Sources of Ancient Indian History: Archaeological, Literary and Foreign Accounts — Part 2: Overview

1.2 Epigraphy (Inscriptions)

Inscriptions are widely regarded as the most important source for reconstructing ancient Indian history. An inscription is a contemporary document engraved at the time of the event it records; it cannot be altered later the way a manuscript can. Manuscripts written on birch bark, palm leaf, or paper had to be repeatedly copied, allowing errors and deliberate additions to creep in. Inscriptions are immune to this problem.

The study of inscriptions is called Epigraphy; the study of the evolution of scripts is called Palaeography.

Inscriptions are carved on: seals, copper plates, temple walls, wooden tablets, stone pillars, rock surfaces, bricks, and images.

Evolution of scripts:

• The oldest inscriptions in the subcontinent are in the Harappan script (c. 2500 BCE), found on seals, but remain undeciphered.
• The earliest deciphered inscriptions are the Ashokan edicts (3rd century BCE). These were written in four scripts:
  • Aramaic and Greek — used in Afghanistan.
  • Kharoshthi — used in Gandhara (north-west India); written right to left.
  • Brahmi — used for the rest of the empire, from Kalsi (Uttarakhand) in the north to Mysore in the south.
• All major scripts of India—Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Nagari, Gujarati, Bengali—evolved from Brahmi.
• James Prinsep, a civil servant of the East India Company, deciphered the Brahmi script in 1837, opening the entire corpus of Ashokan inscriptions to historical study.
• The earliest Sanskrit inscriptions appear in c. 1st century BCE. The Junagarh Rock Inscription of Rudradaman (mid 2nd century CE) is an early example of chaste Sanskrit.
• By c. 5th century CE, Sanskrit replaced Prakrit as the language of royal inscriptions.

Types of inscriptions:

Type	Example	Historical value
Royal edicts	Ashokan edicts	Social, religious, administrative policy of Mauryan empire
Commemorative	Lumbini Pillar (Ashoka)	Records royal visit to sacred site
Prashastis (eulogies)	Allahabad Pillar (Samudragupta), Hathigumpha (Kharavela), Aihole (Pulakeshin II)	Political history, genealogy, conquests
Land-grant copper plates	Pallava, Chalukya, Chola grants	Revenue systems, agricultural history, social structure
Donative	Hundreds in Deccan and south India	Temple-building, patronage networks
Infrastructure	Junagarh (Girnar) inscription of Rudradaman	Records Sudarshana lake, its construction under Chandragupta Maurya and repair under Rudradaman
Memorial	Sati stones, hero stones	Social practices, local history

Significance: The Allahabad Pillar Inscription alone reveals the conquests of Samudragupta—without it, this great Gupta king might have remained unknown. Inscriptions also provide information on extinct religious sects (Ajivikas), historical geography, iconography, and even the performing arts.

1.3 Numismatics (Coins)

The study of coins is called Numismatics. It is considered the second most important archaeological source after inscriptions. Hundreds of thousands of coins have been found and deposited in museums across India and abroad.

Coins are found either in systematic excavations (fewer in number but with precise chronological context) or as hoards—often discovered accidentally during ploughing, construction, or road-making.

Historical development of coinage:

Period	Coins	Key features
Second Urbanization (c. 6th century BCE)	Punch-Marked coins	Mostly silver, sometimes copper; bear only symbols, no inscriptions; found from Taxila to Mysore
Post-Mauryan	Lead, potin, copper, bronze, silver, gold	Issued in large numbers; indicate increased trade volume
Indo-Greek (c. 2nd–1st century BCE)	Silver and copper	Beautiful artistic busts of kings on obverse, deity on reverse; through coins alone we know of 40+ Indo-Greek rulers
Shaka-Pahlava	Silver and copper	Western Kshatrapa coins give dates in Shaka era
Kushana (1st–3rd century CE)	Mostly gold and copper	Coin moulds in hundreds found; depict Shiva, Greek and Persian deities alongside Indian gods; Vima Kadphises calls himself Maheshvara
Imperial Gupta	Gold (dinaras) and silver	Die-struck; obverse depicts king hunting lion/rhinoceros, playing vina, or performing Ashvamedha; Samudragupta and Kumaragupta I shown playing vina
Post-Gupta	Declining gold coins	Basis of R.S. Sharma's Feudalism theory—debasement indicates trade decline

Political information from coins:

• Yaudheya and Malava coins carry the legend gana, indicating a non-monarchical (republican) polity.
• Ship on Satavahana coins evidences maritime trade.
• Circulation area of coins helps reconstruct the territorial extent of dynasties.
• Shaka-Pahlava and Kushana kings are known almost entirely through numismatic evidence.