SARADA AN TAKARI ALPHABETS – ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT BY BHUSHAN KUMAR KAUL DEAMBI

Posted by : Utpal Publications Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Among the Indian scripts the Sarada script has a pride of place. Though an alphabet of Kashmir per excellence it remained for several centuries a popular script of an extensive area of north – western India including Afganistan, Gandhara or north- western Pakistan, the Darad territories of Gilgit, Chilas and Chitral, Ladakh, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. The epigraphic and literary records written in the Sarada script that have surfaced in these regions have thrown welcome light on many facets of the history and culture of the area of their provenance. Nearly the entire extant manuscripts of Sanskrit works including those on science, mathematics and erotic besides some old Kashmiri texts are written in this script.

The Sarada alphabet was replaced in the 13^th century by its descendent, the Devasesa, which in turn gave rise to the modern alphabet of Takari. The epigraphic, literary and other valuable documents of Himachal Pradesh available are mostly written in Devasesa and Takari. But it is sad that the number of scholars having a sound knowledge of the Sarada and Takari scripts is extremely small. There is every apprehension of the complete loss of these two scripts unless serious measures are taken to disseminate the knowledge under the guidance of the epigraphy stalwart to our younger generation of scholars.

The entire study of the present work is based on original records and is comprehensively illustrated by palaeographic tables and charts prepared from published facsimilies, photographs, and original inscriptions and manuscripts. To give an idea of the records written in these two scripts, printed photographs of the inscriptions, manuscripts, documents etc. have been given at the end of the book.

It is hoped that the book would serve as a guide and an aid for the scholars interested in the study of the important and valuable records written in Sarada and Takari scripts which are otherwise preserved in museums and libraries in India and abroad.

Dr. B.K Kaul Deambi, born on 01^st February 1937 in Srinagar, obtained his Masters degrees with distinction in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology; and also in Sanskrit from Punjab University. He further completed his PhD from there under the guidance of the epigraphy stalwart of northern India Prof. Jagan Nath Agrawal. He worked as Professor of Sanskrit and Hindi in Gandhi Memorial College, Srinagar; rose to become Reader and then Director for the centre of Central Asian Studies, Kashmir University. He was finally visiting faculty member in the Department of History, Kumaun University. His works includes corpus of the Sarada inscriptions of Kashmir, History and Culture of Ancient Gandhara and Western Himalayas, both of which were awarded by the Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, Jammu and Kashmir State. He was awarded Senior Fellowship in Epigraphy by the Department of Culture, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Govt. of India for writing the current work. His ensuing publications include Studies in Indian Epigraphy containing author’s selected papers on Indian epigraphy published in reputed journals and books; and catalogue (Vol. I) of the Sanskrit manuscripts preserved in the Manuscripts Libraries, Museums and Archaeology, Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar