152 On the Introduction of Writing into India. [No. 2. 



the Brahmans. We nowhere meet in the Buddhist literature with 

 those strong, imprecations against book-learning which we found 

 among the Brahmans, and which may be heard, I believe, even at 

 the present day. 



If thus the first, though rather legendary, trace of writing, as 

 a part of the elementary education in India, is* discovered in the 

 life of Buddha, it is curious to observe that the first actual writing, 

 the first well authenticated inscription in India, is likewise of Bud- 

 dhist origin. There are no Brahmauic inscriptions earlier than 

 the Buddhist inscriptions of As'oka on the rocks of Kapurdigiri, 

 Dhauli, and Girnar. They belong to the third century before 

 Christ. They call themselves lipi, a writing,f or dliarmalipi,% a 

 sacred writing; and they mention the writer or engraver by the 

 name of lipikara.§ This last word lipikara is an important word, 

 for it is the only word in the Sutras of Panini which can be legiti- 

 mately adduced to prove that Panini was acquainted with the art 

 of writing. He teaches the formation of this word, iii. 2, 21. 

 There is indeed another passage, which has frequently been quoted, 

 where Panini teaches the formation of the adjective yavandni. This 

 is simply the feminine of yavana, as Indrdni is of Indra. Katyayana, 

 however, and the Commentator, both maintain that yavanani is 

 used as a name of lipi, and that it meant the writing of the Yavanas. 

 I see no reason to doubt that the examples which we find in the 

 Commentaries go back to the very time of Panini, and I am quite 

 willing to admit that Panini gave his rule on yavanani simply in 

 order to explain Yavanani, as the name of a certain alphabet. But 

 I must demur to any further conclusions. Yavana is by no means 

 the exclusive name of the Greeks or Ionians. Professor Lassen 

 has proved that it had a much wider meaning, and that it was even 



* In an ancient inscription of Khandgiri (Journal of the Asiat. Soc. of Bengal, 

 vi. 318), a kit g is mentioned who in his youth learned to write, and was taught 

 besides, arithmetic, navigation, commerce, and law (" tato likharupagana nava 

 vapara vidhi vi'saradena.") 



t Etaya athfiya iyam lipi likhita ; for this purpose was the writing written. 



X Iyam dhammalipi Devanam piyena piyadasina rana likhapita asfci eva, 

 p. 752. 



§ Burnouf, Lotus, p. 752. 



