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. 1 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, Hindi, Arabic, Keywords Oriya, Kannada, 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 Dravidian languages 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 Jainism. 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 2 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 Kerala 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 3 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 Badami is one of the earliest records in the Kannada language. The Halmidi 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 Aihole inscription (634 A.D) which may be slightly later than the main record. In the recent years excavations conducted at Talagunda, Shimoga District, Karnataka 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 Vijayanagara. 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 4 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.