Brahmi

Brahmi is an ancient Indian script that was used in the Indian subcontinent and is considered one of the oldest writing systems in the world. It is the ancestor of most of the modern Indian scripts and has played a crucial role in the development of writing systems in South Asia.

History

The origins of Brahmi are not entirely clear, but it is believed to have been developed around the 3rd century BCE. The earliest known inscriptions in Brahmi are the Edicts of Ashoka, which date back to the reign of the Maurya Empire under Emperor Ashoka. These inscriptions were found across the Indian subcontinent and were used to propagate the teachings of Buddhism.

Characteristics

Brahmi is an abugida, which means that each character represents a consonant with an inherent vowel. Additional diacritical marks are used to indicate different vowels. The script is written from left to right, and it has a distinctive geometric shape with straight lines and angles.

Evolution

Brahmi evolved into various regional scripts over time. Some of the notable descendants of Brahmi include:

• Devanagari
• Tamil script
• Telugu script
• Kannada script
• Bengali script
• Gujarati script

These scripts are used to write many of the major languages of India today.

Significance

Brahmi is significant not only for its historical value but also for its influence on the development of writing systems in Southeast Asia. Scripts such as Khmer script, Thai script, and Javanese script are believed to have been derived from Brahmi.

Decipherment

The decipherment of Brahmi was a major milestone in the field of epigraphy and archaeology. The script was deciphered in the 19th century by James Prinsep, a British scholar, who was able to read the Edicts of Ashoka and unlock the history of ancient India.

Related Pages

• Indian scripts
• Edicts of Ashoka
• Maurya Empire
• Devanagari
• Tamil script
• Epigraphy
• James Prinsep

This writing system related article is a stub. You can help WikiMD by expanding it.