64 Nagendranatha Basu — Ndgaras and the Ndgari-alphalet. [April, 



From a thorough examination into tlie forms of the ancient Nagari, 

 it iH obvious that the form is only a modification of the ancient Gupta- 

 character. This ancient form was introduced itito Gujarat from Noi-them 

 India by the Nagara-Brahmanas, which is proved by the fact that 

 most of the copper-plates in Nagari found in Gujarat were granted to 

 the Brahmanas come from Kanya-kubja, Pundra-vardhana, Pa^ali-putra, 

 &c. No doubt Brahmanas began to emigrate into Gujarat and reside 

 there long before that period. 



I think the story of Trijata and his driving away the Nagas from 

 Camat-kara-pura is only an allegory. The Nagas of the Nagara- 

 khanda were perhaps the snake-worshipper Shah kings or the Naga 

 raccH of Gujarat, who reigned there up to the 4th Century A.D. These 

 kShah kings, or the Nagas, were afterwards defeated and driven away 

 from Nagara-Auandapura by the 9aivas (worshippers of C'wat,), who 

 erected there numerous temples which were visited by the Chinese 

 pilgrim Hiouen Tsiang in 7th Century A.D. 



In the lists of Indian alphabets given in works prior to this period, 

 no mention whatever is made of Nagari. 



The first mention of Nagari-lipi, is in the Jaina Scripture Nandi- 

 sutra. Most of the Jainapriests hold, that the Nandi-sutra was compiled 

 at the same time or a little before, as the first publication of Kalpa-sutra. 

 In 453 A.D. by order of Dhruva-sena king of Valabhi, the Kalpa-sutra 

 was read before the public at Anandapura (present Bada-nagar). It is 

 probable that the Nandi-sutra was compiled about this time at Ananda- 

 pura, then a Jaina city, and the compiler had in view the character 

 used by the Nagara-Brahmanas, when he enumerated the others. 



At a shortly later period, in the copper-plate grant of Dadda 

 Pra^anta-raga king of Gurjara, dated ^aka 415, we see the first speci- 

 men of the Nagari character in the Royal sign-manual upon the plate 

 It is very probable that this character came to be current somewhere 

 about the latter part of the 4th and beginning of the 5th cen- 

 turies. 



During the reigns of the Rastra-kuta kings of Gujarat, and their 

 successors the Caulukyas, the Nagara-Brahmanas retained the Royal 

 priesthood, the ministership and other higher offices of the state all to 

 themselves. From the perusal of the copper-plates of these Rastra-kuta 

 kings, we come to know, that some of them conquered Gauda, Vagga, 

 Kaliijga, Garjga, Magadha, Malava and several other countries in the 

 8th, 9th and 10th centuries A.D. It is possible during this period, 

 the name Nagara or Nagari became cix-culated in many pai-ts of 

 India. 



This paper will be published in full in the Journal, Part I. 



