Sanskrit and Gujarati while, from about the middle of the 15th century, we have inscriptions in the Gujarati language written in the Nagari alphabet slightly modified by the later Gujarati or Bodiya script. Some of the earliest private records entirely written in the Gujarati Language, so far discovered from Kathiawar, are the Khambhad and Kutiyana inscriptions of 1474 A.D. The Gosa inscription of 1480 A.D> and the Khodu inscription of 1488 A.D.

There is a large number of similar late medieval private inscriptions in Gujarati while many of them are bilingual being written partly in Sanskrit or Persian and partly in Gujarati Records like the Sathod (Baroda District) inscription of 1369 A.D. are trilingual being written in Persian, Gujarati and Sanskrit. Most of the private Gujarati inscriptions are found engraved on hero or sati stones called Paliya in Gujarati.

Among later inscriptions in the Gujarati language mention may be made of the Borsad (1495 A.D) Lasundra (1522 A.D) Junraj (1621A.D) and Juna (1782 and 1794 A.D> inscriptions.

2.4 KASHMIRI (Kasmiri and Allied Dialects)

We have few epigraphic records in Kashmiri so far discovered and published. There are some written in an admixture of Sanskrit and Kakshmiri. The charters issued by the early rulers of Ghamba are written in Sanskrit. While those of the later rulers are mostly in the local dialect. There are also numerous private records in this dialect.

A large number of the official and unofficial records published recently by Dr. B. Ch. Chhabra in the Antiquities of Chamba State, Part II, are bilingual being written in Chambyali (Called Bhasha in the records) and Sanskrit. The bilingual charters of the Chamba rulers generally begin and end in Sanskrit while their middle portion consisting the deed proper is written in the local dialect.

2.5 ORIYA

After Marathi, Oriya is the most abundantly attested and important among the inscriptional Neo Indo Aryan languages. It is estimated that the number of Oriya inscriptions at 150. These records are found in various district of Orissa as well as in neighbouring district of , Madhya Pradesh and .

In Orissa, the influence of the Oriya language in inscriptions written in Sanskrit appears as early as the 10th century. Records, both private and royal, written entirely in Oriya appear in the 13th century. A few official charters of the later members of the Eastern Ganga dynasty such as the Puri plates of Narasimha IV (e. 1378-1402 A.D) are written partly in Sanskrit and partly in Oriya. Similar is the case with Gajapati charters like the Veligalani Grant of Kapileswara (i.e, 1435-66 A.D) which has a section in Oriya, its other sections being written in Sanskrit and Telugu. But we have the same king’s stone inscriptions, together with a number of records of his successors, in the Jagannatha temple as Puri, which are all the written wholly in Oriya. Some official charters of the Gajapati kings and many issued by the

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later rulers of Orissa are written entirely in Orissa. Private inscriptions in Oriya belonging to the late medieval period are numerous.

2.6 BENGALI

In the Bengali speaking area, Sanskrit was more popular than the regional language for official purposes. It has been suggested that lines 29-51 of the Bhatera copper plate grant are written in the Sylhet dialect of the Bengali language. But the language is really Sanskrit influenced by the local dialect as in the case of 13th Century inscriptions of Bengal and also of various other localities. The date of the epigraph has been read as Pandava 4328 (1245 A.D) or Kali 4151 (1049) A.D. the first of which is more probable.

Official and private records of the medieval period such as the Tripura Plate (1488 A.D) and Maharani Inscriptions of the reign Vijayamanikya the Dhurail inscription (1533 A.D.) of the time of Mahmud shah, the Muhammadpur stone inscription (1703 A.D) of Sharama-raya etc., are written in Sanskrit. The coins of the Tripura Kings and other ruling families of the Bengali speaking area and its neighbourhood, also have legends in the Sanskrit language.

Epigraphic records were written during the late medieval period in this area mostly in Sanskrit and only rarely in Bengali. Thus a few copper plate grants, such as those issued by king Govindamanikya (15th Century) of Tripura, are principally written in Bengali, although many of the charters issued by the Tripura kings including the successors of Govindamanikyaeg., Krisnamanikya (17th c) are written mainly in Sanskrit.Apart from the above in Bengali we have several dedicatory temple inscriptions, mostly from 18th and 19th centuries.

2.7 ASSAMESE

The Ahom kings of originally issued copper plate charters in the Ahom language. But, when their Hinduisation was more or less complete, they adopted Sanskrit and Assamese as their official languages. The charters of the later Ahom rulers are written partly in Sanskrit and Partly in Assamese. They are dated in the Saka eta. The coins of the early rulers have Legends in the Ahom language and alphabet while the legends on the coins of the later kings are in Sanskrit in Assamese Bengali characters exactly as their epigraphic records are. Among the Sanskrit Assamese copper plate grants known to us, mention may be made of those (I) of Sivasimha and his queen Ambika granted in 1732 (A.D) and renewed by Rajesvarasimha in 1760 A.D. (2) of Laksmisimha issued in 1775 A.D. and (3) of Gaurinathasimha issued in 1892 A.D. The stone inscriptions of the time of the later Ahom kings are generally in Sanskrit.

3. INDO-MUSLIM EPIGRAPHY:

Indo-Muslim inscriptions in Arabic and Persian are available in India from the last decade of the 12th Century A.D. The earliest epigraphs were found in the Qutb. Premises at , the Arhai Din KaJhonpra at Ajmer and the tomb of Shah NimatullahShashid at Hansi. The number of records of the subsequent centuries is large. But it is the largest in the 16th and 17th centuries. Later inscriptions in Arabic and Persian are not so numerous. Punjab, , Bengal, Bombay and Hyderabad are comparatively rich in Indo Muslim inscriptions while Tamilnadu is the poorest. Among single places yielding a large number of inscriptions

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mention may be made of Bijapur, Delhi, Ahmedabad, FatehpurSikri and Agra, Ajmer, , Hansi, Gaur, Biharsharif, and Pandua and Malda.

Indo Muslim inscriptions are generally found on mosques, tombs and similar religious buildings and give the date of their construction or repairs often with the names of the reigning monarch and the builder or repairer. There are some deeds of endowment made in favour of mosques and other religious institutions for their maintenance. Occasionally we find them removed from their original places. Epitaphs sometimes appear on mosques and inscriptions relating to mosques on graves. Another kind of Indo-Muslim epigraphs are those recording the construction or repairs of forts, bastions, fort walls, gate ways, roads, granaries etc. There are also some administrative records containing orders or mandates proclaiming the abolition of taxes and prohibition of undesirable practices or relating to the amelioration of public grievances. A few inscriptions appear on stones indicating boundaries or a slabs commemorating the visit of eminent personages or their halt at particular places. Some such stone slabs of Akbar’s time, mostly carved by Mir Mohammad MasumNambi or Bakkar, commemorate the Mughal emperors’ expedition to and conquest of Khandesh and the Deccan as well as his halts at various places in the course of his journeys. Some inscription are also found on slabs attached to tanks, wells, schools, palaces, gardens, bridges, caravansaries etc.,

Besides stone inscriptions, and, of course, also the legends on coins, there are inscriptions on arms, seals, signets, vases, vessels, precious stones, etc. A few inscriptions on guns and swords have been published. The Muslim rulers did not generally engrave their records on copper plates, through a few copper plate inscriptions are also available.

3.1 LANGUAGE

The majority of Indo Muslim inscriptions are written in Persian. Many of them are in Arabic and some partly in Arabic and partly in Persian. There is another kind of bilingual records which are written in Arabic or Persian on the one hand and Sanskrit or a regional language like Marathi, Kannada or Telugu on the other. Inscriptions in more languages than two are also known. The earliest Indo-Muslim inscriptions are in Arabic except the epigraph in the Quwwatu’IIslam mosque at Delhi, which is written in Arabic and Persian. Its date is 1191-92 A.D. though it may have been set up some years later. Arabic continued to be the language of Indo-Muslim epigraphy till the latest decades of the 13th Century. But, with the rise of the Khaljis, from about the beginning of the 14th Century, Persian is found more frequently in epigraphical records and its popularity gradually increased, through Arabic was not totally ousted since religious inscription’s continued to be written in that language. Arabic was more popular than Persian in Bengal. With the establishment of Mughal rule in India in the 16th Century, Persian began to be generally used in State records as well as in inscriptions and, in the first half of the 18th century, it ousted Arabic almost completely. There is an inscription of the middle of the 18th Century.

With few exceptions, the Arabic inscriptions are in prose, of the versified records in Arabic, one dated 1313-14 A.D. from Tribeni (Hoogli District West Bengal) in the earliest of its kind in India. It also provides the earliest chronogram among Indo Muslim inscriptions. Earlier Persian inscriptions are generally in prose. The earliest dated inscription in Persian verse is the Hansi epigraph of AlauddinKhalji. Versified Persian inscriptions became more common

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at a later date. The majority of the inscriptions are not good literary compositions and exhibit grammatical inaccuracy and disregard for the rules of prosody.

4. CONCLUSION:

Thus, the above study reveals and gives an overall picture about various languages that emerged after post Gupta period i.e, 5th CAD. All along the regional languages Sanskrit also continued as an inscriptional language. Its importance in official, as well as, in private circles never diminished. Large number of inscriptions in thousands has come to light, especially among Dravidian languages. Tamil inscriptions are more in number. They have enriched history of different regions. Similarly, Neo Indo Aryan languages which appeared in different part, of North India, though at later periods, have immensely contributed in enriching our history and culture Perso-Arabic inscription have also contributed distinctly our Medieval Indian History.

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