New Delhi: Centuries before Emperor Ashoka, Brahmi script was in use, reveals a recent paper by archaeologist Vinay Gupta.
A Superintendent Archaeologist (SA) at the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Jaipur circle, Gupta’s recent paper titled “Seals and Sealings from Bahaj Excavations” confirmed the presence of script in north India before the Ashokan edicts were inscribed on non-perishable materials.
“The origins of Brahmi script must go in hoary past and the development of Ashokan Brahmi must have been a gradual one,” reads the paper written by Gupta. He excavated the Bahaj site in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur, bordering Uttar Pradesh, to untangle the historical threads of the Braj region, the birthplace of the Hindu deity Krishna.
The evolution of the Brahmi script is evident in Ashokan edicts from the 3rd century BCE. But Gupta’s new research changed the historiography of the script in India and has pushed back the origins of the Brahmi script by nearly three centuries, to around 6th century BCE, predating Emperor Ashoka’s edicts.
Based on sealings unearthed at Bahaj in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district, Gupta’s study suggests that writing was known in the Painted Grey Ware (PGW) culture, often linked with the Mahabharata period. This indicates that the Brahmi script may have developed indigenously in India rather than emerging suddenly in the Mauryan era.
According to the paper, an early Mauryan seal made of jasper stone was unearthed from the deposit of the Kushana period, and it comprises nine symbols or Brahmi letters. Finding so many seals and sealings from a limited area indicates the level of literacy and the prosperity in India in ancient times.
His paper stated that the emergence of the Brahmi script can be dated back to the time of the PGW (1200 BCE to around 550 BCE) culture, which archaeologist and former ASI director-general BB Lal associated with the Mahabharata period. However, there is no consensus among archaeologists regarding this.
“Discovery of this sealing makes it clear that the people of PGW culture were familiar with writing,” reads the paper.
The sealings have been found from the upper levels of the Painted Grey Ware (PGW) period, which are easily datable to circa 600 BCE as per stratigraphy, the paper stated.
The excavation at Bahaj started in 2024 and was conducted for two seasons. “Braj is a very important area from the point of view of Indian culture,” said Gupta in 2024.
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Religious connection of seals
The seals were found during the first season of excavation. It revealed 39 seals and sealings spanning from the PGW phase to the Kushana period.
The seals found are mostly with an inscription, and some with only symbols. According to the paper, the most striking finds on the site are the presence of four sealings made of unbaked clay from the upper levels of the PGW period. “Such sealings have never come to notice from anywhere in the subcontinent,” it reads.
Most of the names found on these sealings are related to Rudra, Vatuka, Garga, and Nandivardhana. The same is the case with religious symbols, which are related to Nandipada, Nandi, and Dhvajas.
The sealings are of two varieties. Two of them have similar impressions on four sides, and the remaining two have similar impressions on four sides.
The research paper said one of the impressions has two separate elephant riding figures and two standing figures, who, to some extent, match the representation of Samkarshana and Vasudeva on some early Mathura coins.
The researcher found that the impressions are religious in nature. The letters on one seal read Janaka, and the other read Nokhara.
“The Brahmi characters on these sealings are the earliest known examples of Brahmi script in the subcontinent,” according to the paper. It adds that these findings of two sealings confirm that the Brahmi script had its beginning in the PGW culture period, and they provide a missing link in writing.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)