RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

IN SANSKRIT

VI SEMESTER
CORE COURSE: SKT6 B19

B.A. SANSKRIT
(2019 Admission onwards)
CBCSS

UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT
School of Distance Education,
Calicut University P.O.,
Malappuram - 673 635, Kerala.

19228
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UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT
School of Distance Education
Study Material
VI Semester
Core Course (SKT6 B19)
B.A. SANSKRIT

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY IN
SANSKRIT
Prepared by:
Dr. K. Indira
Assistant Professor,
School of Distance Education,
University of Calicut.
Srutinized by:
Dr. Pushpadasan Kuniyil,
Associate Professor,
Sanskrit Sahithya & Director,
Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Koyilandi.

DISCLAIMER
“The author(s) shall be solely responsible for the
content and views expressed in this book”

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Module –I 5
What is research - kinds of research- critical study,
historical study, manuscript study, comparative study.
Etc.
Module-II 68
Transliteration, foot notes and endnotes, Plagiarism

Module –III 89
Selection of a research problem- collection of
materials- primary and secondary sources- taking notes

Module – IV 96
Thesis format
The preliminaries – the text- references- appendix-
bibliography

Essential reading
Methodology in Indocogical Research by Dr.
M. Srimannarayana Murthi, Bharatiya Vidya
Prakashan, Delhi.
MLA Hand book for Writers of Research Papers ,
Joseph Gibaldi, EWp, Affiliated East West Press pvt
ltd. New Delhi.

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Module –I

What is research - kinds of research- critical study,

historical study, manuscript study, comparative study.
Etc.
Nature of Research in Sanskrit
Studies of Sanskrit gained new perspective and utility
since the introduction of Sanskrit into Europe during the
eighteenth century. Till that time Sanskrit was studied by
both the Indians and foreigners from the same traditional
point of view of ancient Indians. The shift in approach
during the 18th century was caused by the general
philosophical revolution called 'Enlightenment' in Europe.
The literature of every known nation came to be viewed
and studied by the Europeans since that time in a
pragmatic way strictly confining to empirical facts.
Before the age of Enlightenment the Europeans were
also led by the traditional thinking of the Christianity
and the philosophy of the Graeco-Roman philosophers.

Graeco-Roman and Indian philosophers

Even though the Graeco-Roman and Indian traditions
have no mutual influences, there are several similarities in
their vision of life and thinking. The Greeks and their
Roman disciples have discussed politics, economics,
sociology, ethics, morals, linguistics, literature and literary
criticism as parts of philosophy. The Indians discussed
these subjects while dealing with ritual. For them all the
discussions were roving round the science of sacrifice in
the formof either favourable or adverse criticism. Thus the
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ritual in the form of sacrifice became the foundation for

all the socio- religious structure of Vedic society. Even the
aesthetic experience derived from the literature becomes
acceptable only when it could be located in the
epistemological and ontological categories of the Vedic
religion and mythology. Similarly the Greek philosopher
Plato discusses in detail the art of poetry in his
philosophical discussions.
Enlightenment Age
During the period of Enlightenment attempts were
made to disconnect the empirical matters from the non-
factual philosophical speculations. This movement
gained strength by the industrial revolution in England,
which weakened faith in religion and theology. As a
result the social sciences like Economics, Politics,
Sociology and Psychology emerged by applying pure
reasoning and logic. Several techniques were developed
to pursue studies at the empirical level. When Sanskrit
was introduced during this time, they were fascinated by
the rich literature. They employed some of their
techniques to Sanskrit, which promoted studies in
Sanskrit from various points of view and preparation of
several critical editions. These studies and editions,
indeed, became very much helpful to the European
rulers to transform the Indian society on the one hand
and. to achieve their ends on the other.

Effects of modem approach

The new type of approach to the study of classical
languages brought in a rapid change in the social
awareness of every nation. The search for human
values through the comparative religions on’ the one
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hand and comparative literatures on the other eave new

insights in the thinking of every nation against the
traditional concept of winning supremacy of one over
the other by muscle strength and military power.
Investigations into the human values gave enough
evidences for the existence of certain mentality for each
nation developed through generations by evolution. These
mentalities draw distinctions among different nations. The
value attached to any particular social institution could be
understood only when viewed from the total mentality of
the nation.
National characteristics of Indians
We may, for illustration, enlist certain characteristic
features of the Indian nation: (1) Indian civilization has
its roots in an ancient heritage, (2) The realm of nature
and the realm of man are hardly distinguished, (3)
Thought is wrapped in imagination, (4) Logical
reasoning is blended with irrational tendencies and
mysticism,
(5) The men of wisdom have a bent of mind for
speculation and transcendental experience, (6) Every
man is concerned with himself, his nature a nd destiny,
(7) The civilization is characterized by the unity in
diversity, by homogeneity in utmost variety and
complexity, by a multitude of language
(8) There are enormous differences in religion and social
customs beliefs and practices. They vary from region to
region, from place to place and from class to class. (9)
The view of life is characterized by (a) the belief in a
fundamental principle (say brahman), (b) the recognition
of a pristine body of religious literature as an absolute
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authority (c) a craving for a firm foundation on which to

build one’s life and ideas (d) the acceptance of the
doctrine of rebirth and transmigration, and (e) the
conviction that man's best endeavour should be directed
towards escaping from impermanence or final liberation
(moksa), and (10) A complex 'polytheism’
subsumed in a fumdamental monotheism.

Utility of Research in Sanskrit

Why we should know about the past of a country by
unravelling many confusing facts is a basic question
posed against the studies in classical languages like
Sanskrit, Greek and Latin. It is neither an entertaining
recreation nor a leisure time curiosity. It offers an
opportunity of a unique intellectual experience of high
educational value. This understanding can enrich a
man’s life by deeper insights into his own behaviour.
Even the nations look for the past, for the nationalism is
an outcome of the past which is reflected in the form of
classical literature, folklore, traditions, common beliefs,
experiences and aspirations. Not only individuals but
also states and nations cherish to identify themselves
in terms of their origin. The whole of the present is the
result of the whole of the past is a strong belief held by
men of all times and nations. The present becomes
meaningful when it is to bear upon the past. Thus to
link the present closely with the past and to explore the
past with only the present in mind become most purposive
research. The cultural change is the aim of every nation
for the benefit of its people.

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What is Culture?
Culture is the mode of life of a given nation or of a
group or of an individual formed by blending the
materialistic values and the mentality of the people. The
materialistic growth brought by the industrial, scientific
and technological advancement cannot by itself lead to
happiness. It should go hand in glove with the mentality
of the people. The mentality of the people is not a
sudden reaction to a given situation, but it is a mode of
life ingrained into the community through generations.
Any change in the mentality may occur through
evolution but not by revolution. Revolution may bring
political change or transfer of power, but the mentality
of the people do continue. For the same reason the
Indian mentality characterised as above, continued
through generations, in spite of continuous foreign
inroads. But a social change to achieve higher material
growth can be envisaged so long as it does not interfere
with the mentality of the people. Exactly for this reason
the past of the nation is to be known.

Need for Sanskrit

The sources of knowing the culture of any nation are 1)
the behaviour of the natives, (2) traditions and customs
(3) archaeological and epigraphical evidences and (4)
language and literature. The behaviour of the natives is
directly verifiable and hence becomes the essential
source at the starting point of the inquiry. But it does
not focus any thing on the past. The traditions and
customs change from time to time and place to place
because of socio-economic reasons and environment.
They speak of history only when they are related with
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other sources of culture. The archaeological an

epigraphical evidences are unfailing sources of culture,
but they cannot foreshadow anything beyond their date.
For example we have no clear inscriptional evidence
dating back to third century

B.C. The archaeological survivals in the Harappa and

Mohenjodaro excavations still pose serious problems
regarding their origin. The language and literature is the
only source to know of any nation when the others fail.
The Vedic literature is very ancient and the Rgveda, the
earliest known text of the Indians, is dating back to
about 2000 B.C. From this we have continuous and
uninterrupted literature. Most of it, particularly on
sciences, religion and philosophy, is available in
Sanskrit. Without a thorough knowledge of Sanskrit any
real success cannot be hoped in breaking down the
knots in the cultural history of India. Further the
intellectual achievements of the nation can directly be
known through Sanskrit because of the simple reason
that language is the direct reflection of the mentality of
its speakers. The large number of studies on Indian
culture made on the basis of Sanskrit literature during
the last and present centuries speaks of the value of
Sanskrit. Still there remains much to be done to fill
in gaps in the historical development. Many problems
still remain unsolved for want of adequate evidences
and many issues are yet to be historically structured.
Any convincing solution could be possible only by
promoting research in Sanskrit.

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Scope of Research in Sanskrit

The research in Sanskrit consists of two levels. The first
level is the preparation of critical editions of
unpublished or improperly edited texts, and the second
the cultural studies, which areto be carried out
systematically by applying certain techniques and
norms.

Critical editions
Books written by various authors of different periods are
the primary carriers of materials for research. The
availability of the maximum number of facts drawn from
these books increases the validity of conclusions. Many
of the books written in India still remain in the form of
manuscripts without being published. A good number of
them were irrecoverably lost by ravages of time and many
manuscripts in the private collections still remain
unknown to the scholarly world. Their value in building
up the cultural history is incalculable, even if many of
them may not be of any direct and immediate use. Gaps in
the evolution of several traditions, practices, customs,
religious faiths can be filled in by making available all
the books to needy scholars. The conjectures made on
the available scanty facts can be confirmed or made
probable or rejected with these works. This makes
possible one day to rewrite history of India exclusively on
the basis of literary evidences. Preparing critical editions
of books has been recognized as an active research
activity deserving for the award of a research degree. But
the editions are to be made according to the accepted
norms and standards of textual criticism.

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CULTURAL STUDIES
Any topic of research becomes a cultural study when it
is related to the applied fields of specialization like
literary criticism, sociology, economics, ethics and
morals, law, astronomy and astrology, physical and
natural sciences, linguistics, psychology, religion and
philosophy and area studies. The successes and failures,
the vices and virtues of the social life of a nation,
society or group of individuals can be projected and
illustrated. Further the topic of research should be in
such a way that the results arrived at, on successful
completion of the programme, have some relevancy to
the present day. In other words they should necessarily
bear some consequent application in the social,
political, ethical, philosophical, cultural and scientific
progress of the nation. For example a sociological study
should help to promote (1) awareness of the
multidimensional roles played by men and women in
society, (2) the process of social, technological and
environmental changes, (3) pursuit of human rights, (4)
investigations into the causes of disparities, and (5)
employment of all classes of people to effective
participation in all areas of social development. Therefore,
ne who is interested in the sociological aspect of our
nation may examine any of the following aspects:
1. Social Background: Education, occupations,
supernatural beliefs, preconceptions, biases and beliefs,
loss of social status in face of the growing power of
organized groups, religion and philosophy.
2. Social evils, crime and punishment: Inadequate
and costly city utilities, vanity, general corruption,
corrupt bosses inefficiency, prostitution, lawless liquor
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trade, abatement of crime, juvenile delinquency,

exploitation of labour, imbalanced tax system.
3. Politics and state: Political devices, protection of the
general public and the individual from each other.
4. Health: Disease, creation of parks, playground and
efficient social services, pure food habits.
5. Civic amenities: Decent, healthy and enjoyable
places to live in, efficient social services.
6. Women: Birth of a daughter, education,
marriage, dowry system, bride price, polygamy,
polyandry and remarriage, sex morality, female slaves
and servants, inheritance, religious life, role in religious
practices, domestic life, ill treatment, protection laws
both at home and at work.
Likewise an area study also is another subject of interest
for which materials are plenty. Because of political
reasons, the religions in India are often characterized by
distinct economic peculiarities and sometimes by social
and ideological peculiarities. The value of studying
various movements within India is significant and
fruitful. The study of social groups and classes
emphasizes their feelings, aspirations and frustrations.
The techniques to be employed for the study of each
topic differ in details depending upon the availability of
sources and the imagination of the researcher. The
methodologies of research discussed in the following
pages are to acquaint the beginner of the different
trends and to give some general guidelines to begin with
the research.

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HISTORICAL METHOD
The word history is from the Greek word historia which
originally meant learning by inquiry, research, exploration
or information. Later it took on the connotative sense of
the results of research, a verbal or written account. Now it
is used in English in different shades of meaning like
(1) a narrative of incidents which may be either true or
imaginary, (2) a written record consisting of narratives
arranged in order of time relating to the past events of a
country, people, individual, etc.,
(3) the accounts given of that past based on certain
modes of investigation, and (4) the branch of
knowledge dealing with past events. We are here
concerned mainly with the history used in the second
and third senses. The difference between the second
and the third senses is very significant; while the
intuitive tendencies are more in the second, critical
approach is aimed at in the third. Several techniques of
investigation were developed for the study and
description of tire past happenings. The discipline is
called historical methodology or historiography.
Aim of the historical method
The historical method is evolved to know the past as
much as we can of the people or the nations, as
accurately and precisely as possible we can. This
historical knowledge provides a connected, coherent
and intelligible form of knowledge about the past by
which the social structure in its entirety can be
explained. Further one will be able to recapture the
mentality and atmosphere of even remote times. This
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method further aims at to link the present closely with

the past. Thus one has to explore the past with only
present in mind. Then the inquiry is for the benefit of
the present. For example the utility of the historical
understanding of the past incalculable in wars and
dangers. Similarly it is needed to plan is for the
development of several sociopolitical institutions like
parliament, the growth of religious tolerance, etc.
Requisites of a researcher
It requires great imaginative effort to understand the
thinking and behaviour of men of remote past, for the
changes and their consequences occurred through
centuries are to be properly analyzed. The researcher
should be able to distinguish between legends about 'what
happened' and 'what really happened'. In the same way the
traditional beliefs and superstitions are to be kept away,
because the historical method demands fundamental
changes in interpretation and understanding. Similarly
providence, the hand of God, divine purpose and so on do
not find place in the investigation. Bias is a natural enemy
for correct perspective. Nationalism and patriotism which
are brought in a person by his social environment and
upbringing effect the attitude of the researcher leading to
intellectual distortion.
Free thinking is an essential requisite for the researcher.
Similarly no attempt should be made to moralize the
account. He must be able to have a continued
intellectual questioning. He must also be ready to
challenge even the best established convention if he has
adequate facts to support his stand. Thus the aim of the
researcher is (1) to eliminate the haphazard and

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slipshod form of historical learning, (2) to destroy

inaccuracy and error, and (3) to formulate accurate
accounts on the basis of proven and verifiable facts. To
achieve these ends the researcher has to follow certain
procedures.

Procedures of the historical methodology

The formulation of a theme and working hypothesis is the
first task of the researcher, on the basis of which he
collects all the probable facts in the light of existing
knowledge. The researcher has to go on searching for
further sources of information in order to supplement what
he had already. By this he will be able to fill in gaps or to
verify the validity of those suppositions already arrived
at. The hypothesis may have to be modified or restated or
abandoned in favour of another on the basis of the
interpretation and explanation of facts. Interpretation of
facts means arranging them into a narrative, emphasizing
sequence in time. It gives us a straight political,
constitutional, diplomatic and cultural history.
Explanation of facts means identification of the relation of
cause and effect of the consequences. It supplies
interconnection with other contemporary happenings to
know how a situation arose.
Fact is anything that exists or has happened. The fact
must be distinguished from the truth. Truth is a
statement or proposition concluded on the basis of
facts. The truth may be objective or probable. The
objective truth is that which is concluded on
corroborative facts. A probable truth is that which is
surmised or inferred without corroborative facts. The
facts again do not speak themselves. They speak only

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when right questions are asked. The skill of the

researcher in arranging the incoherent pieces of facts
decides the outcome of the investigation.
The historical truth is always liable for change
depending upon the facts that are brought for
consideration. Therefore the researcher has to strive
hard to collect all facts, whatsoever trivial they may be,
which can be used as evidences. The sources of facts
are literary compositions, diplomatic and donative
inscriptions engraved on stone or copper plates or
written on palm-leaf and paper. The researcher must be
able to use his commonsense to determine who
produced a document, when and why he produced it,
what has been its fate since it was produced and the
mutual relationship of the documents. This
investigation is essential because the facts that are
collected may be real or fictitious by forgeries. So the
researcher has to use his discrimination to identify the
genuine records and discard all those which are
spurious and doubtful. Therefore not being led away by
the face value of the document, it is to be decided
whether a given document deserves to be used as a
source. He must consider the most that can be said for
and against any hypothesis and relative weight of
evidence on either side before drawing conclusions of
the truth. The history of any social institution is
concerned with change. The researcher has to analyze
situations and explore their sequence and causes for
the change of one into the other. He must find out
everything that could be responsible for the change by
examining everything that could be identified.
Therefore, in view of the complexity of human
behaviour, it is always advisable to take up specialized
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studies relating to a particular period, or particular

sources or topics.

Illustration
Let us illustrate with one problem, which still remains
fully unsolved, regarding the origin of the founders of
the Vijayanagara empire and the capital Vijayanagara
or Vidyanagara. There are two groups of scholars
holding different views regarding their origin. While
some scholars like R.Sewell1, K.A.Neelakanta Sastri,
N. Venkataramanayya, V.A. Smith, and A.K. Warder
hold that Harihara and Bukka were of Telugu origin
and founded the capital and the empire in A.D. 1336,
others like H.Heras, B.A. Salatore, S. Krishnaswami
Aiyangar, Vasundhara Filliozat, and Hermann Kulke
hold that they were of Karnataka origin and the
kingdom was in continuation of the Hoysaia dynasty.
Both the theories were developed on the basis of certain
facts collected from literary and epigraphica,
evidences, which are mutually denounced by the
rival groups.
Some of the points held by the theorists of Andhra
origin are as follows:
1. There are inscriptions which date the foundation
of Vijayanagara in the years A.D. 1336. There are also
some copper plates which refer to the capital as
Vidyanagara. There is one autobiography known as
Vidyaranyakdlajmna composed by Vidyaranya himself,
which describes the events synchronizing with those
mentioned in the inscriptions. There is also another
literary workVidyaranyavrttanta, which gives the
biography of Vidyaranya.
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2. On the basis of the above evidences it is held that

Harihara and Bukka served at Warangal in the court of
Prataparudra and fled to Kampili when Warangal was
conquered by the future Delhi Sultan Muhammad
Tughluq in 1323. When Kampili also fell in 1327 in
the hands of the soldiers of the Delhi Sultan
Muhammad Tughluq, they were taken as prisoners of
war to Delhi, where they were converted to Islam. They
were sent back to Kampili by the Delhi Sultan to rule
over the area on his behalf.
3. Returning to Kampili they took the lead of the
spiritual leader Vidyaranya, under whose guidance they
reverted to Hinduism, proclaimed independence and
founded a new city. Vidyaranya had a pivotal role in the
foundation of Vijayanagara. The city was also named
Vidyanagara commemorating the role of Vidyaranya in
the establishment of the kingdom.
4. Harihara celebrated his coronation in Hindu style
on 18th April 1336. Now the brothers overran and
annexed the neighbouring kingdom of Hoysalas. They
took over the whole territory after the death of the
Hoysala king Ballala III.
5. To commemora te their success over the Hoysala
s, Harihara, Bukka and other members of the Sangama
family met at Sringeri and celebrated a 'victory festival'
vijayotsava. This vijayotsava took place in the year
1346, the same year in which Ballala IV died.
Some of the points held by the exponents of the theory
of Karnataka origin are as follows:

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1. The evidences shown for Andhra origin are

inadequate. The inscriptions mentioning thedateoi
Vijayanagara and Vidyanagara for Vijayanagara are
spurious. They were fabricated at Sringeri in the_16t_h
century under its mahant and jagadguru Ramacandra
Bharatf (1508-1560). The traditional accounts are not
reliable and they do not date back to the 14th century.
The so called autobiography Vidyaranyakdlajnana is
not older than A.D. 1580. Thus the history is to be
builton the basis of other inscriptions and literary
evidences only.
2. Harihara and Bukka were of indigenous origin
and former feudatory chiefs of the last Hoysala kings
Ballala III and Ballala IV. They were in charge of
defending the northern frontiers. Thus there is no truth
in the conversion to Islam and reversion to Hinduism of
Harihara and Bukka.
3. Vidyaranya had no role to play during the early
years of the struggle of Harihara and Bukka for
dominance over the south. Even if there were any
influence of Vidyaranya, it was very insignificant. The
city Vijayanagara was already in existence. It was
founded by Ballala III and known variously as
Hosapattana, Virupaksapattana and
Vijayavirupaksapura. It came to be known by the
present name Vijayanagara since A.D. 1357.
4. Harihara was not coronated in 1336, as the
inscription which mentions this date is spurious.
Harihara held the typical title of mahdmandalesvara
'Great Tributary Lord' and thus maintained his loyalty
to his former sovereign of the Hoysala dynasty. It was

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Bukka who bore the title maharajadh i raja -pa ram esva
ra 'the Chief king of the great kings; the Most Excellent
Lord' in 1468. Harihara and Bukka, did not, indeed,
overrun the Hoysala dynasty. They maintained cordial
relationship with them. When the sovereignty of the
Hoysala family became weak because of other political
reasons they took opportunity to establish a kingdom of
their own.They had all support and encouragement
from the Hoysala family.
5. The vijayotsava was held at Sringeri in 1346 by
the members of the Sangama family in order to
solemnize the authority of Harihara and Bukka to carry
on the work of the Hoysalas and to defend the Hindus
on the South. Thus Kikkayitai, the dowager queen of
the late Ballala III participated in this function and also
donated land to the sage Bharatitirtha of Sringeri. The
Vijayanagara kingdom was officially founded in A.D.
1347.
The exponents of both the theories have no difference
of opinion regarding the development of the
Vijayanagara kingdom after A.D. 1347. Regarding the
historical situation between A.D. 1336 and 1346 no
precise conclusion could be arrived at so far. Further
researches are being conducted and books are also
being published advocating either of the theories. For
example while a book entitled Vijayamgara-City and
Empire-New Currents of Research edited by Anna
Libera Dallapiccola was published in 1985 in favour of
the Karnataka theory, M. Kripacharyulu published in
1986 a monograph Sayana and Mddhava-Vidyaranya in
support of the Andhra origin.

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The above illustration shows how the issues get

complicated for want of precise and definite evidences
on the one hand, and how difficult it would be on the
other to decide the authenticity of any evidence even if
collected. But a genuine researcher has to proceed
without any prejudice in his pursuit of search for truth
on the basis of facts.

MANUSCRIPTS STUDY
The main sources of our knowledge of ancient Indian
culture and history are manuscripts, epigraphs, coins,
architecture, sculpture and painting. A proper
recognition of the value of these sources is equally
important for a devoted study. Each of the sources
provide a counter check to eliminate obscure episodes,
confirm known events, correct wrong concepts or
identifications, brighten up blurred points, flood
unfocussed'aspects, and produce finally a clear and
authentic narration. The sanskritist is pre- eminently
concerned with manuscripts. The information collected
from the manuscripts forms the basic material for
further research based on other sources like epigraphs.
To produce a critical, authentic and purposive research
document, the sanskritist has to know the nature and
value of manuscripts, the scripts and materials used
therein.
Every work that has been discovered and identified is of
great value; for, the publication of which may likely
revolutionize the whole existing concept on a particular
topic and add new dimensions to interpretation. For
example the dicovery of Kautilya's Arthasaslra, Bhasa's
plays, Bharata's Natyasastra, Bhoja's Srhgaraprakdsa,

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Vijjika's Kaumudmahotsava, Bhartrhari's

Mahabhasyatikd and Vdkyapadfya, etc., have
contributed to the understanding of the cultural history
of our country. There are many more works in different
branches of knowledge belonging to different periods of
history, still in the form of manuscripts. The existence
of several works known through references is yet to be
determined. Thus every ancient work, however
insignificant it may be from the point of view of
content and treatment, needs the attention of the
Sanskrit scholars.
Writing in India: There are no clear evidences to
determine precisely the beginnings Of the script and art
of writing in ancient India. The earliest specimens of
writing in the form of seals is found in the Indus Valley
excavations; but this script is not properly deciphered
till today. The literary references in the Vedic as well as
the Buddhist and Jain literatures confirm to the
existence of the art of writing in India from very ancient
times. But we do not have any deciphered specimens of
writing going back to such an antiquity. The royal
edicts of the Mauryan Emperor Asoka (272-236 B.C.)
are the earliest precisely datable records so far
discovered and deciphered. There are some records and
coins assigned to pre- Asoka period, namely fourth and
fifth centuries B.C., but scholars are not unanimous
regarding the dates of these records. Thus the Asoka
inscriptions form the starting point for the scientific
study of the art of writing and evolution of scripts.
The Asoka inscriptions are available in two distinct
scripts, namely the Brahmi and the Kharosthi.
Excluding two inscriptions in the Kharosthi fall the rest

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of Asoka inscriptions are in the Brahmi script. On

epigraphic grounds it is supposed that the Brahmi
script should have existed in the sixth century B.C. It
is because, even in the days of Asoka there were
several varieties of the Brahmi script. Another
special feature of the Asoka inscriptions is that all of
them were in Prakrit. The early inscriptions which
followed those of Asoka were also in Prakrit. So the
scholars are of the opinion that the Brahmi script was
designed for the Prakrit language. But in later times this
script was used to write inscriptions in Sanskrit also.
Furthermore the Brahmi script became popular all
over the country and the Kharosthi script was
practically ousted out of use. There are very few
specimens like the Kharosthi Dhammapada (also called
Prakrta Dhammapada) consisting of fragments of birch-
bark dating circa first century A.D., besides the two
Asoka inscriptions written in the Kharosthi at
Shahbazgarhi (nine miles from Mardan, Peshawar
District) and Mansehra (Hazara district) in Pakistan.
All the scripts used in writing manuscripts in India are
derived from the Brahmi script with some alterations and
developments in the ligatures and curves. Today we
find the Sanskrit manuscripts written in (1) Sarada, (2)
Devanagari, (3) Nandinagari, (4) Nepali, (5)
Bengali, (6) Maithili, (7) Oriya, (8) Grantha, (9)
Malayalam, (10) Telugu and (11) Kannada.

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Development of Scripts From the Brahmi

Brahmi (c. 600 B.C.)

Northern Brahmi Southern Brahmi (Gupta

alphabet, 5th cent. B.C.) (Dra'vidi) 5th cent. B.C.)

Western Gupta Eastern Gupta alphabet

alphabet

(l)Sarada Nagari
(A.D. 800) (7th cent.)

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Nagari

(2) Devanagari Proto-Southern Proto-Eastem

(Northern Nagari) Nagari Nagari
(8th cent.)
Southern Nagari (13-16th cent.)

(3)Nandinagari

(4) Nepali Proto-Bengali

(11th cent.) (11th cent.)

(5) Bengali (6) Maithili (7) Oriya

Southern Brahmi(from first division)

Kannada-Telugu script (Verigi script, 4th cent. A.D.)

Proto-Grantha Proto-Telugu Proto-Kannada

(7th cent.) (10th cent.) (10th cent.)

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Proto-Grantha Proto-Telugu Proto-Kannada

10) Telugu (11) Kannada (15th

(8) Grantha (9) Malayalam (15th cent.) cent.

The Brahmi script got separated into the Northern

Brahmi and the Southern Brahmi by about fifth century

B.C. The Northern Brahmi alphabet of the fourth and
fifth centuries B.C., commonly called the Gupta
alphabet continued with several deviations upto the end
of the fifth century A.D. The Bower MS of the fifth
centuryA.D. was written in this Gupta alphabet. It has
split into the western and the eastern varieties. The
western variety of the Gupta alphabet is represented by
the Bilsad Prasasti of
A.D. 415, while the eastern variety is represented by
Harisena's Allahabad Prasasti (between A.D. 370 and
390). The western Gupta alphabet gave birth to the
Sarada script by about A.D. 800 and it appears in
Kashmir and in the north-eastern Panjab. Buehler
opines that the Bakhshali MS found in the Yusufzai
district in Kashmir was the earliest specimen of Sarada
script belonging to the eighth century.
The eastern Gupta alphabet developed into Nagari by
about seventh century. This gave again rise by about
eighth century to three varieties called by names the
Northern Nagari, the Proto- Southern Nagari and the
Proto-Eastern Nagari. The Northern Nagari, also called
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Devanagari, got developed and extensively used in the

northern and central India from eighth century as a
distinct variety. The copper plate of the Maharaja
Vinayakapala of Mahodaya, probably of A.D. 794, is
the earliest specimen of this script.1 This script became
so popular after A.D. 950 that it was used in the whole
of North India. For example a number of manuscripts
from Nepal belonging to the eleventh and twelfth
centuries show the Northern Nagari.
Corresponding to the northern sister, a Proto-Southern
Nagari developed during the same period of eighth to
eleventh centuries. It developed during the thirteenth to
sixteenth centuries and was used in the inscriptions of
the Vijayanagara Empire. 11 still survives in the
Balbodh or Devanagari of the Maratha districts. This
has produced in the Karnataka region another variety
called Nandinaganj which is still used for writing
manuscripts in Karnataka.
Towards the end of the eleventh century the Proto-
Eastern Nagari underwent further changes in Eastern
India resulting in two scripts, Nepali and Proto-
Bengali. The Cambridge manuscript No. 1691 of A.D.
1179 is the best specimen of the Nepali. The Nepali
script is preserved in Nepal and Tibet. The Proto-
Bengali and Nepali are closely connected and bear
several similarities. For example the British Museum
manuscript: Oriental No. 1439 of A.D. 1286 written in
Nepali shows the Bengali influence. The Cambridge
manuscripts No. 1699, 1, 2 of A.D. 1198-99 are the
specimens of the Proto-Bengali. From the Proto-
Bengalf arederived the Bengali) Maithili and Oriya.
While the Bengali is used in Bengal, the Maithili is

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used in Northern Bihar and Oriya in Orissa. These three

again bear very dose similarities in the ligatures and
curves of the alphabet.
Southern Brahmi
The history of South Indian palaeography and
manuscriptology beset with obscurity for want of
continuous records. In the first is place, as evidenced by
several literary records, the palm-leaf is the chief writing
material at least from the time of Buddhism. But
unfortunately no manuscript of antiquity, as in the case
of some north Indian manuscripts, came to the notice of
researchers. Burnell opines that a Kannada manuscript
he identified to be belonging to A.D. 1428 is the oldest
palm-leaf in South India. No autograph of any author
belonging to the medieval period could be located in
any manuscript collection upto date. Therefore we are
left with only inscriptions for the historical account of
the South Indian Brahmi. This Southern Brahmi is
called Dravida-lipi in the Buddhist work Lalitavistara
and Damili, a Prakrit form of the Sanskrit Dravida in
the Jaina works the Pannavanasutra, Samavayangasutra
and Bhagavati sutra. The Bhattiprolu (near Amaravati
in the Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh) relic- casket
inscription, assigned a date earlier than that of Asoka
inscriptions, is the oldest record of the South Indian
script. The precisely datable inscriptions are, in fact,
those of Asoka found in South India. The most
important are those inscriptions found at Yarragudi in
Andhra Pradesh and Jaugada in Orissa.6 Besides these
Asoka inscriptions there is not a South Indian
inscription, which can be accepted as genuine with a
date before the middle of the fourth century A.D. The

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earliest inscriptions belong to the dynasties of Early

Pallavas (A.D. 350-500), Salankayanas (c.A.D. 350-
500), Visnukundis (A.D. 440-616), Vengi Calukyas
(A.D. 624-1061) in Andhradesa and Western Gangas
(A.D. 400-475), Kadambas (A.D. 345-580), Badami
Calukyas (A.D. 543-745) in Karnataka. The script in
which these inscriptions were engraved is called
Kannada- Telugu script. This name is coined to stand
in contradistinction to the name 'Gupta script' for the
Northern Brahmi. It is also called Vengi script by some
palaeographers. Both the names, namely Kannada-
Telugu and Vengi were applied to the Southern Brahmi
simply because the copper- plates of the Salankayanas
who ruled over the region with Vengi as capital were
the earliest South Indian inscriptions known to the
European Indologists. This script was in use not only in
the Andhra and Karnataka regions, but also in the
whole of South India lying south of Vindhyas. All the
inscriptions issued by the Pallavas (A.D. 550- 912),
who ruled over the Tamil region with Kancipuram as
capital, were in this script till A.D. 600. Further this
script got also spread over to Indonesia and Malaysia.
For example the Modem Javanese (together with its
antecedent form Old Javanese) is a derivative of the
Kannada-Telugu script.
During the reign of the Pallava ruler Mahendravarman
(A.D. 600-630) the Kannada- Telugu script began to
take the shape of the Grantha script. As the very
name grantha suggests, this script was designed for
writing Sanskrit texts and engraving Sanskrit
inscriptions in Tamilnadu and Kerala. To meet the local
needs, namely for writing in Tamil, Tamil script was
developed. This Tamil alphabet was derived from a
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different source. It was also found used from the

seventh century A.D. Buehler opines that it was derived
from a northern alphabet of the fourth and fifth
centuries. In course of time it was strongly influenced
by the Grantha and thus it agrees in part with the
Grantha in some letters. The Grantha script survivesin
the Modern Grantha and its variety Malayalam. The
oldest Grantha manuscript, as identified by Burnell, is
of A.D. 1600.8 This is No. 9594 of the Tanjore
Saraswati Mahal Library.
By tenth century the Telugu-Kannada script got divided
into Proto-Telugu and Proto-Kannada scripts. For about
two to three centuries these scripts underwent
modifications. The Proto-Telugu and the Proto-
Kannada scripts got specific shapes into Telugu and
Kannada during the fifteenth century and the same
scripts are being used upto date without any further
significant variations.

ORIGIN OF INDIAN SCRIPTS

The script is a mark of civilization and differentiates its
writer from others just as the speech differentiates the man
from the animal. As such a curious researcher finding out
a variety of scripts, as noticed in the preceding chapter,
may raise questions of the following type, with special
reference to Sanskrit:
1. When did the art of writing is pressed into use in
India?
2. What were the scripts actually existed in our
country in ancient times?

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3. What was the origin of these scripts?

4. Can there be a common script for the whole nation
on the basis of the knowledge of the history of our
scripts?
The origin of scripts is in fact one of the unsolved
problems in the cultural history of India.
1. Enquiry into the origin of Indian scripts
The question of the origin of Indian alphabet was
raised for the first time by Sir William Jones in 1806. It
gained importance when the Brahmi inscriptions of
Asoka were deciphered by James Prinsep in 1837.
Every information that came to light during subsequent
investigations gave new impetus and the problem of the
origin and development of Indian scripts is being
reexamined, every time afresh, till today.

2. Indus Valley script

Excavations at Mohenjodaro in Sindh province and
Harappa in West Punjab of Pakistan, Rapur in East
Punjab, Lothal inSaurashtra, Kalibangan in Rajasthan
of India, and some regions of Beluchistan and East
Persia have brought to light the existence of an ancient
civilization in the region. This is usually referred to as
the 'Indus Valley Civilization' or 'Harappan
Civilization'. Many questions as regards to the nativity
of these people, origin of their culture, language they
spoke and the script they used are still under active
consideration. Scholars like Stuart Piggot, H. de Terra,
Mortimer Wheeler and Gorden Childe opined that the
Indus civilization must have evolved from an
indigenous culture.

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Some scholars like Sankarananda, B.M. Barua, A.P.

Karmarkar and S.R. Rao interpreted that the Aryans
themselves have built up the Indus valley culture.
There are others like Rev. Fr.
H. Heras and G.R. Hunter who read the people of the
Indus Valley Civilization to be Dravidians, who spoke
Proto-Tamil language. Still others like D.H. Gordon
notice that the Indus Valley people asimmigrants who
brought with them a certain knowledge of things and
knowhow with which they could adapt and evolve a new
pattern of culture. Most of the scholars have agreed
upon one point that this culture could be assigned to
300G B.C.
The Indus Valley Civilization was essentially
chalcolithic and was not found used in any stratum in
the course of excavations. About 800 beautifully cut
seals of steatite have been found with some writing in
an indigenous script and many scholars have been
trying with no success till today to decipher the
writings. Most of the scholars have defined the writing as
one of the stylised pictographs. L.A. Waddel connected
Indus Valley script with Sumerian and concluded that the
inhabitants of Mohenjodaro were Aryans. Langdon
connected these signs with the Brahmi script of later
times. Similarly Pran Nath, presuming the Indus Valley
script to be the source of the Brahmi, gave alphabetic
values to a number of signs in the Indus Valley
script. The Egyptologist W.M. Flinders Petrie connected
the Indus Valley script with the Egyptian ideographic
hieroglyphs. The Hittitologist B. Hrozny connected the
Indus script with the Hittite hieroglyphic writings, based
on the theory that the Indus Valley people were Indo-

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Europeans and even Indo- Hittites or Proto-Hittites who

reached India before the Rigvedic Aryans. Swami
Sankarananda of the Ramakrishna Mission and B.M.
Barua opined that the script is based on the Tantra.
While Karmarkar opined that the language was Sanskrit,
Heras held that it was Proto-Tamil. Many such
theories could be added here; but no theory could
succeed to decipher the script in total and thus the
Indus script remains still as a mystery for the
researchers.
The Brahmi, represented by the inscriptions of Asoka, is
the earliest script which could properly be deciphered.
There are no specimens representing the interval period
between the Indus Valley writings and the Asoka
inscriptions. The gap could be filled on the basis of the
literary evidences presented by the Vedic literature.
3. Art of writing during the Vedic period
There are many references in the Vedic literature
alluding to the existence of the art of writing ever since
the composition of the Rigveda. For example, RV.
10.62.7 mentions that one king by name Savarni gave
away one thousand cows with number eight marked on
the ears of each. Panini also confirms the practice of
marking a number eight or five on the ears of the cattle.
All through the Vedic period we have references to
mathematical calculations and cardinal numbers with
large denominations. While Ore Taittiriya- samhita
mentions a highest number parartha which is equal to
10l2(= 10,00,00,00,00,000), the Satapatha-brahmana
mentions divisions of time taking into account l/17th
second called prana as the lowest unit of measurement.

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The variety of metres in the samhitas again confirms

the rules of prosody which presupposes a system of
writing. The Upanisads mention aksara and varna; both
the terms by derivation refer to the written letters. The
word aksara refers to that letter which is not
destructable (ksara),i.e. permanent. The word varna
refers to something which is coloured or painted,
referring to the letters which are written on black
boards with chalk. Panini (7th cent. B.C.) refers to lipi,
lipikara, libi and libikara (Pan. 3.2.21) and yavanani
(Pan. 4.1.49). While yavanani is a scriptof the Persians
or Greeks, lipi or libi is an indigenous script of
writing. Panini mentions more than ten ancient
grammatical works in his grammar. Had there not been
some written copies of these works, it would not be
possible for him to correlate and consolidate the
grammatical peculiarities and to formulate his own
rules. From the fourth century B.C. onwards we have
references of writing in Sanskrit literature, like the
Ramayana, Mahabharata, Naradasmrti, Vasistha-
Dharmasutra and Arthasastra. The Jaina works
Samavayangasutra (c. 300 B.C.) and Pannavanasutra (c.
168 B.C.) and the Buddhist work Lalitavistara give lists
of scripts. The Buddhist works like Suttanta,
Vinayapitaka, Jatakas and Mahavagga not only confirm
the existence of script but also mention writing
materials like phalaka 'wooden writing board' and
varnaka 'wooden pen'.
This historical account of the Indian art of writing based
on literature does not satisfy our requirements because
there is no physically varifiable evidence to describe the
actual nature of the script and to demonstrate the
evolution of various scripts. Thus the inscriptions of Asoka
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which record his edicts are the earliest available

specimens of Indian scripts and thus with these
inscriptions starts the scientific inquiry into the
development of scripts. The rock edicts of Asoka are
inscribed in two scripts called the Brahmi and the
Kharosthi.

4. Decipherment of the Brahmi script

The earliest attempt to decipher the script of the Asoka
inscriptions was made in the fourteenth century by
Feroz Shah Tughlak when he shifted the Asoka pillars
from Topra and Meerut to Delhi. The Moghal Emperor
Akbar also attempted to decipher the writing on the
Asoka pillars. All these attempts were in vain till the
forties of the last century when the western scholars Ch.
Lassen and James Prinsep were able to read and
interpret them.

5. Name of the script

There is no record in the Vedic literature in which the
name brahmi is used as a name for the script. As
mentioned earlier, Panini used lipi and libi for the
indigenous script. It was in the Buddhist and Jaina
literature we come accross brahmi as the name of a
script. According to the Chinese translation of
Abhidharma-vibhasa-sutra by Huen-Tsang the Brahmi
script was invented by a brahmin called Ch'u-p'in-t'o
(=Skt. Govinda, i.e. Lord Visnuhimself). According to
another Chines translation of Mahdvastu-Avadana
(587-591 A.D.), the Brahmi script was given by god
Brahma. On epigraphic grounds it is supposed that the
Brahmi script came into existence at least by about
sixth century B.C.
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6. Characteristics of the Brahmi

By the time of Asoka the Brahmi script has several
varieties and each Rock Edict of Asoka manifests some
peculiarities in ligatures and curves. Some of the
common characteristics found in the Brahmi script are:
1. The letters stand upright.
2. They are made of regular lines and loops.
3. The letters hang down (unlike in Kharosti which
are top-heavy.
4. Most of the vowel signs are added at the top in
the shape of horizontal line.
5. The script is written from left to right.

7. Origin of the Brahmi script

The problem of the origin of the Brahmi script is
examined from the point of view of two theories called
the indigenous origin theory and the foreign origin
theory. The theorists of indigenous origin opine that the
script was either borrowed from the Dravidian script or
developed by the Aryans themselves. The theorists of
foreign origin on the other hand, try to trace the
Brahmi to Greek, Assyrian and Semitic sources and
allude various reasons for the Indians to borrow from a
foreign land.

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7.1. Greek origin

James Prirtsep, Otfried Mueller, Emile Senart, Raoul de
Rochette, Gobletd Alviella and others are the chief
exponents of this theory. James Prinsep holds that
there are certain similarities between the Brahmi and
the Greek characters. Joseph Halevy opines that the
Brahmi was derived from a mixture of the Aramaic,
Kharosthi and Greek letters in the last quarter of the
fourth century B.C. The presumption of these theories
became possible because of the tendency among early
European scholars to trace any thing good or great in
India to some Greek source. But the chronological
evidences do not support either of the theories. Firstly
the Brahmi script was widely used in India before the
time of Asoka, as we find several variations in the
characters of different edicts of Asoka. Secondly the
Greeks came into India long after the Indians had
acquainted with other people using alphabet. Greek
itself was borrowed from the Semitic alphabet.

7.2. Semitic origin

Most of the scholars believing in foreign origin trace the
sources of the Brahmi to the Semites. The main arguments
in favour of the Semitic origin of the Brahmi script are the
following:
(a) There was no specimen of writing before the fifth
century B.C. in India.
(b) There are similarities between the Semitic and
the Brahmi scripts.
(c) The Brahmi was supposed to have been

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written in the direction of right to left and thus paralleled

with the Semitic scripts which are uniformly written from
right to left.
(d) The early Indian writing was
pictographic; no alphabetic writing can be derived from
pictographs; the earliest known alphabets are Semitic;
hence the semi-alphabetic Brahmi script could be
derived only from the Semitic sources.
This theory has a large number of supporters; but they
differ as to which branch of the Semitic writing
influenced or produced the Brahmi characters. While
some try to find pre- Semitic form of writing like
Assyrian cuneiform script, others identify Phoenecian,
South Semitic or North Semitic script as the source of
the Brahmi

7.21. Assyrian (cuneiform) origin

Scholars like Deecke, Canon Isaac, Taylor and Rhys
Davids find Assyrian cuneiform as the source to borrow
for the Brahmi Rhys Davids holds that neither the
Northern nor the Southern Semites the source of the
Brahmi, but the pre- Semitic form of writing which was
used in the Euphrates Valley. This theory cannot stand
to logic because of the absence of any convincing
resemblances between the Assyrian and the Brahmi
scripts.
7.22 Phoenecian origin
Weber, Benfy, Jensen and others opine that the earliest
Phoenecian alphabet was the source for the derivation of
the Brahmi. They argue that aboutone-third of the

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Phoenician lettersare identical with the earliest forms of

the corresponding Brahmi script. This theory cannot
also be substantiated, because the Phoenician script
itself is considered as a derivative of the Canaanite
(North) branch of the Semitic. Some scholars like R.B.
Pandey opine that the Phoenicians themselves were of
Indian origin (the Vedic Pani) and thus they might have
even carried with them to the shores of the
Mediterranean the art of writing and spread it in
Western Asia.

7.23. South Semitic origin

The ancient alphabet of Sabaea of the South Semitic
family is not older than the middle of the second
century B.C. So while Deecke postulates the Assyrian
cuneiform characters, the parent of the Sabaean, as the
source of the Brahrhi, Canon and Isaac Taylor hold the
view that some lost South Semitic alphabet as the
parent of the Brahmi. These scholars presume the
Brahmi and the Sabaea as sister scripts. It is difficult
to support this view. Though the contact between India
and Arabia was quite possible, Arabian influence on the
Indian culture is ribt traceable before the advent of
Islam. Further the similarity between the characters of
the Brahmi and the Sabaea is negligible. Thus Buehler
remarks, "The derivations proposed by Deecke and
Taylor do not fulfil the absolutely necessary conditions,
and it will probably not be possible to obtain
satisfactory results, even if all the impossible equations
are given up, and the oldest Indian signs in every case
are chosen for comparison.

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7.24. North Semitic origin

Sir William Jones (1806), von Seetzen (1811), Kopp
(1821), Lepsius (1834), Weber (1856) and Buehler
(1896) are the chief exponents of the theory that the
Indian alphabet was of the North Semitic origin.
Buehler holds that twentytwo letters of the Brahmi
alphabet were derived from the North Semitic alphabet,
five from the script on the weights from Assyria and the
remaining were derived from the borrowed characters
by introducing certain devices.
7.25. Aramaic origin
David Diringer advocates a theory that the early Aramaic
alphabet was the prototype of the Brahmi script. He bases
his theory on the grounds that (1) the acknowledged
resemblance of the Brahmi signs to the Phoenecian
letters also applies to the early Northern Semitic
(Aramaic) letters, and
(2) of all the Semitics the Aramaean traders were the
first who came in direct communication with the Indo-
Aryan merchants.
The North Semitic theory of Buehler or Diringer is also
found to be not foolproof and final.
Several inconsistencies are shown by scholars. To
mention, firstly, Buehler maintains that the Indians
have made many innovations, improvisations and
changes in the Brahmi letters while adapting the North
Semitic alphabet. This line of argument presupposes
that the Indians were already using some sort of
writing and that they were familiar with the Semitic

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scnpt. Secondly, the signs belonging to the two systems

do not correspond with the similarity or identity of their
phonetic values. Thirdly, the Brahmi script differs very
much from the Kharosthi scnpt, which was also
considered to have been derived from the same North
Semitic Alphabet. For example the cerebrals and
dentals of the two scripts are derived from different
signs of the North Semitic alphabet. This is
unimaginable to have two different signs when both
have been derived from the same parentage. Fourthly,
the numerals of the Brahmi script have nothing in
common with the numerals of the North Semitic scripts.
Fifthly, the Brahmi was presumed to have been written
in the beginning from nght to left like the Norfh
Semitic scripts and the Kharosthi. Several scholars
opine that the direction of right to left inthe examples
quoted must have resulted because of some faulty
inscribing. Further the specimens so far known to us
with the Brahmi written in the direction of right to left
are sporadic and very few m number in comparison
with the inscriptions written from left to right.

7.3. Dravidian origin

Edward Thomas (1883) and others hold the view that the
Brahmi alphabet was first invented by the Dravidians and
it was later borrowed by the Aryans. This theory is based
on the presumption that the Dravidians were occupying
the entire land in India before the advent of Aryans and
invented the art of writing. A forcible argument against
the Dravidian origin is that the Tamil, the purest
representative of the Dravidian family of languages, has
only the first and the fifth letters of each of the five
vargas, whereas the Brahmi has all the five letters of a

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varga; as such the Proto- Dravidian, the forerunner of

Tamil, could not have all the five letters in each varga
and thus it cannot be a source for the Brahmi.

7.4. Aryan or Vedic origin

Lassen (1867), General Cunningham (1881) are the
earliest scholars who attempted to find indigenous
origin for the Brahmi script. They hold that the Aryan
priests developed the Brahmi script from indigenous
Indian hieroglyphics. The arguments they have
advocated in support of their view were considered to
be weak in those days. Taylor remarks: Such an elastic
method may establish anything or nothing. In view of
the absence of evidence in the form of pre-Asoka
inscriptions, to confine the use of hieroglyphic pictures
in India, Buehler and others have not paid any attention
to the Aryan origin theory. Buehler observes:
"Cunningham's opinion, which was formerly shared by
some prominent scholars presupposes the use of Indian
Hieroglyphic pictures of which hitherto no trace has
been found". But the discovery of the Indus Valley
script which is hieroglyphic weakened the objections
put forward against the theory. Since then various
scholars are engaged in search for further sources to
support the indigenous origin theory. K.P. Jayaswal
claims a connecting link between the pictographic
scripts of the Indus Valley and the Brahmi.
R.B. Pandey opines that the Brahmi was derived from
pictographs, ideographs, and phonetic signs, the earliest
specimens of which are to be found in the Indus Valley
inscriptions. He further points out that the derivation of
the word brahmi itself suggests that the script was intended
for the preservation of the Vedas. "As its very name
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suggests the Brahmi script was invented by the Indo-

Aryans for the preservation of 'Brahma' or Veda and was
originally and mainly employed by the Brahmanas,
whose duty it was to conserve the Vedic literature and to
hand it down to the succeeding generations by writing and
copying the texts from time to time and by teaching them
to their students".

8. Characteristics of the Kharosthi script

Besides the Brahmi, the Kharosthi is the only script
mentioned in the Jaina and Buddhist literatures, which
is a vailable for physical verification. Another
interesting feature is that both the scripts were found to
be used at the same period in the inscriptions of Asoka.
There are two Rock Edicts of Asoka found at Mansehra
and Shahbazgarhi engraved in the Kharosthi script.
Besides these two Rock Edicts there are a large number
of Creek, Scythian, Parthian, and Kusana coins
assignable to the period between 175 B.C. and A.D.
200. They were bilingual; on one side they bore a
legend in Greek and on the other in the Kharosthi.
The Kharosthi was confined to the north-western part of
India. It did not develop any further as the Brahmi took
precedence over the Kharosthi all through the country.
It is marked by the following characteristics:
1. It used the same alphabet as the Brahmi, but its
characters were different.
2. The letters are generally thin and long, more or
less slanting to the right with appendages attached to
their upper parts.

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3. They are very irregular in shape and size and

many forms are confusingly similar.
4. The script is clearly cursive.
5. There are very few looped forms.
6. The script always runs from right to left.
9. Decipherment of the script
Ch. Masson was the first to decipher the Kharosthi
inscription on the coins of Menander, Appolodotos and
Hermeus. Prinsep followed the researches of Masson
and fixed the direction of the script from the right to the
left. In 1838 he decided also that the language of the
Kharosthi inscriptions was Prakrit. Prinsep, E. Norris
and Cunningham could decipher almost all the letters of
the Kharosthi alphabet on the coins. This was followed
by the reading of the independent inscriptions of Asoka.
Buehler prepared a systematic comparative table of the
Kharosthi alphabet.

10. Name of the script

The Kharosthi script is known by various names. It is
called Bactrian, Indo-Bactrian, Aryan, Bactro-Pali,
North-western Indian, Kabulian, Kharosthi, etc. The
Kharosthi is the widely accepted popular name on the
basis of the Chinese literature in which this name
continued upto the seventh century A.D. There are
several speculations regarding the name and derivation
of the Kharosthi.

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Some examples are:

1. According to the Chinese translation of
Abhidharma-vibhasa- sutra by Huen-Tsang the
Kharosthi was invented by a sage called Kharosthi. The
Chinese Encyclopaedia Fa-wan-Su-Lin (A.D. 668),
says that the Kharosthi was invented by one divine
lndian by name Kharostha (< khara+ostha 'ass-lipped
person').
2. Kharostha refers to the barbarous people on the
north western boundaries of India, namely, Yavanas
'Greeks', Sakas Scythians', Tusaras 'Kusanas.' and other
people of central Asia. The alphabet used by these
people is also called by the same name.
3. Kharostha is the Sanskrit form of Kashgar, a
province in Central Asia, which was the latest centre of
this script.
4. It is the Indian adaptation of the Iranian word
kharostha or kharaposta meaning 'ass-skin'. Most
probably this script was used for writing on the ass-
skin.
5. There was an Aramaic word kharottha used for
this script which in course of time, through popular
etymology, assumed the Sanskrit form Kharostha.
6. The script may have been called so due to the fact
that most of the Kharosthi characters are irregularly
elongated curves and they look like the moving lips on
an ass, khara. Thus it might be a nick name originally
and got currency in course of time.

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Some scholars have given an Indian name 'Gandharian'

for the Kharosthi on the basis that the
Kharosthfinscriptions of Asoka were exclusively
confined to the tracts of the Gandhara country of the
ancient India.

11. Origin of the script

As in the case of the Brahmin there are two theories
current among scholars regarding the origin of the
Kharosthi script, namely the Aramaic origin and the
indigenous origin.

11.1 .Aramaic origin theory

Chief exponent of this theory is Buehler and his views are
widely accepted by the majority of scholars. He
formulated his theory of North-Semi tic (Aramaic) origin
on the following grounds:
(a) The resemblance between the Aramaic and the
Kharosthi characters.
(b) The direction of the Kharosthiand the Aramaic is
from the right to the left.
(c) Common characteristics like the absence of long
vowels between the Kharosthi and the Semitic scripts.
(d) The appearance of the Kharosthi in India after its
Iranian invasion.
(e) The use of the Kharosthi was only in those
parts of India which were occupied by the Iranians
from the second half of the sixth century

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B.C. upto the fourth century B.C.

Buehler derives the Aramaic origin for the Kharosthi
script in the following way: The Aramaic language and
writing, were frequently employed for official
correspondences, accounts and other official purposes
during the rule of the Akhaemenian kings in many
different provinces of their empire. In Egypt, Western
Asia, Arabia and Persia the Aramaic inscriptions are
discovered. The Persian Satraps, carried with them also
into the Indian territory their staff of subordinates, who
were accustomed to the use of the Aramaean letters and
language. The Hindus of the Indo- Persian provinces
were driven to utilise the characters commonly
employed by the scribes and accountants of their
conquerors, though they already possessed a script of
their own. Thus the Kharosthi alphabet would appear to
be the result of the intercourse between the officers of
the Satraps and of the native authorities. The Hindus
probably used at first the pure Aramaic characters and
they introduced in the course of time modifications
observable in the Kharosthialphabet. Thus the Kharosthi
alphabet is not a Pandit's, but a clerk's alphabet. This
alphabet was framed by persons who paid regard only to
the requirements of ordinary life.

11.2. Indigenous origin theory

Cunningham opines that the Kharosthfis an Indian
alphabet. The full system of palatals and linguals which
are found in the Kharosthi cannot be designed forany
other language than Sanskrit, or an ancient Prakrit.
Sanskrit and Prakrit are the only forms of speech which
possess five sounds of each of the palatals and linguals.

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Some Indian scholars like Raj Bali Pandey have tried to

continue this line of argument. They argue as follows:
The earliest known Kharosthi inscriptions of Asoka
belong to the third century
B.C. All other inscriptions in the Kharosthi found in
Baluchisthan, Afghanistan and Central Asia are later
in date and they clearly indicate that they were carried
there by the Indian colonists and the missionaries. Thus
it may be held that during the Persian domination over
that part of the country the Kharosthi was recognised as
a popular script. When the Mauryas of Mid-India
occupied that part of the country they had also to adapt
the Kharosthi script for that part of the country. Next,
the Bactrians, the Parthians, the Sakas, and the Kusanas
used this script for Indian languages side by side with
the Greek. The long association of the Kharosthi with
foreign powers in India in the areas dominated by them
created some aversion towards it in the rest of India.
With the rise of the Gupta power and the upsurge of the
unification of the country and nationalism, the
Kharosthi died with its official support. The Brahmi,
which was the most widely current script in India,
replaced the Kharosthi in the north-west part of India
also.
However it may be concluded that a majority of the
scholars are of the opinion that the Kharosthi was
originally borrowed from Aramaic and later developed
various characters like the nasals and anusvara to meet
the needs of the native language.

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WRITING MATERIALS
The stone, earthen objects, shells and other non-
metallic objects like ivory plaques, metals like copper,
bronze and iron, palm-leaf, birch-bark and paper are the
known materials of writing in ancient India. The palm-
leaf is the oldest material put to use for writing.
The writings engraved on stone, metal and other hard
substances for public inspection are calledanscriptions,
and the writings on any soft material like palm-leaf,
cloth and paper with the hand are called manuscripts.
The word 'manuscript' is derived from the Latin word
manuscriptum in which manus denotes 'the hand' and
scriptum 'to write'.
Stones: Rocks, stone pillars or slabs, stone images or
their pedastals, stone articles such as jars or their covers,
etc., are found used for engraving letters. The stone and
copper plates are used when the writings are intended
to be everlasting (cirasthitika); thus we find normally
engraved on the stone the official and private records,
royal proclamations, treaties between kings, agreements
between private individuals, grants and donations,
poetical effusions (prasastis). The Asoka rock edicts
are the earliest instances of incising on stone. There
are numerous inscriptions with prasastis. The Allahabad
pillar inscription (c. 360 A.D.) of Samudra gupta by
Harisena, the Talagunda inscription (c. 460 A.D.) of
Santivarman by Kubja, the Mandasor inscription (c.
532 A.D.) of Yasodharman by Vasula and Aihole
inscription (A.D. 634) of Pulakesi II by Ravikirti are
some of the famous prasastis, which exhibit poetry of
high quality. There are also instances, of course very
rare, where long poetical compositions were engraved
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on several slabs of stone. For example the Rana

Kumbha's inscription (A.D. 1460) atKumbhalgadh
(Rajasthan) describing the geographical places of
Mewar and praising various gods, was engraved on five
stone slabs (each one measuring 3'10" broad by 3'7"
high). A kavya by name Rdjaprasasti, written in 24
cantos by an Andhra poet called Ranacoda, was
engraved on 24 slabs. The poem was in honour of
Rana Ra jasimha of Mewar on the occasion of the
excavation of the Rajasamudra tank, and the slabs were
fixed into the embarkment of the tank. First two acts of
the four act play entitled Parijatamanjan, alias Vijayasn
by Madana with the poet's patron the king
Arjunavarman of Dhar (11th cent. A.D.) as hero was
engraved on a slab of black stone at Dhar.1 The
engraved portion contains 76 verses with some prose
inscribed in early variety of Nagan script Similarly two
satakas of 109 verses each composed in the Maharastri
Prakrit were engraved on stone slabs. One of the
satakas is called Kumarasataka ascribed to Paramara
Bhoja (11th cent. A.D.) of Dhar.
Copper-plates: Official charters, especially grants made
by kings were generally engraved on copper-plates
(called tamra- patra, tamra-sasana, tamra, etc.) to serve
the donees as title deeds. There were also copper-plates
with yantras of the Brahmanas and Jains engraved in
various shapes and sizes. The practice of engraving
books on copper-plates is also known; but the instances
available to us are not numerous. As recorded by Huen-
Tsang, Kaniska caused the Buddhist religious texts to
be engraved on copper-plates. The lyrical poems called
kirtanas of Annamacarya of Tallapaka family (A.D.
1408-1503) composed in Sanskrit and Telugu were
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engraved on many copper-plates. As these devotional

songs are on the Lord Venkatesvara, these copper-
plates were preserved till recently in the temple of
Vehkatesvara at Tirumala. Now under the management
of the Tirumula Tirupati Devasthanams, these songs are
being edited and published.
Gold and silver: The Buddhist literature refers to the
practice of engraving royal orders and religious
regulations on golden plates by families of rich
merchants. We have also some gold records including a
plate bearing a votive inscription in the Kharosthi script
discovered in the ruins of Taxila. Similarly inscriptions
onsilver were also found in Bhattiprolu and Taxila.
Jains sometimes write certain yantras on plates of silver
which are found in someJain temples. But gold and
silver are too precious metals to be generally used for
engraving long literary texts.
The writings on the pedastals of bronze images or on
the conch shells, ivory plaques, wooden beams, earthen
ware, etc., are used for engraving legends and emblems.
Thus we do not have any specimens of engraved texts
on these writing materials. D'Alwis asserts that the
Buddhist works mention skins among the writing
materials. Subandhu also refers in his Vasavadattato the
use of skin (ajina) of an antelope or tiger as a writing
material. But it did not gain currency in large scale,
perhaps because of the leather being treated as ritually
impure.
Manuscripts: Palm-leaf, birch-bark, cotton and paper
are the common materials for writing long texts of
literature. Even in the case of short texts like grants
inscribed on stone and metals, they were written first on
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palm-leaf or birch-bark before engraved.

Palm-leaf: It is the most common writing material all over
India during ancient times. There are two large-leaved
palm-trees called tadi or tali (corypha umbraculifera) and
tada or tala (borassus flabel liformis), leaves of which are
used for writing manuscripts. These two plants are
indigenous and grown in abundance in Deccan. By an
exhaustive examination of the well-known plam-leaf
manuscripts Hoernle opines that all the earlier
manuscripts are made from the leaves of tadi. The tala is
also called srithala and the number of manuscripts of this
leaf are not numerous. The palm-leaf is made fit for
writing by a process in which it is first dried, next boiled
or soaked in water, then again dried and finally polished
with stone or conch-shell and cut to the required
uniform size. In South India raw palm-leaves were
commonly used for letters and for private and official
documents. The palm-leaves were written on with ink
all over Northern, Eastern, Central and Western India,
whereas in the South India and Orissa the letters were
incised with a metallic stilus called salaka or
lohakantaka and afterwards blackened with soot or
charcoal.
The earliest known manuscripts of palm- leaf date back
to circa first century A.D. The fragments of palm-leaf
manuscripts representing parts of two plays ascribed to
Asvaghosa of Indian literature found in Turfan by a
German expedition led byGruendwedei and Hurth are
the earliest. The Godfrey collection (4th cent. A.D.), the
Horiuzi manuscripts (6th cent. A.D.) are other old
specimens so far brought to light.
That the palm-leaf is the oldest writing material in
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ancient India could be proved on several literary and

archaeological evidences. For example the canon of the
Southern Buddhism mentions panna leaf' as the most
common writing material in ancient India. According to
a Buddhist tradition, presented in the biography of
Huen- Tsang (7th cent. A.D.), the canon was written on
palm-lea vesatthe first council held immediately after
Buddha's death. The size of the copper-plates and birch-
bark were used to cut to the size of the palm-leaf, which
was most accepted writing material. Thus the Texila
copper plates (c. 1st cent. A.D.) was cut to the size of
the palm-leaf. Similarly the birch-bark leaves of the
Bower manuscripts (5th cent. A.D.) were also cut to the
size of the palm-leaf. Further the Greek writer Quintus
Curtius (4th cent.B.C.) mentions that the inner bark of
trees (i.e. birch-bark) was used as writing material. All
these evidences confirm the use of palm-leaf by at least
fourth century B.C.
We have numerous palm-leaf manuscripts of the
seventh and later centuries from Nepal, Bengal,
Rajasthan, Gujarat and the Northern Deccan, besides
the above mentioned Horiuzi manuscripts and
manuscripts of the Godfrey collection. To mention we
have from Nepal the Skandapuram (supposed to have
been copied about the seventh century A.D.), the
Paramesvara- tantra (c. A.D.859) and the Lahkavatara
(A.D. 906- 07). The oldest manuscripts found in South
according to Burnell, dates from A.D. 1428. The hot
climate of the South could be the cause for the short
span of life of the palm-leaves. As established by the
Kurud plates of the sixth century, the royal charters
were sometimes written on palm-leaf and issued to the
donees.
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Birch-Bark: Bhurja-patra is in fact the inner bark of

the bhurja 'birch tree (Betula Bhojpatra)' which is grown
in plenty in the Himalayas. Alberuni informs that the bark
of the tree is taken in pieces measuring one yard long
and as broad as the out stretched fingures of the hand or
less and cut further into various sizes. He also mentions
that the bark was made hard and smooth by polishing with
oil. The birch bark was put to maximum use in the North-
western India (more particularly in Kashmir), and the
leaves were normally cut in the size corresponding to our
quarto (=about nine by twelve inches). Later on the
custom of using birch- bark was spread to the Central,
Eastern and Western India, because we find the copper-
plates in these parts were also cut to the size of the
birch-bark as used in Kashmir. The birch-bark is,
however, later than the palm- leaf, as it is evidenced by
the fact that the leaves of the Bower manuscript were
cut according to the size of the palm-leaves. The
manuscripts are written with ink on the bark. The birch-
bark was so popular at one time that it was simply
called lekharn 'writing', 'a written document' and also
the written documents went by the name of bhurja. But
it came to disuse in Kashmir after the introduction of
paper during the Moghal period.
Quintus Curtius mentions that the Hindus at the time of
Alexander's invasion were using the tender inner bark
of trees as writing material, without mentioning the
word bhurja. The Northern Buddhist and Brahmanical
Sanskrit works of subsequent times named it bhurja.
Bhurja, indeed, must have been known to the Indo-
Aryans even before entering in to Indi a, as the cognates
of the word bhurja, Latin fraximus, Old High German
bircha, English birch (< PIE bharges), are found in all
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Indo-European languages and the plant is also available

in Europe.
Among the oldest documents on bircn-bark so far
discovered a mention may be made of (1) the Kharosthi
Dhammapada, also called Prakrita Dhammapada,
consisting of fragments of birch- bark codex acquired
in Khotan by a French traveller M. Dutreuil de Rhins
assigned to circa first century A.D., (2) the Sanskrit
Buddhist work Sarpyuktagama-sutra (c. 4th cent. A.D.),
(3) Bower manuscripts (5th cent, A.D.) and (4)
Bakhshali manuscripts of a mathematical work (c. 8th
cent. A.D.). There are many birch-bark manuscripts
preserved in the libraries of Poona, London, Oxford,
Vienna, Berlin, etc., and none of which probably dates
earlier than the 15th century A.D.
Aloe-bark: In North-eastern India the inner bark of the
aguru 'aloe tree' (Assamese sdci, Latin Aquilaria
agallocha) was the most popular material for writing
manuscripts. A large number of manuscripts written on
this bark have been discovered in Assam. One of the
oldest manuscripts on the aloe-bark is Sundarakanda of
the Kamayam written in the Bengali-Maithili-
Assamese characters of about fifteenth century. It is
preserved now in the Bibliotheque Nationale (National
Library), Paris.
Paper: It is the third popular material used for writing
long texts of literature. The Macartney manuscripts
consisting of soft kind of paper with darkish colour,
probably belonging to the second century A.D.
obtained by G. Macartney are the oldest. The next
oldest are the Weber manuscripts written in the North
western Gupta characters of the fifth century A.D.
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These manuscripts were found in Central Asia. Thus

some scholars like Hoernle are of the opinion that
these papers were not of indigenous origin; they argue
on the assumption that the Chinese were the first to
make paper in A.D. 105, and that the paper was
introduced in India by the Muslims. But we have
adequate references in literature for the existence of
paper as a writing material. For example, Nearchos,
a Greek writer who accompanied Alexander during his
Indian inroads in 327 B.C., wrote that the Indians were
manufacturing writing paper out of cotton by pounding.
P.K. Gode opines that the Indians must have known
paper through the Chinese travellers, though it was
certainly not a popular writing material.
M.A. Stein refers to a Kashmirian manuscript of the
Satapatha-Brahmam on paper which was copied in A.D.
I0898. Buehler records a Prayoga work by name
Sodasasamskaraprayoga (no author) of 100 leaves
dated Samvat 1280 (=A.D. 1223-24) preserved in a
private collection in Gujarat. The paper is less durable
compared to birch-bark and palm-leaf. This must have
been the reason for not having a continuous use of
paper; however it replaced the birch-bark and palm-leaf
during the Muslim period. By about A.D. 1600 the
paper and the Devanagarfscript have become very
popular in the whole of South India. For example a
paper manuscript of Mahabharata is dated A.D.1585
and another manuscript containing Sutasamhitavyakhya of
Madhavamantrin A.D. 1601.
Paper sheets were cured before writing by applying a
paste prepared by boiling rice or wheat powder in water,
to both sides and rubbed with conch or cowrie-shell after

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they were dried. This process provides the smoothness

to the surface and prevents the running of ink. The sheets
were generally cut to the size of palm-leaf or birch-bark.
Cloth: Pieces of cotton cloth were also used as writing
material in ancient India. Like the paper, it was also made
ready for writing by applying on it a paste of boiled rice
or wheat powder and making its faces smooth by rubbing
with conch or cowrie-shell. It is called pata, patika and
karpasa-pata. This cloth was used chiefly to write letters,
deeds of purchase (kraya-ctrika) and royal charters. Even
today in some parts of our country as in Karnataka and
Rajasthan the cloth is used. But no large work written on
the cotton cloth has come to notice. Buehler found a
silk band with the list of the Jain sutras written with
ink. Peters found at Anhilvad Patan a cloth manuscript
of a Jain Work called Dharmavidhi of Snprabhasuri
dated Vikrama-samvat 1418 (=A.D. 1361-62).
Wooden boards: Lastly a mention may be made of
wooden boards (phalaka) for writing with chalk
(pandulekha). There are no manuscripts written on
these boards.
It may be concluded that the Sanskritist has chiefly to
handle the manuscripts written on palm-leaf, birch-bark
and paper. The normal life of a palm-leaf or paper
manuscript preserved in normal condition does not go
beyond 500 years. The manuscripts dating back to the
fifteenth century and earlier are rare.
PHILOLOGICAL METHOD
In tracing the history of ancient Indian culture
consisting of ecologic, material, social, political,
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religious and philosophical phenomena, we have to

make use of all possible evidences by applying various
methods of research. The archaeological, epigraphical
and other physical evidences shall not always be
available for logical conclusions regarding the remote
past. In such cases the language is the most efficient
means for understanding the ancient culture. It is
because the language has many more functions than
communicating the reflections of one to the other and
reporting experiences. It defines, analyses and
categorises the experience. It directs the perceptual and
other faculties of its speakers. Thus the understanding
of a text "involves not merely an understanding of the
single words in their average significance, but a full
comprehension of the whole life of the community as it
is mirrored in the words, or as it is suggested by their
overtones".
Thus our knowledge and insight in the ancient Indian
culture largely depends on the correct understanding of
a considerable number of words, phrases and sentences
of the Vedic as well as the classical literature. But we
observe the opinions of the traditional as well as the
modem interpreters differ widely on the exact sense of
several words, etc. The divergence in the interpretation
may be because of several reasons like (1) the distance
in time, space and cultural environment between the
ancient Indians and modern specialists, (2) the
incompleteness of our sources, (3) their interpretations
suggested by the traditional views, and (4) the
prejudices and limitations of modem scholarship itself.
The modem scholarship is guided (a) by the tenets of
contemporaneous philosophy, (b) by the religious
conviction, and also (c) by the political systems of the
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countries. These difficulties can be overcome by a

perfect method of studying the languages and the
philological method is suggested here as the most
suitable aid.
The term philology means 'science of language' and thus
the philological method is one based on linguistics. This
method was evolved by Europeans and, indeed, it was an
outcome of their discovery of Sanskrit. When the nature
of the Sanskrit language and its literature were announced
to the Europeans by Sir William Jones in 1786 it aroused
their enthusiasm particularly of the Germans. The first
thesis of the 25 year old young Indologist Franz Bopp
published in 1816, entitled: Ueber das Conjugations
system der Sanskrit sprache, in Vergleichung mit jenem
der griechischen, lateinischen, persischen and
germanischen Sprache... (On the conjugation system of
Sanskrit language in comparison with that of the Greek,
Latin, Persian and German languages...), laid
foundation for the study of the Sanskrit language by the
philological method and also for a new branch of
linguistics called Comparative Philology. When once
the vast Sanskrit literature was made known to the
Europeans they realized the full value in restoring the
whole literature by making cultural studies and critical
editions. In 1852 August Schleicher formulated the
programme of the philological method in full details and
attempted to carry it out. This, method was aimed at for
the reconstruction of prehistoric linguistic data which
is of greatest help to prehistoric ethnological
reconstruction.
The most essential part of linguistics which is of any
consequence is the semantics. The philologists and the

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historians have to discuss connections between different

connotations of the same terms. The meanings of the
words change from time to time and the researcher must
be able to trace the stages of the development of the
meanings. We can illustrate with an oft-quoted example
indrasatru in the benedictive sentence indrasatrur
(bhava) varddhasva. As the legend goes, when Vrtra
performed a sacrifice in order to gain spiritual power to
kill Indra at the conclusion of the sacrifice a
benediction in the form of indrasatrur (bhava) vardhasva
parallel to raja bhava yuddhyasva is to be formulated by
the priests. The word satru in indrasatru is denotative of
its derivative sense, namely slayer (sdtayita or
samayita). It is not used in the connotative sense of
enemy. The compound should be a tatpurusa with acute
accent (udatta) on the last syllable of satru meaning
that Vrtra shall be the slayer of Indra (indrasya
satayitd). But it was pronounced with acute accent on
the first syllable in indra and thus the compound
becomes a bahuvrihi meaning 'having Indra as slayer'.
Thus by the fault of accent Vrtra becomes all powerful,
but has Indra as his killer. The bahuvrihi compound
indrasatru with satru in its derivative sense is found
used in the Rigveda, 1.32.6 and 7. The connotative
sense of enemy is a later development. If one fails to
understand this historical development of meaning the
spirit of the passage would be misunderstood.
The meanings of the words are judged (1) by the
influence of historical, social or purely linguistic
factors, (2) by determining the role played by
connotations and predominant semantic nuclei, (3)by
emotion on the part of the speaker and
misunderstanding on the part of the hearer, and (4) by
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studying the importance of the contexts and situations

in which a word or a word group is with a certain
regularity used. The phonological, morphological and
syntactic considerations help in making connections
among cognate words and in determining the semantic
nuclei.
The European Sanskritists, the Germans in particular,
have evolved certain procedural details to be observed for
determining the meanings of various words. They aimed
at drawing connections between different connotations of
the same terms and discovering the original or initial
sense of a term of literary, religious or economic import.
For achieving best results one must try to know the initial
sense of a name or word. This initial sense shall be the
characteristic element around which several other senses
have developed during the history of language. The
researcher has to draw evolutionistic construction and
arrange the senses of ancient terms in such a way that a
definite historical development may be read off from the
very arrangement. But the great difficulty is that the
initial sense is in so many instances not known.
Paul Thieme gives in brief how the initial sense of a
word can be arrived at by the philological method. He
says that we must find out formal features of words and
those traits of usage which are common to all the contexts
in which it appears. Then we musthazard a conjecture as to
what might be likely "initial meaning" The correctness of
that conjecture must be established experimentally:if the
'central idea' hypothetically adapted is recognizable where
the word meaning this notion occurs, our conjecture
will be right. The risk of erring is possible in the cases
of words of infrequent usage. He maintains that it is not

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difficult to find a vague term fitting in with our views of

the contents of the ancient texts. The etymological sense
built up by etymology shall be taken for help to search for
the initial sense or fundamental meaning. The
etymological sense again in its turn is built up by
comparing the cognate words of the family of languages.
The etymologically cognate words offer reliable starting
points for establishing' initial senses'. It may be noted that
all the philological inquiries are centred round the
etymological sense built by comparative philology.
Rudolf Roth, the founder of the Vedic Philology,
introduced the philological method for the
interpretation of the difficult parts of the Rgveda. He
took the internal evidence "by the minute comparison
of all words parallel in form and matter, while taking
into consideration context, grammar and etymology,
without ignoring either the help supplied by the
historical study of the Vedic language in its connection
with Sanskrit, or the outside evidence derived from the
Avesta and from Comparative Philology". In the
application of his method Roth attached too much
weight to etymological considerations. This method was
followed by many other scholars like A. Bezzenberger,
H. Oldenburg, H. Lueders and P. Thieme. Max Mueller
has shown the way how this method can be used for the
reconstruction of the corrupt readings in making critical
editions.8 Several unsolved links in the history of
ancient Indian culture were conjectured by this method.
A good number of writings have also come with
material, sociological, political and economic themes.
For example on purely linguistic grounds Wilhelm Rau
holds that the donkey and mule were introduced to
India from ancient Middle East. P.K. Gode has made
many contributions towards the material culture of
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ancient India exclusively on the basis of the literary

evidences. His papers on perfumes and cosmetics, rose-
water, hair-dyes, tambula and beaks, nut-crakers,
carnka (gram), aindana (sandal), almond (baddm), tea,
tobacco, etc.10 are not only of great interest but also
best odels for further research. For example Gode has
shown that the hair-dyes were in vogue since c.
A.D. 200 on the basis of a workcalled Navanitaka, and
curna (lime) and catechu (khadira), the essential
ingredients of tambula, from c.A.D. 100. He traced the
history of almond (badam) from c.
A.D. 100 and of tobacco from A.D. 1500. He has
produced convincing evidences to show that the art of
grafting plants was in practice in India since c. 500
B.C.
The philological method is indeed of great help in
restoring the readings of several inscriptions which are
defective because of various reasons like the defacement
and defects resulted by scribal and textual errors.
Many names referring to places as well as individuals are
subjected to philological inquiry. For example T.V.
Mahalingam gives in his book Early South Indian
Palaeography (p. 186) one philological inquiry:
K.G. Sesha Aiyar is inclined to identify on philological
grounds the Atiyamans of the Sangam age with the
Satiyaputra of Asoka inscriptions. He says: “the initial a
(in Atiyaman) becomes ha, which again becomes sa in
Prakrit; and mān is an abbreviation for magan which
means putra; and thus Atiyaman becomes Satiyaputra
on the analogy of Ceraman equals Keralaputra The
identification here suggested of Atiyaman with
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Satiyaputra satisfactorily accounts for the presence of

the particle i in the name appearing in Asoka's edict".
Considering also the political set up of the Tamil
country during the period the suggestion of Sesha Aiyar
seems to be acceptable.
Even though the philological method is much accepted
and adapted method, it was subjected to severe
criticism and the conclusions drawn on the basis of this
method were put to reexamination. Jan Gonda points
out that it was due to over emphasis laid on
etymologies. He observes that the etymologies in the
field of comparative Indo-European linguistics are
hypothetical in nature and thus the explanations of
words are only possibilities.
Thus there are many words which are explained
formally and semantically as deriving from two or more
roots in the same language or in cognate languages. Just
as Yaska gives more than one root for the etymology of
a word, the name of god Vishnu is interpreted by
modern philologists diversely as "lord of the spacious
upland plains" (vi-snu, cf. sanu surface, table land ) or
as "the active one” (vi or vī to hasten, to be active', or
vis to be active. Thus he opines that the etymologically
initial sense is not necessarily identical with the main
central sense occurring at a given-period or in a
definite body of literature.
Gonda suggests that these defects in the philological
method could be rectified by making certain changes in
the procedures: (1) The etymology should be resorted to
as a means of penetrating through a hypothesis into the
prehistory of the words and into their connections with
their relatives, if there are any in the cognate languages.
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(2) Etymology should not be an argument, even less a

starting Point in discussing those text places from a
philological point of view.
(3) If there is no evidence in favour of a definite
etymology, a philological examination may be done from
the points of view of morphology, syntax, etc.
(4) In investigating the significance of Vedic terms
relating to conceptions of the world attention should be
directed also to the etymologically related terms in
the other Indo-European languages in order to detect, as
far as possible, which elements in the ideas under
discussion were inherited and which were new and
proper to the ancient Indians. (5) The meanings of the
words should not be determined on the traditional
theory of semantic change. It should be examined with
the help of modern structural semantics. Reflecting his
theory Gonda has examined several words like
brahman, vrata, ayatana, amhas, adhvara and adhvaryu.
It is important to note that the critical scholar has to
make use of all the material that was open by applying
the historical, and philological methods. A thorough
cross checking of the validity of the data is necessary.
Further the Sanskritist should never entertain the idea
that the traditional methods known from the
commentaries of Indian writers are of no value. Indeed
in many instances they are the starting points to give
clues for further scientific investigation. For example,
but for the commentaries of Sayana on the Vedic texts,
no one would have been able to get even a vague idea
of the purport of the Vedic literature. Not only the
traditional commentaries but also many other
valuable aids like the phenomenology of Religion,
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Comparative Religion and Mythology. Ethnology,

Comparative Social Anthropology, and Comparative
Indo-Iraman linguistics are to be exploited to the best
advantage. These sciences may offer general notions
and help us in understanding the social factors which
have played a part in the formation of the ancient
Indian culture.

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Module-II
Transliteration, foot notes and endnotes, Plagiarism

Notes: The sources of data which are used for writing the
text are indicated meticulously in the notes. It may be
furnished either at the bottom of each page or at the end
of each chapter. But for the convenience of easy
reference it is better to give the references below each
page; for, most of the references shall be from the
primary sources. The reader can understand at every
place how the logic of the thesis is developed. The full
description of the source, etc., need not be given in the
notes as the full title of the book, author and imprint are
furnished in the bibliography, and the abbreviated
symbols in the list of abbreviations. Thus the name of
the author, title of the text, commentary or their
abbreviations, with page or paragraph number are
enough after the quotation. The notes furnished at the
bottom of each page are called footnotes.
The note-citation differs from the bibliographical
citation. While the author, title and imprint are treated
as three separate units in a bibliographical citation, they
are treated as a single elliptical sentence in a note-
citation. The three units are connected by commas and
a full point at the end. The name of the author is
given in the natural order. Publishing data is furnished
depending upon the need. In case it is given, the page
number or the paragraph number is given as the last
item of the entry; e.g. S. Das Gupta, A History of
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Indian Philosophy, I, p. 88, n.l.S. Radhakrishnan,

The Principal Upanisads, London, 1953, p. 654.
There are no hard and fast rules as to how the
abbreviations are to be used in the note- citations. Any
abbreviation used should be clear and easily
understandable to the reader. Thus in majority of cases
the aesthetic eye of the researcher and the economy of
the space govern the modalities for the use of
abbreviations. For example Hart's Rules for
Compositors and Readers prescribes invariable use of
full points in between the abbreviated letters and also at
the end of the abbreviation (e.g. C.O.D. for the Concise
Oxford Dictionary). After a full point a comma is also
recommended and also followed in some books.
There is a general tendency growing among scholars in
documentation to omit the intermediary as well as the
terminal full points in abbreviations referring to the
well-known periodicals, societies and books. The full
points are dropped in the case of abbreviations which
occur frequently and are pronounced as single words
like UNESCO. The MLA Style Sheet prescribes that
the full point need not be used at the end of
abbreviations except those end in a small letter (e.g.
Sun. for Sunday).
In order to avoid repetition of citations time and again
in notes and to achieve maximum efficiency in
expression and economy in space, some universally
accepted abbreviations are used in notes. The researcher
has to get acquainted at least with some of them and
master to use them appropriately. Some commonly used
abbreviations are given hereunder:

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A. D. Anno Domini 'in the year of the Lord'. Precedes

numerals
anon. anonymous
b. born
B. C. Before Christ. Follows numeral
c. Copyright
circa. 'about'. Used with approximate dates
cent. century
cf. confer 'compare'
ch., chs. chapter(s)
d. died
ed., eds. editor(s), edition(s)
edn. edition
e.g. exempli gratia 'for example'
et al et alii 'and others'
etc. et cetera 'and so forth'
ex., exs. example(s)
f., ff. and the following
fn. footnote
ibid., id. ibidem 'in the same place'

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i.e. id est 'that is'

1.11. line(s)
loc. cit. loco citato 'in the place cited'
MS, MSS manuscript(s). A full point is
to be put when a specific
manuscript is referred to
N.B. nota bene 'take notice'
n.d. no date
no., nos. number(s)
n.p. no place (of publication)
op .cit. work recently noted
opera citato in the work cited
p., pp. page(s)
passim throughout the work, here and there
pub., pubs. published, publication(s)
q.v. quod vide 'which see'
resp. respectively
rpt. reprint, reprinted
sic 'thus, so'. Put between square brackets to
indicate editorial interpolation
st., sts. stanza(s)

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sup. supra 'above'

s.v. sub verbo or voce 'under the
word or heading'
TS typescript
V., vv. verse(s)
Vide 'see'
VIZ. videlicet 'namely
vol., vols. volume(s)
vs. versus 'against

3.5. Transliteration: In order to provide maximum help

to the readers of the book to judge the validity of the
argument the researcher has to give in notes relevant
portions from the Sanskrit originals. The accepted
practice is to put the Sanskrit passages in the
International Phonetic Script, so that any trained
scholar can read the texts and make out the sense by
consulting dictionaries, etc. This will also facilitate the
researcher to get the matter typed with minimum effort
on the typewriter. The Sanskrit texts are normally
presented by following the orthography of the Sanskrit
grammars. The Sanskrit alphabet is represented by the
following roman letters with diacritical marks:

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Vowels:

अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ऋ

ॠ लृ ॡ ए ऐ
a ā i ī u ū i
iˉ ļ ļˉ e ai

ओ औ
o au

Stops

क ख ग घ ङ
k kh g gh ń

च छ ज झ ञ
c ch j jh ñ

ट ठ ड ढ ण
t th d dh ņ

त थ द ध न
t th d dh n

प फ ब भ म

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p ph b bh m
Semivowels

य र ल व
y r l v

Spirants

श ष स ह
ś ş s h
Unvoiced spirant (visarga) : h
Guttural unvoiced spirant (jihvamulfya) h
Labial unvoiced spirant (upadhmanTya) h
Pure nasal (anunasika) & m/m
The internal sandhi is represented as in Sanskrit
orthography without any break. But in the case of
external sandhi a laxity is observed in representing the
junction. Excluding the instances of lengthening and
diphthongization, the junction is shown by space.
Further there is no need for capitals in transliteration of
Sanskrit and Indian vernaculars; e.g.
+MxÉä ªÉÆ ªÉZɨÉv´É®Æú
Ê´É·ÉiÉ& {ÉÊ®ú¦ÉÚ®úʺÉ*
ºÉ <qäù´Éä¹ÉÖ MÉSUôÊiÉ**
agne, yam yajnam adhvaram
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visvatah paribhurasi /
sa iddevesu gachati // RV. 1.1.4.

PLAGIARISM
You have probably read or heard about charges of
plagiarism in disputes in the publishing and recording
industries. You may also have had classroom
discussions about student plagiarism in particular and
academic dishonesty in general. Many schools have
developed guidelines or procedures regarding
plagiarism. Honor codes and other means to promote
academic integrity are also common. This section
describes ethical considerations in research writing and
can help you avoid plagiarism and other unethical acts.

Definition of plagiarism
Derived from the Latin word plagiarius (kidnapper), to
plagiarize means “to commit literary theft: and to
“present as new and original an idea or product
derived from an existing source” (Merriam-webster’s
Collegiate Dictionary [11th ed.; 2003; print]). Plagiarism
involves two kinds of wrongs. Using another person’s
ideas, information or expressions as your own to get a
better grade or gain some other advantage constitutes
fraud. Plagiarism is sometimes a moral and ethical
offense rather than a legal one since some instance of
plagiarism fall outside the scope of copyright
infringement, a legal offense.
Consequences of plagiarism
A complex society that depends on well- informed
citizens strives to maintain high standards of quality
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and reliability for documents that are publicly

circulated and used in government, business, industry,
the professions, higher education, and the media.
Because research has the power to affect opinions and
actions, responsible writers compose their work with
great care. They specify when they refer to another
author’s ideas, facts and words, whether they want to
agree with, object to or analyse the source. This kind of
documentation not only recognizes the work writers do;
it also tends to discourage the circulation of error, by
inviting readers to determine for themselves whether a
reference to another text presents a reasonable account
of what that text says. Plagerists undermine these
important public valuse. Once detected, plagarism in a
work provokes skepticism and even outrage among
readers, whose trust in the author has been broken.
The charge of plagarism is a serious one for all writers.
Plagarists are often seen as inccompetent – incapable of
developing and expressing their own thoughts- or,
worse, dishonest, willing to deceive others for personal
gain. When professional writers, such as journaists, are
exposed as plagarists, they are likely to lose their jobs
and they are certain to suffer public embarrassment and
loss of prestige. Almost always, the course of a writer’s
career is permanently affected by a single act of
plagarism. The serious consequesnces of plagarism
reflect the valuse the public places on trustworthy
infromation.
Students exposed as plagarists may suffer severe
penalties, anging from failure in the assignment or in
the course to expulsion from school. This is because
student plagerism does considerable harm. For one
thing, it damages teachers relationships with stuudents,
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turning teachers into detectives instead of mentors and

fostering suspicioninstead of trust. By undermining
institutional standers for assigning grades and awarding
degree, student plagarism also becomes a matter of
significance to the public. When graduates skills and
knowledge fail to match their grades, an institution’s
reputation is damaged. For example, no one would
choose to be treated by a physician who obtained a
medical degree by fraud. Finally, students who pagarize
harm themselves. They lose an important opportunity to
learn how to write a research paper. Knowing how to
collect and analyze information and reshape it in essay
form is essential to academic success. This knowledge
is also required in a wide range of careers I law,
journalism, engineering, public policy, teaching,
business, government and not-for-profit organizations.
Plagarism betrays the personal element in writing as well.
Discussing the history of copyright, Mark Rose notes the
tie between our writing and our sense of self – a tie
that, he believes, influenced the idea that a piece of
writing couk=ld belong to the person who wrote it. Rose
says that our sense of ownership of the words we write “is
deeply rooted in our conception of ourselves as
individuals with at least modest grade of singularity,
some degree of personality” (Authors and Owners: The
invention of copyright [Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1993:
print; 142]). Gaining skill as a writer opens the door to
learning more about yourself and to developing a personal
voice and approach in your writing. It is essentioal for all
student writers to understand how to avoid committing
plagarism.

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2.3. INFORMATION SHARING TODAY

Innumerable documents on a host of subjects are posted
on the Web apparently for the purpose of being shared.
The availability of research materials and the ease of
transmitting, modifying, and using them have influenced
the culture of the Internet, where the free exchange of
information is an ideal. In this sea of materials, some
students may question the need to acknowledge the
authorship of individual documents. Professional
writers, however, have no doubt about the matter. They
recognize the importance of documentation whether
they base their research on print or electronic
publications. And so they continue to cite their sources
and to mark the passages they quote. In the culture of
the academy, too, the free exchange of information is a
long-standing ideal. Under certain circumstances, this
ideal is described as academic freedom. But nothing
about academic freedom or the free exchange of
information implies ignoring authorship. Academic
standards require all writers to acknowledge the authors
whose work they use when preparing papers and other
kinds of studies and reports. New technologies have
made information easier to locate and obtain, but
research projects only begin with identifying and
collecting source material. The essential intellectual
tasks of a research project have not changed. These
tasks call for a student to understand the published
facts, ideas, and insights about a subject and to
integrate them with the student's own views on the
topic. To achieve this goal, student writers must
rigorously distinguish between what they borrow and
what they create. As information sharing has become
easier, so has plagiarism. For instance, on the Internet it
is possible to buy and download completed research
papers. Some students are misinformed about buying
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research papers, on the Internet or on campus. They

believe that if they buy a paper, it belongs to them, and
therefore they can use the ideas, facts, sentences, "and
paragraphs in it, free from any worry about plagiarism.
Buying a paper, however, is the same as buying a
book or a magazine. You own the physical copy of the
book or magazine, which you may keep in your
bookcase, give to a friend, or sell. And you may use
whatever you learn fromreading it in your own writing.
But you are never free from the obligation to let your
readers know the source of the ideas, facts, words, or
sentences you borrow. Publications are a special kind of
property. You can own them physically, but the
publisher or author retains rights to the content. You
should also know that purchased papers are readily
recognizable, and teachers can often trace downloaded
materials through an Internet search.

2.4. UNINTENTIONAL PLAGIARISM

The purpose of a research paper is to synthesize
previous research and scholarship with your ideas on
the subject. Therefore, you should feel free to use other
persons' words, facts, and thoughts in your research
paper, but the material you borrow must not be
presented as if it were your own creation. When you
write your research paper, remember that you must
document everything that you borrow-not only direct
quotations and paraphrases but also information and
ideas.
Often plagiarism in student writing is unintentional, as
when an elementary school pupil, assigned to do a
report on a certain topic, copies down, word for word,
everything on the subject in an encyclopedia.
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Unfortunately, some students continue to take this

approach in high school and even in college, not
realizing that it constitutes plagiarism. To guard against
the possibility of unintentional plagiarism during
research and writing, keep careful notes that always
distinguish among three types of material: your ideas,
your summaries and paraphrases of others' ideas and
facts, and exact wording you copy from sources.
Plagiarism sometimes happens because researchers do
not keep precise records of their reading, and by the
time they return to their notes, they have forgotten
whether their summaries and paraphrases contain
quoted material that is poorly marked or unmarked.
Presenting an author's exact wording without marking it
as a quotation is plagiarism, even if you cite the source.
For this reason, recording only quotations is the most
reliable method of note- taking in substantial research
projects, especially for beginning students. It is the
surest way, when you work with notes, to avoid
unintentional plagiarism. Similar problems can occur in
notes kept electronically. When you copy and paste
passages, make sure that you add quotation marks
around them. (See 1.7 for more on note- taking.)
Another kind of unintentional plagiarism happens when
students write research papers in a second language. In
an effort to avoid grammatical errors, they may copy
the structure of an author's sentences. When replicating
grammatical patterns, they sometimes inadvertently
plagiarize the author's ideas, information, words, and
expressions.
If you realize after handing a paper in that you
accidentally plagiarized an author's work, you should

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report the problem to your instructor as soon as

possible. In this way you eliminate the element of
fraud. You may receive a lower grade than you had
hoped for, but getting a lower grade is better than
failing a course or being expelled.

2.5. FORMS OF PLAGIARISM

The most blatant form of plagiarism is to obtain and
submit as your own a paper written by someone else (see
2.3). Other, less conspicuous forms of plagiarism include
the failure to give appropriate acknowledgment when
repeating or paraphrasing another's wording, when taking
a particularly apt phrase, and when paraphrasing another's
argument or presenting another's line of thinking.

Repeating or Paraphrasing Wording

Suppose, for example, that you want to use the material
in the following passage, which appears on page 625 of
an essay by Wendy Martin in the book Columbia
Literary History of the United States.
ORIGINAL SOURCE
Some of Dickinson's most powerful poems express her
firmly held conviction that life cannot be fully
comprehended without an understanding of death.
If you write the following sentence without
documentation, you have plagiarized because you
borrowed another's wording without
acknowledgment, even though you changed its form:

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PLAGIARISM
Emily Dickinson firmly believed that we cannot fully
comprehend life unless we also understand death.
But you may present the material if you cite your source:
As Wendy Martin has suggested, Emily Dickinson firmly
believed that we cannot fully comprehend life unless we
also understand death (625).
The source is indicated, in accordance with MLA style, by
the name of the author ("Wendy Martin") and by a page
reference in parentheses, preferably at the end of the
sentence. The name refers the reader to the
corresponding entry in the works-cited list, which
appears at the end of the paper.
Martin, Wendy. "Emily Dickinson." Columbia Literary
History of the United States. Emory Elliott, gen. ed.
New York: Columbia Up, 1988. 609-26. Print.
Taking a Particularly Apt Phrase

ORIGINAL SOURCE
Everyone uses the word language and 'everybody
these days talks about culture. . . .
"Languaculture" is a reminder, I hope, of the necessary
connection between its two parts....
(Michael Agar, Language Shock: Understanding the
Culture ofConversation [New York: Morrow, 1994; print;
60])
If you write the following sentence without
documentation, you have committed plagiarism because

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you borrowed without acknowledgment a term

("languaculture") invented by another writer:

PLAGIARISM
At the intersection of language and culture lies a
concept that we might call "Ianguaculture."
But you may present the material if you cite your source:
At the intersection of language and culture lies a
concept that Michael Agar has called "Ianguaculture"
(60).
In this revision, the author's name refers the reader to
the full description of the work in the works-cited list at
the end of the paper, and the parenthetical
documentation identifies the location of the borrowed
material in the work.
Agar, Michael. Language Shock: Understanding
the Culture of Conversation. New York: Morrow, 1994.
Print.
Paraphrasing an Argument or Presenting a Line of
Thinking
ORIGINAL SOURCE
Humanity faces a quantum leap forward. It faces the
deepest social upheaval and creative restructuring of all
time. Without clearly recognizing it, we are engaged in
building a remarkable civilization from the ground up.
This is the meaning of the Third Wave.
Until now the human race has undergone two great waves

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of change, each one largely obliterating earlier cultures or

civilizations and replacing them with the ways of life
inconceivable to those who came before. The First Wave
of change-the agricultural revolution took thousand so
years to play itself out. The Second Wave-the rise of
industrial civilization-took a mere hundred years. Today
history is even more accelerative, and it is likely that the
Third Wave will sweep across history and complete itself
in a few decades. (Alvin Toffler, The Third Wave [1980;
New York: Bantam, 1981; print; 10))
If you write the following sentence without
documentation, you have committed plagiarism
because you borrowed another writer's line of thinking
without acknowledgment:
PLAGIARISM
There have been two revolutionary periods of change in
history: the agricultural revolution and the industrial
revolution. The agricultural revolution determined the
course of history for thousands of years; the industrial
civilization lasted about a century. We are now on the
threshold of a new period of revolutionary change, but
this one may last for only a few decades.
But you may present the material if you cite your source:
According to Alvin Toffler, there have been two
revolutionary periods of change in history: the agricultural
revolution and the industrial revolution. The agricultural
revolution determined the course of history for thousands
of years; the industrial civilization lasted about a century.
We are now on the threshold of a new period of
revolutionary change, but this one may last for only a few
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decades (l O).

In this revision, the author's name refers the reader to

the full description of the work in the works-cited list at
the end of the paper, and the parenthetical
documentation identifies the location of the borrowed
material in the work.
Toffler, Alvin. The Third Wave. 1980. New York:
Bantam, 1981. Print.
2.6.WHEN DOCUMENTATION IS NOT
NEEDED
In addition to documenting direct quotations and
paraphrases, you should consider the status of the
information and ideas you glean from sources in
relation to your audience and to the scholarly consensus
on your topic. In general, information and ideas you
deem broadly known by your readers and widely
accepted by scholars, such as the basic biography of an
author or the dates of a historical event, can be used
without documentation. But where readers are likely to
seek more guidance or where the facts are in significant
dispute .among scholars, documentation is needed; you
could attribute a disputed fact to the source with
which you agree or could document the entire
controversy. While direct quotations and paraphrases
are always documented, scholars seldom document
proverbs, sayings, and cliches. If you have any doubt
about whether you are committing plagiarism, cite your
source or sources.

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2.7. RELATED ISSUES

Other issues related to plagiarism and academic
integrity include reusing a research paper, collaborative
work, research on human subjects, and copyright
infringement.
2:7.1. Reusing a Research Paper
If you must complete a research project to earn a grade in
a course, handing in a paper you already earned credit for
in another course is deceitful. Moreover, you lose the
opportunity to improve your knowledge and skills. If you
want to rework a paper that you prepared for another
course, ask your current instructor for permission to do so.
If you wish to draw on or reuse portions of your previous
writing in a new paper, ask your instructor for guidance.
2.7.2. Collaborative Work
An example of collaborative work is a group project
you carry out with other students. Joint participation in
research and writing is common and, in fact,
encouraged in many courses and in many professions.
It does not constitute plagiarism provided that credit is
given for all contributions. One way to give credit, if
roles were clearly demarcated or were unequal, is to
state exactly who did what. Another way, especially if
roles and contributions were merged and shared, is to
acknowledge all concerned equally. Ask your instructor
for advice if you are not certain how to acknowledge
collaboration.

2.7.3. Research on Human Subjects

Many academic institutions have policies governing
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research on human subjects. Examples of research

involving human subjects include clinical trial sofa
drug or personal interviews for a psychological study.
Institutions usually require that researchers obtain the
informed consent of human subjects for such projects.
Although research for a paper in high school or college
rarely involves human subjects, ask your instructor
about your institution's policy if yours does.
2.7.4. Copyright Infringement
Whereas summaries, paraphrases, and brief quotations
in research papers are normally permissible with
appropriate acknowledgment, reproducing and
distributing an entire copyrighted work or significant
portions of it without obtaining permission to do so
from the copyright holder is an infringement of
copyright law and a legal offense, even if the violator
acknowledges the source. This is true for works in all
media. For a detailed discussion of copyright and other
legal issues related to publishing, see chapter 2 of the
MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly
Publishing[Srd ed.; New York: MLA, 2008; print).

2.8. SUMMING UP
You have plagiarized if
 you took notes that did not distinguish summary
and paraphrase from quotation and then you presented
wording from the notes asif it were all your own.
 while browsing the Web, you copied text and
pasted it into your paper without quotation marks or
without citing the source.

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 you repeated or paraphrased someone's wording

without acknowledgment.
 you took someone's unique or particularly apt
phrase without acknowledgment.
 you paraphrased someone's argument or
presented someone's line of thought without
acknowledgment.
 you bought or otherwise acquired a research
paper and handed in part or all of it as your own.
You can avoid plagiarism by
 making a list of the writers and viewpoints you
discovered in your research and using this list to
double- check the presentation of material in your
paper.
 keeping the following three categories distinct in
your notes: your ideas, your summaries of others'
material, and exact wording you copy.
 identifying the sources of all material you
borrow-exact wording, paraphrases, ideas, arguments,
and facts.
 checking with your instructor when you are
uncertain about your use of sources.

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Module -III
Selection of a research problem- collection of
materials- primary and secondary sources- taking notes

SELECTION OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

Formulation of a research problem is the most difficult
task. The word problem is derived from the Greek word
problema [< pro = before, ballo = to throw] 'to throw
forward' and means a question thrown for a solution. It
means a question for which no readymade answer is
available from previous experience or instinct. Thus there
arises a sort of confusion or ambiguity which has to be
cleared up by over-coming'/all the obstacles in the
knowledge through the removal of gaps. So a problem
means a question for which solution is to be sought by
careful examination. The researcher has to choose such a
problem in the field of his interest as his topic. A
successful completion of the investigation throws open
many truths or our knowledge for further investigation or
utilization.
The selection of a topic can be possible only when all
the research work that has been done up to date is
known. But a research student when he joins for
research does not possess the required grounding in the
subject. So he has two alternatives. Firstly he may take
the expertise help from his teachers who have already
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mastered the subject in depth. A teacher who is

involved in research is a fund of research problems.
Secondly the student may himself identify the topic by
getting acquainted with current trends in the field of
specialization in which he is emotionally interested.
The books on histories, handbooks, dissertation
abstracts, encyclopaedias and recent writings on the
subject give a general frame work of the work that has
been done and the aspects of subject which need further
investigation. He may discuss with his research guide
and decide upon the topic by narrowing down the scope
of investigation by satisfying the following
requirements:
1. The researcher's interest, intellectual curiosity and
drive should be satisfied. The successful completion of
the thesis depends much on the sustained interest of the
researcher. If the subject is not upto the taste of the
researcher, the task becomes an unholy burden.
2. The research topic should be practicable. In other
words the topic by its very nature should be feasible to
be completed within the required period of time.
3. The study in its end form should furnish a basis
for confirming some earlier study or form a basis for
some future study. It means that the results should have
some practical or utilitarian significance.
4. It should meet a social need or personal
ambition. The researcher may aim at doing research
either with an intention to serve the cause of humanity,
or to attain some monetary gains in the form of position
in employment.

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5. Adequate supervision is essential for undertaking

research in a particular branch of learning. One should
not adventure to take up a topic in the absence of the
guidance of specialists in the field of research.
6. Library facilities should be sufficient. In the
absence of ready access to the required source material
a particular topic becomes simply unsuitable.
Sometimes, it so happens that in spite of the good
intentions of the research guides, some source materials
are not made available to the researcher because of
personal prejudices and administrative reasons. So all
the required source material should be within the reach
of the researcher.
7. The financial position of the researcher should
be sound. Either he should be financially sound to
support himself or get a scholarship during the period
of research.

COLLECTION OF MATERIAL AND NOTES

TAKING
Review of literature: After the topic of research is
decided, it is essential to review all the relevant material
which is a bearing on the topic. With the help of the tools
of research the researcher has to know all the previous
research studies, as it is incumbent on his part to
show how the problem under investigation is
advancement to the work so far done. It is expected
that the proposed study should not have been done
previously. Even though completely new and original
topic is in fact impossible in Sanskrit, at least some
aspects of it should be of value to shed light on the chosen
problem. A complete record of the conclusions arrived at
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by the previous researches is to be drawn to explain some

underlying theory of the present problem.

Collection of Material
The first step is the identification of the required reading
material and preparation of a working bibliography for the
thesis. The schedule of various processes may be as
follows:
1. Study of the scope and coverage of the subject.
2. Search for documents.
3. Physical verification of the documents.
4. Preparation of the entries: (a) description, (b)
annotation and (c) abstracting.
5. Preparation of the working bibliography.
1. Study of the subject: Histories, dictionaries,
encyclopedias, handbooks, 'outline type books', etc., are
to be consulted first. This gives a general idea of the
subject the researcher has to master. A general
knowledge of the library or bibliographic classification
schemes is helpful to identify the required books,
besides guiding the researcher to reach the concerned
books in the stacks.
2. Search for documents: Now the researcher has to
begin consulting the various types of bibliographies to
identify the availability of books and journals. The
consultation of the bibliographies helps the researcher in
more than one way, To mention, (a) the researcher can
gaze the work done upto date in different sub-areas, (b) he

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can trace the areas in which duplication of work has

been done, (c) he can see the activities in the fringe
subjects and the areas of overlap between his and its
related subjects, and (d) he can identify the areas of his
subject which are not yet exploited.
The success of the researcher is mainly depending on
identifying the aspects of the subject which are either
unearthed or left with several gaps and controversies.
Incidentally the researcher may note down the top
names in the field and try to contact them for
clarifications and assistance.
3. Physical verification of the documents: A
working bibliography for a given topic, worth the name,
can be made only after examination of documents as far
as possible. The physical verification gives authenticity
to the description of documents. The researcher has to
examine every document on the following questions:
(a) Of which edition of the book is this copy?
(b) What is the date of publication of this copy?
(c) What is the date of first publication of this
book?
(d) Is the book on hand an authentic copy?
and
(e) Is there any fraud in this copy?
This examination is essential before a researcher
takes a particular document as his authority for his
citation in his thesis.

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4. Preparation of the entries: Now a record of the

document is to be made on a card (normally of 12.5 x
7.5 cm = 5" x 3" size). The description of the record
contains author, title, imprint and collation. To fix the
complete identity of an author, the full name, without
initials, should be given. The statement of the title should
also be in full, for the title of a document indicates
generally the nature and scope of the contents. The
translator, editor, commentator, illustrator, etc., also
form part of the title. The imprint of a document
consists of the place of publication, the name of the
publisher and the date of publication. Finally collation
is a statement regarding the extent of the document in
pages or volumes, pages, bibliography, index and also
the series note. Example: Chinmulgund, P.]., V.V.
Mirashi. Review of Indological Research in last 75
years. Poona, M.M. Chitraoshastn Felicitation
Committee and Bharatiya Charitrakosha Mandal, 1967.
M.M. Chitraoshastri Felicitation volume. Pp.xxviii,
849.
Annotation and abstracting are not compulsory in every
entry. But when the researcher feels their need he may
add. In an annotation is given a descriptive and factual
information or a critical judgment of the document in
question. Abstracting has its methodology; it gives the
following information: (i) the exact boundary of the
subject treated, (ii) the new thought embodied, (iii) new
factual data recorded, and (iv) relation of the document
to any other work intimately associated with it. For the
part of the articles, the same procedure of description as
mentioned above is followed with the addition of the
statement of the host document or journal in the
imprint.
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Notes Taking
Just as the bibliography is prepared on cards, notes can
also be taken on cards. One may use the cards of
bigger size, say 10 x 15 cm (4" x 6") or 13 x 20 cm (5”
x 8"). To increase the utility of the cards the following
procedures are to be followed:
(a) One idea, fact or concept is to be recorded on
each card. This is helpful to arrange the cards according
to the necessity at the time of making the draft of the
thesis.
(b) Key words or phrases are to be recorded at the
top of each card as a heading. These headings help to
have classification and cross- classification of the data,
besides helping to identify the notes without going
through the whole content.
(c) In the notes sufficient information should be
written to make use of while writing the draft without
referring to the originals again.
(d) A note can be an abstract of the content or a
verbatim reproduction. In case of quoting verbatim the
quotation marks are to be used, by which the same
thing can be cited in the footnotes. If any part of the
quotation, either at the beginning or in the middle of a
sentence, it should be indicated by ellipsis marks (...).
When the notes cards are arranged according to the
logic of the thesis or the scheme of argument, it is
very easy to make the rough draft and to draw
conclusions.

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Module – IV
Thesis format
The preliminaries – the text- references- appendix-
bibliography

THESIS FORMAT
The thesis in its end form is meant for its readers, who are
supposed to find its utility in widening the horizons of
human knowledge and culture. A scholar of an allied
subject like History, Sociology, Anthropology,
Sociobiology, Linguistics, Psychology and Political
Science may be its prospective reader. So the thesis is
to be presented in such a form which would promote
interest to go through the book. The capacity to sustain
the interest of the reader is the touchstone for the
success of the thesis. The logical sequence of the matter
and the mechanical precision influence greatly the mind
of the reader. While the eye is attracted by the elegance
in the neat execution, the interest is sustained by the
skill in presenting the matter in unity and clarity. The
size and colour of the paper, the flawless typing of the
matter, uniform spacing on all the sides of the paper are
external contributors for the elegance of the book.
Besides these there are certain standardized
specifications in the mechanical form as well as the
logical sequence, both of which constitute the format of
the thesis.

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According to the mechanical specifications, the thesis

is to be typed on one side only of good white paper
21.8 x 28 cm (8 1/2x 11") in size. A margin of 4 cm (11
/2 inches) at the top and left side and of 2.5 cm (one
inch) at the bottom and right side of the page should be
left consistently. The text should be typed with double
spacing and all the pages are to be numbered serially
either in the upper right comer or centered at the top.
The notes, when typed below each page, may be typed
in 1 1/2 space to give elegant appearance. The notes
may also be typed at the end of each chapter.
According to the logical sequence of the thesis format,
which has been conventionally followed by both the
traditional and modern scholars of today, the items to be
followed in order may be listed as follows:
1. The Preliminaries - comprising (1) title page, (2)
preface, (3) table of contents and (4) list of abbreviations.
2. The Text - consisting of (1) introduction,
(2) main body of the thesis, and (3) conclusions.
3. The Reference Material - consisting of (1)
appendix, (2) Bibliography and (3) index.

1. The Preliminaries
l.1. The title page: The title page of the dissertation or
thesis is to be made just in the same way as that of a
printed book with some additional information. This
should contain the title of the thesis, name of the
writer, name of the course for which the thesis is
submitted, name of the department, name of the
University, college or institution and date or year of
submission of the thesis'
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1.2. Preface: The preface contains what we call

anubandhacatustaya in our traditional methodology,
comprising (1) the scope and content of the subject matter
(visaya), (2) the purpose of the research (phala), (3) the
relation between the subject and the purpose (sambandha)
and (4) the prospective reader {adhikarin). In other words
the preface should answer the following questions: (1)
why this particular subject has been chosen? (2) What are
the limitations of the treatment? (3) What are the thrust
areas to be explained? (4) How is it going to contribute to
the human knowledge and culture of the nation?, and (5)
which type of readers the book is meant for? The preface
thus contains all the relevant matter not forming, in
any way, the part of the text but focusing the background
behind the formulation of the text. This is further
aimed at to enthuse the prospective readers of the benefits
by going through the following pages. Thus the preface
and conclusion stand in apposition as the cause and the
effect.
A preface can be short or long depending upon the
situation. For example Katyayana dispenses with the
preface of his commentary called Varttika on the
Astadhyayiof Panini, with a few sentences. While
Patanjali takes pains to elaborate his prefatory note
running into several pages with arguments in favour of
the grammatical studies. Thus the Paspasahnika of the
Mahabhasya is a best example of a lengthy traditional
preface. The prefaces of Sayana and Max Mueller to
the Rgveda-samhita are other examples for lengthy
prefaces.
It is customary in the modern works to include one or
two paragraphs to acknowledge the help received from

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such persons like (1) the research supervisor who is the

nearest adviser and benefactor to the student, (2) those
who have rendered help by way of consultations and
discussions, and (3) the institutions and organisations
who have financed the project and also those who have
provided all the infrastructure facilities. In expressing
thankfulness to others the researcher should be honest
in thought and simple in expression.
1.3. Table of contents: The table of contents
includes the preface, the introduction, the chapters
with their subdivisions and bibliography, appendix,
index and illustrations or plates if any. Page numbers
are to be given for each of the entries. The main
chapter, and its subchapters with further subdivisions
are indicated either by indentation or by a numerical
system. An examination of a number of standard books
will give a clear idea of the discipline that is needed to
be learnt by observation.
The table of contents presents the skill of the researcher
in organisation of the text. The text, in fact, is a piece of
art, which is to be developed in such a fashion as a
sculptor chisels the stone into a beautiful idol of
worship and beauty. The contents give various limbs
and also the art of their assemblage so as to satisfy the
requirements of his readers. This should promote the
enthusiasm of the reader being kindled by the preface.
1.4. List of abbreviations: The important
books and authors who are to appear time and again in
the body of the thesis are signified by abbreviations.
For example in a thesis written on the contribution of
Vedantadesika to Visistadvaita, one may use the
abbreviations VD and R for Vadantadesika and
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Ramanuja respectively; these two names are likely to

appear on every page, and sometimes in many lines on
each page. When the research is concerned with
editing, each manuscript used for the critical edition
should be described of its physical configurations
besides giving abbreviations. The abbreviations should
not be too arbitrary, unless otherwise needed as in
numbering various manuscripts used for making critical
edition. In other words, the abbreviations are to be built
on the basis of the words for which they are made, so
that the reader does not struggle to identify them. All the
abbreviations are to be listed out and the list is to be
placed before the introduction. One should not resort to
the use of too many abbreviations in the text of the
thesis, because the numerous abbreviations task the
reader's memory and block the easy reading of the
thesis. In such cases prolixity by giving full names is
preferable to brevity by abbreviations. Thus the authors,
titles of books or concepts which occur either in a
particular chapter or occasionally in the thesis should
not be abbreviated.

2. The Text
The introduction, the make body of the thesis and the
conclusion constitute the text of the thesis. The success
of a research programme lies chiefly in the selection,
arrangement and interpretation of facts. While the
selection of the facts for research is at the exclusive
discretion of the researcher, the arrangement is by his
power of judgement. So a clear analysis of the types of
data that is to be arranged is the basic requirement of a
good thesis. All the matters thus collected are grouped
into various sections constituting the text. The data that

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has been collected may be grouped into four

categories, namely, (1) the concepts which are
presupposed and pre- determined, and functioning as
maxims, on the basis of which the thesis is to be
developed, (2) aspects of the selected topic which have
been settled by earlier researches, (3) aspects which are
still open for discussion being left controversial, and (4)
aspects which are not yet explained by others.
The main part of the thesis is concerned with the data
relating to the third and fourth categories. In order to
devote at full length and to make precise the approach
in the main text, all the related matters belonging to the
first and second categories above are to be separated
and put in the introduction.
2.1. Introduction: It should be written with all
care to serve the following aims: (a) To introduce the
problem in a suitable context, (b) To give a resume of the
history of the subject, (c) To summarise all the relevant
details which have been already settled, (d) To
stimulate interest of the reader, (e) To explain the actual
problem, (f) To justify the study, and (g) To inform the
readers the sources of the data which are mainly used.
For example, in the Dhvanyaloka Anandavardhana
gives in brief the prima facie views in one verse
followed by a brief explanation, before the exposition
of his Dhvani theory with all ramifications. Similarly in
his Adhyasabhasya Sjankaracarya gives in brief the
views which run against the Advaita concept and this
introduction serves to acquaint the readers with the chief
opponents who are going to figure in the main discussion.
This methodology holds good even in modern
dissertations. For example a book devoted to Sanskrit
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Linguistics should start with an introduction on 'the

definition and nature of language' in general. Therefore
the area of introduction is limited to the explanation of all
the relevant items which make easy the reading of the
main text.
2.2. Main body of the thesis: It is not possible to give
any rules or specifications as to how the main body of
the thesis should be shaped. It is because the intuition
(pratibha) and the skill of the researcher acquired by
practice and observation (abhyasa) decide the breakup
of the thesis into various sections and sub-sections.
However we may draw some general principles that are
to be observed systematically for a satisfactory
presentation.
(a) The content of the thesis should be classified into
chapters, major sections and minor sections. The matter
is to be presented in such a way that there should not be
any reference to what is going to be discussed in the
following chapters or sections. In other words each
succeeding chapter may have a bearing on the
discussion of the preceding chapter but not vice-versa.
(b) Each point should be discussed bringing together
the opinions of different scholars and substantiated with
arguments.
(c) In presenting the arguments of different authors
on a particular point, the recording should be done
strictly following the chronology, every new point
added shall become a new aspect introduced in the
system; now it can be examined whether this new point
was from the intuition or ingenuity of the author or did
he borrow from the other system to bridge the gaps in
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the argument For example E. Frauwallner proved that

Dihnaga borrowed some concepts of time from the
Sambandha-samuddesa of Bhartrhari's
Vakyapadiya in his Traikdlyapanksa.
(d) When one and the same point is said by different
authors, the earliest author should be quoted and
explained. A passing reference may be made to the
other authors either in the text or in the notes. The
number of upholders of the same idea corroborate the
acceptability of the concept. While the modi fications
testify the critical examination to which a particular
theory is exposed; both the views strengthen the value
of the basic concept. The similarities and differences
between the Bhamatf and the Vivarana schools testify
the popularity of the Advaita doctrine.
(e) The quotations cited by different authors should
be traced by referring to the originals.
(f) In case of difference in the readings of the
original and the quotation, which often happens in
Sanskrit literature, one of the readings is to be
determined on the basisofthecontextual evidence and
the differences are to be recorded in the notes. This
helps the reader to appreciate the honesty as well as
the intellectual efficiency of the researcher. In case the
originals are not to be traced, the same is to be reported
with a note in the notes.
(g) Under no circumstances, either in the form of
quoting in verbatim or in abstracting the original text,
the matter which has already been mentioned should be
repeated. In quoting, one may use ellipsis marks (...) to
omit the irrelevant portions. This would enhance the
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readability of the content and exhibit the scholarliness

of the researcher.
(h) Accuracy in documentation goes a long way to
make the thesis valuable and dependable.

3. Reference Material
The reference material consists of facts used for the
formulation of the theory presented in the main body of
the thesis. A fact which has been used by a researcher
for the interpretation of one truth or theory may be used
by another to arrive at another allied theory. Therefore the
organization or arrangement of the facts is the mirror of
the intelligence, imagination, skills and intellectual
honesty of the researcher. In order to facilitate the
readers of the thesis and to appreciate the talents, the
researcher has to be very air and frank in showing all
facts discussed in the thesis. For this purpose are aimed
the appendix, bibliography, index and notes.
3.1. Appendix: While writing the main text
of the thesis, maximum care is to be taken to bring into
discussion relevant points only. By doing so the reader
gets a clear picture of the author's opinions. Sometimes
it so happens that the full comprehension of the text
needs some general background information. This may
include original data, tables forming supporting
evidences, etc. All such matters are given in the
appendix. For example in the present handbook, a long
discussion on the 'Origin of Indian Scripts' is added as
Appendix-A to the chapter 8: 'Scripts used in
Manuscripts'. For a proper historical perspective of how
the various scripts areinterrelated, a general
understanding of the origin of scripts is very much
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needed. Similarly tableof 'Some Important Manuscript

Collections is given as Appendix-B to the chapter 9:
'Writing atenals to support the antiquity of writing
materials, etc. Each appendix should be clearly
separated from the text and listed in the Tableof
Contents'.
3.2. Bibliography: Bibliography is 'a list of source
materials which have been consulted in the process of
writing a book or paper (Webster’s Dictionary). The
information regarding the materials should be complete
in all respects containing the name of the author title,
and imprint. The edition mentioned in the bibliography
should be identical with thatused in writing the text and
notes. For the purpose of guiding the reader with
further literature on the fringe areas, a few more entries
may also be added. But no book which is cited in the
thesis should be omitted in the bibliography.
There is a method of presenting the bibliographic
citations. The author, the title and the imprint are
treated as three distinct units and separated by full
points. The author's name is reversed by putting the
family name or the end part of the name as the initial
word of the entry being followed by the Christian name
or the other part of the name with a comma (e.g.
Sharma, Mukunda Madhava for Mukunda Madhava
Sharma). If the book is authored by more than one
person, the name of the first author is to be reversed
and the others are shown in their natural order. Some
authorities opine that all the names are to be reversed
for symmetry and consistency with the general format.
After the author there should be a full point. The title of
the book should be typed with underline and separated

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from imprint by a full point. In case of articles in

journals, the title of the article should be in single
quotation marks and the name of the journal with
underline. All the words in the title of the book or the
article and journal maybe put in small letters without
any distinction. This is because of the growing
acceptability among scholars to reduce the use of
capital letters to the minimum. Some scholars,
however, continue to insist upon the traditional method
of using capitals for the initial letters of all nouns and
adjectives. The prepositions, conjunctions and pronouns
are put in small letters (i.e. lower case). The imprint,
consisting of the place of printing, name of the
publisher, date and series, is treated as one sentence. In
case of journals volume, part and page numbers are
also given in the imprint; e.g.
Altekar, A.S. The Position of Women in Hindu
Civilization, from prehistoric times to the present day.
Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass,1983 (rpt. of 2nd ed. 1959).
The traditional works is Sanskrit are to be treated
separately for convenience. The traditional writings are
known better by their titles than by their authors. Thus
these books should be listed alphabetically on the basis
of their titles. Here the normal practice is that the
sources are separated into traditional and modem. All
the traditional sources are alphabetically entered text
wise. The title of the work, author, editor, place of
publication, publisher, year of publication are given in
order. The title of the work and author are treated as one
unit; e.g.

Research Methodology in Sanskrit 106

 School of Distance Education

Vakyapadiya of Bhartrhari with the Vrtti and the

Paddhati of Vrsabhadeva. Ed. by K.A. Subramania
Iyer. Kanda I. Poona, Deccan College, 1966, Deccan
College Monograph series 32.
3.3. Index: The table of contents gives only broad
outlines and the main headings of the subject. In order
to draw cross references and also to give full details of
the matters and materials used in different places the
device of index is introduced in writing monographs
and theses. Thus the index acts as a clearing-house of
the information spread throughout the volume. The
scope of the index depends upon the choice of the
researcher as to how he designs to exhibit his work.
One may limit to simple 'Name and Place Index' by
giving the name of authors and places cited in the book.
Another scholar may plan specialised indexes by giving
subjects, subtopics, examples, quotations and so on.
The index is an invariable aid in modern publications.
When the thesis is presented in the form of a
typescript it can be omitted at the option of the
researcher.

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Research Methodology in Sanskrit 107