Writing is the most authentic source of knowledge concerning the events of the past. The inscriptions found on stones, copper plates, utensils and the like are very important for the study of the social, cultural and political history of any country. In this respect, written records and literatures of the past found in the form of manuscripts are also equally important. In short, inscriptions and manuscripts are valuable source materials for the reconstruction of History.
The manuscripts cover a wide range of disciplines such as Ayurveda, Ganita, Jyotisa, Nyaya, Vyakarana, Itihasa, Kavya, Mantra, Tantra, Vedanta, Natyasastra, Silpasastra etc. They are found in most parts of India and are a treasure house of human wisdom. Before the introduction of printing, they played a prominent role in the dissemination of knowledge. The immense potential of manuscripts was best understood by the Europeans and they took interest in the collection of manuscripts in India. The Government of India under the British rule had taken steps for the collection of valuable manuscripts and to preserve them in India Office Library, London. In 1868 Mr. Whitely Stokes, the British Official concerned with the collection of manuscripts, while sponsoring the scheme of manuscripts collection wrote as follows: "To Europe we should send everything obtained in working the scheme original manuscripts, copies, abstracts....." (quote from Oriental Manuscripts Library Souvenir, 1949).
In addition to the efforts of the British Government, scholars from India and Europe took active interest in the collection of manuscripts and in their publications. They had also shown much enthusiasm in tracing inscriptions from different parts of India and attempts were made to decipher them. The efforts of scholars like R.G. Bhandarkar, Rajendra Lal Mitra, Hariprasad Shastri, T. Ganapathi Shastri, George Johann Bühler, F.Kielhorn and A.C. Burnell in this regard are to be gratefully acknowledged. The provincial Governments and some of the rulers of the princely states too were in the forefront in the fields of collection, preservation and publication of manuscripts. Thus the period between the last quarter of the 19" century to the first quarter of the 20th century saw the establishment of some important Manuscripts Libraries in India.
The ancient records, especially manuscripts, cannot be preserved intact for a very long period. The contents in them are to be brought to light as early as possible. This necessitates the knowledge of ancient scripts. Nandinagari, the southern variety of Nagari is important both from the historical and palaeographic points of view. At present there are only a very few people who can read Nandinagari documents. The main objective of this work are:
1. To make a general awareness on the significance of manuscripts and inscriptions, either written or incised in ancient Indian Scripts, for a correct understanding of the cultural and political history of India.
2. To present a brief sketch of the writing systems prevailed in India with special emphasis on Northern Brahmi and its developments.
3. To provide suitable learning materials for those who are interested in the study of Nandinagarl Script.
4. For enabling the researchers to have a direct access to the ancient documents in Nandinagari instead of depending upon secondary sources.
Specimens of inscriptions given in this work are taken from 'Elements of South Indian Palaeography (by Burnell) and 'Epigraphia Andhrica'. Specimens of manuscripts included are from the stock of Oriental Research Institute & Manuscripts Library, University of Kerala. The readings of the specimens given are of the author. Generally speaking, the conventional system of transliteration is followed. However, both word medial and word final occurrences of anusvara are transliterated with 'm'. The trill peculiar to Dravidian is indicated by 'r'. The retroflex and palatal laterals of Dravidian are transliterated as 'l' and '!' respectively. Thus '!' is used to represent the Sanskrit vowel ą and also the Dravidian retroflex lateral consonant.
I am indebted to Prof. V.I. Subramoniam, Former Pro-Chancellor, Dravidian University; Former Vice-Chancellor, Tamil University; presently the Hon. Director of the International School of Dravidian Linguistics, for going through the draft of this work and for giving valuable suggestions. I specially acknowledge my gratitude to him for providing an enlightening foreword to this book. I could complete this work in its present form only due to the help and encouragement given to me by my husband Dr. G. K. Panikkar. I express my indebtedness to him for the successful completion of this work. I express my thanks to the DLA for publishing this work. I am grateful to Mrs. Sushama Reghunathan, Madhurima Softek, Ambalathinkara, Kazhakuttom for the pains she has taken for taking the computer printout of this work. Last but least, I express my thanks to Prasanth Printers, Kazhakuttom for the printing of this work.
The introduction to 'Nandinagari Script' by Dr. P. Visalakshy is detailed and comprehensive. I may not be overstating my impression, if I say that it is very masterly. It is one of the series of chapters on the ancient scripts used in writing the palm-leaf manuscripts or stone inscriptions or copper plates.
Printing of scripts of different origin is in the beginning stages in India. The author wrote in hand carefully the forms in Nandinagari. Unless they are printed with care, the labour spend in preparing the book will become wasteful.
Nandinagari found mostly in the Southern States like Karnataka, Andhra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala was used to write Sanskrit. Only later, Devanagari came to be used. The Nandinagari became a widely used script during the time of the Vijayanagara rule in the South. Revival of Hinduism and the well being of the Hindus by educating them were the watch word of the Vijayanagara rulers. But soon internal dissension and outward pressure from rulers made the Vijayanagara Empire to crumble to pieces. Soon the Mathams took over the spread of Hinduism and Nandinagari was used in the study of Sanskrit for a while in the Mathams, until it was replaced by Devanagari because of wider readability and the availability of printing presses in that script.
Scripts, like dialects in a language, vary in the sequences of CV, VC, CVV, VWC, CVCC etc. In other words in its sequential pattern the variation is noticeable. Also the variation of the physical shape of letters may be due to the influence of the local scripts used to write the language of the region, physical disability of the writer, aesthetic appearance of the letters and logical similarities in the assignment of shapes in CV or VC etc.,
Now computers play a large part in analysing minutely the variations in script, in its sequential system and in its physical production. Soon it will be possible to tackle the decipherment of scripts found in the Harappan and Mohenjodaro writings. Since such attempts may sometimes end up with negligible results, many researchers will be reluctant to enter this field. But one can hope that, sooner or later someone with the ingenuity of the decipherer of the Rosetta stone, Champollion will tackle this problem.
The acquisition of the technique of writing might be one of the greatest strides towards the human civilization. Writing is the graphic representation of language based on a script specially invented for the same. As time elapses, scripts undergo changes and get modifications due to various reasons such as linguistic, political and socio-cultural factors. A prevalent script may even be discarded as a whole and in its place a new one may be adopted. All these create hurdles for the proper understanding of the written records and literatures of yester years.
Written records are the most authentic source for understanding the history and culture of a society or a country. The knowledge of ancient scripts is valuable not alone to the historians, archaeologists and students of literature, but also to researchers of almost all branches of knowledge for enabling them to directly verify and understand the treasures contained in ancient inscriptions and manuscripts. This is specially true in the Indian scenario. A lot of inscriptions of different periods are obtained from all parts of India. Some of such deciphered inscriptions even take us to a few centuries prior to the beginning of Christian era. In addition, all over India ancient manuscripts are found in abundance. It is an undisputed fact that the contributions of the ancient Indians to the various branches of knowledge are a treasure house of human wisdom. But they are recorded in ancient scripts and only a microscopic few of such valuable materials are fully studied and published. Moreover, hitherto unknown Inscriptions and manuscripts of historical and academic importance may come to our notice in future also. If they are to be deciphered and to be understood correctly, one should have the knowledge of the scripts in which they are recorded. In short, the invaluable assets handed over to us by our forefathers are to be fulr utilised not alone by us, but also by the coming generations. For achieving this goal, sound knowledge of the scripts in which they are incised or written is highly essential.
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