Gupta script: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 08:59, 23 June 2022

The Gupta script (sometimes referred to as Gupta Brahmi script or Late Brahmi script)^[1] was used for writing Sanskrit and is associated with the Gupta Empire of India, which was a period of material prosperity and great religious and scientific developments. The Gupta script was descended from Brāhmī and gave rise to the Nāgarī, Śāradā and Siddhaṃ scripts. These scripts in turn gave rise to many of the most important scripts of India, including Devanāgarī (the most common script used for writing Sanskrit since the 19th century), the Gurmukhī script for Punjabi, the Bengali-Assamese script and the Tibetan script.

Origins and classification[edit]

The Gupta script was descended from the Ashokan Brāhmī script, and is a crucial link between Brahmi and most other Brahmic scripts, a family of alphasyllabaries or abugidas. This means that while only consonantal phonemes have distinct symbols, vowels are marked by diacritics, with /a/ being the implied pronunciation when the diacritic is not present. In fact, the Gupta script works in exactly the same manner as its predecessor and successors, and only the shapes and forms of the graphemes and diacritics are different.

Through the 4th century, letters began to take more cursive and symmetric forms, as a result of the desire to write more quickly and aesthetically. This also meant that the script became more differentiated throughout the Empire, with regional variations which have been broadly classified into three, four or five categories;^[2]^[3] however, a definitive classification is lacking, because even in a single inscription, there may be variation in how a particular symbol is written. In this sense, the term Gupta script should be taken to mean any form of writing derived from the Gupta period, even though there may be a lack of uniformity in the scripts.

Template:Brahmi-Gupta-Devanagari

Inscriptions[edit]

The surviving inscriptions of the Gupta script are mostly found on iron or stone pillars, and on gold coins from the Gupta Dynasty. One of the most important was the Prayagraj (Allahabad) Prasasti. Composed by Harishena, the court poet and minister of Samudragupta, it describes Samudragupta’s reign, beginning from his accession to the throne as the second king of the Gupta Dynasty and including his conquest of other kings. It is inscribed on the Allahabad pillar of Ashoka.

Alphabet[edit]

The Gupta alphabet is composed of 37 letters: 32 consonants with the inherent ending "a" and 5 independent vowels. In addition diacritics are attached to the consonants in order to change the sound of the final vowel (from the inherent "a" to other sounds such as i, u, e, o, au ...). Consonants can also be combined into compounds, also called conjunct consonants (for example sa+ya are combined vertically to give "sya").^[4]^[5]^[6]

Independent vowels[edit]

Late Brahmi vowel diacritics

Gupta script vowel diacritics (Allahabad standard).^[7]^[6]

Usage examples.^[6]

Letter	IAST and Sanskrit IPA	Letter	IAST and Sanskrit IPA
	a /ə/		ā /aː/
	i /i/		ī /iː/
	u /u/		ū /uː/
	e /eː/		o /oː/
	ai /əi/		au /əu/
𑀋	ṛ /r̩/	𑀌	ṝ /r̩ː/
𑀍	l̩ /l̩/	𑀎	ḹ /l̩ː/

Consonants[edit]

	Stop								Nasal			Fricative
Voicing →	Voiceless				Voiced							Voiceless		Voiced
Aspiration →	No		Yes		No		Yes		No			Yes
Velar		ka /k/		kha /kʰ/		ga /g/		gha /ɡʱ/		ṅa /ŋ/					ha /ɦ/
Palatal		ca /c/		cha /cʰ/		ja /ɟ/		jha /ɟʱ/		ña /ɲ/	ya /j/		śa /ɕ/
Retroflex		ṭa /ʈ/		ṭha /ʈʰ/		ḍa /ɖ/		ḍha /ɖʱ/		ṇa /ɳ/	ra /r/		ṣa /ʂ/
Dental		ta /t̪/		tha /t̪ʰ/		da /d̪/		dha /d̪ʱ/		na /n/	la /l/		sa /s/
Labial		pa /p/		pha /pʰ/		ba /b/		bha /bʱ/		ma /m/	va /w, ʋ/

In Unicode[edit]

The Unicode standard considers the Gupta script to be a stylistic variation of Brahmi, and thus Gupta texts are encoded using Brahmi Unicode characters.

Template:Unicode chart Brahmi

Gupta numismatics[edit]

Kushan Empire signet in Gupta Brahmi script, showing Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. The seal reads Damputrasya Dhanguptasya ("[Seal of] Dhangupta son of Dama). 3rd century CE.

Coin of Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II) with the name of the king in Gupta Brahmi script 380–415 CE.

Coin of Alchon Huns ruler Mihirakula. Obv: Bust of king, with legend in Gupta script (

)

^[8] (Ja)yatu Mihirakula ("Let there be victory to Mihirakula"). Rev: Dotted border around Fire altar flanked by attendants.^[9]^[10]^[11]

The study of Gupta coins began with the discovery of a hoard of gold coins in 1783. Many other such hoards have since been discovered, the most important being the Bayana (situated in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan) hoard, discovered in 1946, which contained more than 2000 gold coins issued by the Gupta Kings.^[12] Many of the Gupta Empire’s coins bear inscriptions of legends or mark historic events. In fact, it was one of the first Indian Empires to do so, probably as a result of its unprecedented prosperity.^[2] Almost every Gupta king issued coins, beginning with its first king, Chandragupta I.

The scripts on the coin are also of a different nature compared to scripts on pillars, due to conservatism regarding the coins that were to be accepted as currency, which would have prevented regional variations in the script from manifesting on the coinage.^[2] Moreover, space was more limited especially on their silver coins, and thus many of the symbols are truncated or stunted. An example is the symbol for /ta/ and /na/, which were often simplified to vertical strokes.

Gallery[edit]

The Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta, with its standardised Gupta characters.
Brahmi and its descendent scripts.
The 5th- or 6th-century Gupta script Gopika Cave Inscription in Sanskrit about goddess Durga
Gupta script decipheration table
A palm leaf Sanskrit manuscript in early Gupta Brahmi script, discovered in Miran, northwest China.^[13]
The name Śrī Yaśodharmma ("Lord Yashodharman") in Gupta script in Line 4 of the Mandsaur stone inscription of Yashodharman-Vishnuvardhana.^[14]

References[edit]

↑ Sharma, Ram. 'Brahmi Script' . Delhi: BR Publishing Corp, 2002
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Srivastava, Anupama. The Development of Imperial Gupta Brahmi Script. New Delhi: Ramanand, 1998
↑ Fischer, Steven Roger. A History of Writing. UK: Reaktion, 2004
↑ Fischer, Steven Roger (2004). History of Writing. Reaktion Books. p. 123. ISBN 9781861895882.
↑ Publishing, Britannica Educational (2010). The Culture of India. Britannica Educational Publishing. p. 82. ISBN 9781615302031.
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 "Gupta Unicode" (PDF).
↑ Das Buch der Schrift: Enthaltend die Schriftzeichen und Alphabete aller ... (in German). K.K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei. 1880. p. 126.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
↑ The "h" () is an early variant of the Gupta script.
↑ Verma, Thakur Prasad (2018). The Imperial Maukharis: History of Imperial Maukharis of Kanauj and Harshavardhana (in हिन्दी). Notion Press. p. 264. ISBN 9781643248813.
↑ Sircar, D. C. (2008). Studies in Indian Coins. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 376. ISBN 9788120829732.
↑ Tandon, Pankaj (2013). Notes on the Evolution of Alchon Coins Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society, No. 216, Summer. Oriental Numismatic Society. pp. 24–34. also Coinindia Alchon Coins (for an exact description of this coin type)
↑ Bajpai, KD. 'Indian Numismatic Studies. ' New Delhi: Abhinav Publications 2004
↑ Puri, Baij Nath (1987). Buddhism in Central Asia. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 187 Note 32. ISBN 9788120803725.
↑ Fleet, John Faithfull (1960). Inscriptions Of The Early Gupta Kings And Their Successors. pp. 150-158.

External links[edit]

(in Spanish) The Gupta Alphabet
AncientScripts.com entry on the Gupta Script
Ye, Shao-Yong. (2009). An easten variety of the post-Gupta script: Akṣara List of the Manuscripts of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and Buddhapālita’s Commentary (ca. 550–650 CE). Research Institute of Sanskrit Manuscripts & Buddhist Literature, Peking University.

[sharma-1] Sharma, Ram. 'Brahmi Script' . Delhi: BR Publishing Corp, 2002

[anupama-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Srivastava, Anupama. The Development of Imperial Gupta Brahmi Script. New Delhi: Ramanand, 1998

[3] Fischer, Steven Roger. A History of Writing. UK: Reaktion, 2004

[4] Fischer, Steven Roger (2004). History of Writing. Reaktion Books. p. 123. ISBN 9781861895882.

[5] Publishing, Britannica Educational (2010). The Culture of India. Britannica Educational Publishing. p. 82. ISBN 9781615302031.

[GU-6] 6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 "Gupta Unicode" (PDF).

[7] Das Buch der Schrift: Enthaltend die Schriftzeichen und Alphabete aller ... (in German). K.K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei. 1880. p. 126.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

[8] The "h" () is an early variant of the Gupta script.

[9] Verma, Thakur Prasad (2018). The Imperial Maukharis: History of Imperial Maukharis of Kanauj and Harshavardhana (in हिन्दी). Notion Press. p. 264. ISBN 9781643248813.

[10] Sircar, D. C. (2008). Studies in Indian Coins. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 376. ISBN 9788120829732.

[11] Tandon, Pankaj (2013). Notes on the Evolution of Alchon Coins Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society, No. 216, Summer. Oriental Numismatic Society. pp. 24–34. also Coinindia Alchon Coins (for an exact description of this coin type)

[12] Bajpai, KD. 'Indian Numismatic Studies. ' New Delhi: Abhinav Publications 2004

[13] Puri, Baij Nath (1987). Buddhism in Central Asia. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 187 Note 32. ISBN 9788120803725.

[EG-14] Fleet, John Faithfull (1960). Inscriptions Of The Early Gupta Kings And Their Successors. pp. 150-158.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{short description|Script system used to write Sanskrit}}
+{{Redirect|Late Brahmi script|the Brahmi script|Brahmi script}}
 {{EngvarB|date=February 2020}}
 {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
 {{Infobox Writing system
- |name=Gupta script<br/><small>(Late Brahmi script)</small>
+| name        = Gupta script<br/><small>(Late Brahmi script)</small>
- |type=[[Abugida]]
+| type        = [[Abugida]]
-|sample=Barabar Caves Gopika Cave Inscription of Anantavarman 5th- or 6th-century CE Sanskrit in Gupta script.jpg
+| sample      = Barabar Caves Gopika Cave Inscription of Anantavarman 5th- or 6th-century CE Sanskrit in Gupta script.jpg
-|caption=The [[Gopika Cave Inscription]] of Anantavarman, in the [[Sanskrit]] language and using the Gupta script. [[Barabar Caves]] in [[Jehanabad]] Bihar, 5th or 6th century CE.
+| caption     = The [[Gopika Cave Inscription]] of Anantavarman, in the [[Sanskrit]] language and using the Gupta script. [[Barabar Caves]] in [[Jehanabad]] Bihar, 5th or 6th century CE.
- |languages=[[Sanskrit]]
+| languages   = [[Sanskrit]]
- |time=Early signs: 1st century CE,<ref name=gazett>{{Google books|0bkMAAAAIAAJ|Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency|page=30}}, Rudradaman's inscription from 1st through 4th century CE found in Gujarat, India, Stanford University Archives, pages 30–45</ref> developed form: c. 4th–6th century CE<ref>{{cite book |last1=Salomon |first1=Richard |title=Indian Epigraphy |date=1998 |page=32}}</ref>
+| time        = c. 4th–6th century CE<ref>{{cite book |last1=Salomon |first1=Richard |title=Indian Epigraphy |date=1998 |page=32}}</ref>
- |fam1=[[Proto-Sinaitic alphabet]]<sup>[a]</sup>
+| fam1        = [[Proto-Sinaitic alphabet]]<sup>[a]</sup>
- |fam2=[[Phoenician alphabet]]<sup>[a]</sup>
+| fam2        = [[Phoenician alphabet]]<sup>[a]</sup>
- |fam3=[[Aramaic alphabet]]<sup>[a]</sup>
+| fam3        = [[Aramaic alphabet]]<sup>[a]</sup>
- |footnotes=<sup>[a]</sup> The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon.
+| footnotes   = <sup>[a]</sup> The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon.
- |fam4=[[Brāhmī script|Brāhmī]]
+| fam4        = [[Brahmi script|Brāhmī]]
- |sisters={{plainlist|
+| sisters     = {{plainlist|
 *[[Pallava script|Pallava]]
 *[[Kadamba script|Kadamba]]}}
-  |children={{plainlist|
+| children    = {{plainlist|
-*[[Śāradā script|Śāradā]]
+*[[Sharada script|Śāradā]]
-*[[Siddham script|Siddhaṃ]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/epigraphyindianepigraphyrichardsalmonoup_908_D|title=Epigraphy, Indian Epigraphy Richard Salmon OUP|via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref> Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography, R. Malatesha Joshi, Catherine McBride(2019),p.27</ref>
+*[[Siddham script|Siddhaṃ]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/epigraphyindianepigraphyrichardsalmonoup_908_D|title=Epigraphy, Indian Epigraphy Richard Salmon OUP|via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref> Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography, R. Malatesha Joshi, Catherine McBride(2019),p.27</ref>
 *[[Tibetan script|Tibetan]]<ref name=daniels>{{cite journal |last1=Daniels |first1=P. T. |title=Writing systems of major and minor languages |date=January 2008}}</ref><ref name="masica">{{cite book |last1=Masica |first1=Colin |title=The Indo-Aryan languages |date=1993 |page=143}}</ref>}}
 }}
@@ Line 203: / Line 204: @@
 [[File:Kushan signet in Gupta Brahmi script 3rd century CE.jpg|thumb|[[Kushan Empire]] signet in Gupta Brahmi script, showing [[Septimius Severus]] and [[Julia Domna]]. The seal reads ''Damputrasya Dhanguptasya'' ("[Seal of] Dhangupta son of Dama). 3rd century CE.]]
 [[File:Coin of Vikramaditya Chandragupta II with the name of the king in Brahmi script 380 415 CE.jpg|thumb|right|Coin of Vikramaditya ([[Chandragupta II]]) with the name of the king in Gupta Brahmi script 380–415 CE.]]
-[[File:Mihirakula of the Alchon Huns.jpg|thumb|Coin of [[Alchon Huns]] ruler [[Mihirakula]]. Obv: Bust of king, with legend in Gupta script ([[File:Gupta_allahabad_j.svg|12px]])[[File:Gupta_allahabad_y.svg|12px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_tu.jpg|12px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_mi.jpg|12px]][[File:Gupta ashoka hi.jpg|14px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_r.svg|12px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_ku.jpg|12px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_l.svg|12px]]<ref>The "h" ([[File:Gupta ashoka h.svg|12px]]) is an early variant of the Gupta script, seen for example in the [[:Template:Early Brahmic scripts|Chandragupta type]]</ref> ''(Ja)yatu Mihirakula'' ("Let there be victory to Mihirakula"). Rev: Dotted border around Fire altar flanked by attendants.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Verma |first1=Thakur Prasad |title=The Imperial Maukharis: History of Imperial Maukharis of Kanauj and Harshavardhana |date=2018 |publisher=Notion Press |isbn=9781643248813 |page=264 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=09FqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT264 |language=hi}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sircar |first1=D. C. |title=Studies in Indian Coins |date=2008 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=9788120829732 |page=376 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1JYwP5tVQUC&pg=PA376 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tandon |first1=Pankaj | pages=24–34|title=Notes on the Evolution of Alchon Coins Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society, No. 216, Summer |date=2013 |publisher= Oriental Numismatic Society |url=http://coinindia.com/galleries-alchon-early.html}} also [http://coinindia.com/galleries-toramana.html Coinindia Alchon Coins (for an exact description of this coin type)]</ref>]]
+[[File:Mihirakula of the Alchon Huns.jpg|thumb|Coin of [[Alchon Huns]] ruler [[Mihirakula]]. Obv: Bust of king, with legend in Gupta script ([[File:Gupta_allahabad_j.svg|12px]])[[File:Gupta_allahabad_y.svg|12px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_tu.jpg|12px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_mi.jpg|12px]][[File:Gupta ashoka hi.jpg|14px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_r.svg|12px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_ku.jpg|12px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_l.svg|12px]]<ref>The "h" ([[File:Gupta ashoka h.svg|12px]]) is an early variant of the Gupta script.</ref> ''(Ja)yatu Mihirakula'' ("Let there be victory to Mihirakula"). Rev: Dotted border around Fire altar flanked by attendants.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Verma |first1=Thakur Prasad |title=The Imperial Maukharis: History of Imperial Maukharis of Kanauj and Harshavardhana |date=2018 |publisher=Notion Press |isbn=9781643248813 |page=264 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=09FqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT264 |language=hi}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sircar |first1=D. C. |title=Studies in Indian Coins |date=2008 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=9788120829732 |page=376 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1JYwP5tVQUC&pg=PA376 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tandon |first1=Pankaj | pages=24–34|title=Notes on the Evolution of Alchon Coins Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society, No. 216, Summer |date=2013 |publisher= Oriental Numismatic Society |url=http://coinindia.com/galleries-alchon-early.html}} also [http://coinindia.com/galleries-toramana.html Coinindia Alchon Coins (for an exact description of this coin type)]</ref>]]
-The study of Gupta coins began with the discovery of a hoard of [[gold coin]]s in 1783. Many other such hoards have since been discovered, the most important being the [[Bayana]]  ( situated in [[Bharatpur, Rajasthan|Bharatpur]] district of [[Rajasthan]]) hoard, discovered in 1946, which contained more than 2000 gold coins issued by the Gupta Kings.<ref>Bajpai, KD. '' 'Indian Numismatic Studies. ' '' New Delhi: Abhinav Publications 2004</ref> Many of the Gupta Empire’s coins bear inscriptions of legends or mark historic events. In fact, it was one of the first Indian Empires to do so, probably as a result of its unprecedented prosperity.<ref name=anupama/> Almost every Gupta king issued coins, beginning with its first king, [[Chandragupta I]].
+The study of Gupta coins began with the discovery of a hoard of [[gold coin]]s in 1783. Many other such hoards have since been discovered, the most important being the [[Bayana]]  (situated in [[Bharatpur, Rajasthan|Bharatpur]] district of [[Rajasthan]]) hoard, discovered in 1946, which contained more than 2000 gold coins issued by the Gupta Kings.<ref>Bajpai, KD. '' 'Indian Numismatic Studies. ' '' New Delhi: Abhinav Publications 2004</ref> Many of the Gupta Empire’s coins bear inscriptions of legends or mark historic events. In fact, it was one of the first Indian Empires to do so, probably as a result of its unprecedented prosperity.<ref name=anupama/> Almost every Gupta king issued coins, beginning with its first king, [[Chandragupta I]].
 The scripts on the coin are also of a different nature compared to scripts on pillars, due to conservatism regarding the coins that were to be accepted as currency, which would have prevented regional variations in the script from manifesting on the coinage.<ref name=anupama/> Moreover, space was more limited especially on their silver coins, and thus many of the symbols are truncated or stunted. An example is the symbol for /ta/ and /na/, which were often simplified to vertical strokes.
@@ Line 223: / Line 224: @@
 * [[Brahmic scripts]]
 * [[Kadamba script]]
-* [[Lipi]] (scripts)
+* [[Lipi (script)|Lipi scripts]]
 * [[Pallava script]]
 * [[Telugu-Kannada alphabet]]