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History of Letterform Design in India

Early History 2600 BC to 1800 AD:



Indus Valley Script - 2600BC:
 
   2600-1900 BC
Writings from Indus Valley civilisation

The earliest script in India so far known is the Indus
Valley pictographic script. Over 4000 symbol bearing seals have been discovered in the Indus Valley.

 
   2600-1900 BC
Writings from Indus Valley civilisation

Another seal from the Indus Valley
- the Harappan signs are associated with flat, rectangular stone tablets called seals
 
  


2600-1900 BC
Indus valley script

The script of Mohen-jo-daro and Harappa is called Proto-Indian. The script appears to be phonetic and has ideographic origin. The specimen are all in the form of seals.
The deciphering of the script is still being done.
 
  
2600-1900 BC
Indus valley script

Indus Script it is said to be the ancestor of the both, the secular Brahmi as well as the traditional vernacular scripts of India. (This theory is still being debated)

 
  Chart showing the development of Devanagari Letters from Indus script


Oral Tradition:

 Even though the system of writing was known, the preservation of knowledge was mainly done through an oral tradition - this was because oral means was believed to be better than writing in terms of capturing the expressions and meanings of language.

 Ref: The Book in India, edited by B. S. Kesavan, National Book Trust India, N Delhi, 1986
  


Scribe Recording
Perhaps this seems to be the earliest record of writing showing a scribe (on the left bottom corner) recording the event happennings in the courtroom of King Suddhodana.


Ashoka and the Brahmi Script - 3rd Century BC:
 
  
3rd Century BC
Brahmi Inscription

Asoka Edict on the Rummindei pillar
Brahmi, the script of the brahmans is written from left to right. It is the mother of all Indian scripts including the Devanagari script.
-Ashoka used this script for his inscriptions, carved into the face of rocks or on stone pillars
 
  
3rd Century BC
Brahmi Inscription

Fragment of the 6th Pillar Edict of Ashoka (238 BCE), in Brahmi, sandstone
 
  
3rd Century BC
Kharoshthi inscription derived from brahmi script

Rock Edict at habazgarhi
Kharoshthi or Zarthustri, the script of the clerks is written from right to left
 
  
another example of Kharoshthi inscription:
 
  
3rd Century BC
Girnar Inscription, Brahmi

Ashoka's First Rock inscription at Girnar
These inscriptions on rocks and pillars, proclaim Asoka's reforms and policies and promulgate his advice to his subjects.
 
  
3rd Century BC
Simplified Brahmi

This are the basic forms of the letters of Brahmi Script
 
  
3rd Century BC to 12th Century
Brahmi Development

This chart depicts the development of other scripts from the brahmi script


Ashoka to 14th Century - development of Brahmi Script:
 
  
3rd Century BC to 540AD
Brahmi Variations

These are the variations of the Brahmi Script
 
  
2nd Century BC
Barahut stupa, Brahmi Inscription:

The stupa contains numerous birth stories of the Buddha's previous lives, or Jataka tales.
 
  
1st Century BC
Phabosa Inscription, Brahmi:

Inscriptions from the temple of Parisnath at Phabosa
 
  
4th Century AD
Allahabad Pillar Inscription:

The stupa is belongs to Samudragupta, Gupta Script

 
  
5th Century AD
Siddham Letter 'a' :

The siddham letterforms have been used for meditative purposes. These are a varient of the Brahmi script.
 
  
992 AD
Deval Inscription, Brahmi:

Inscription by King Lulla, Nagari Lipi, 992 A.D.
 Ref: The Book in India, edited by B. S. Kesavan, National Book Trust India, N Delhi, 1986
  
11th CentuaryAD
Tamil manuscripts


Tamil inscription, from the Brihadisvara temple in Thanjavur
 
  
12 Centuary AD
Ratnapur Inscription, Brahmi:

Inscription by King Jajalladev, Nagari Lipi, 12th Century A.D.
 
  
1337 AD
Telgu-kannada script:

Donepundi Grant-deed of Namaya-Nayak,
Telgu-Kannada
1337 A.D.
 
  
1400 AD
Nandi Nagari Incription from Vijaynagar
 
  
14th Centuary AD
Veeraraghava Grant-deed Vettelulu Lipi,

 
  This chart shows the modern descendants of the ancient Brahmi script.
- Brahmi seems ancestral to most of the scripts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, some Central Asian scripts like Tibetan and Khotanese, and possibly Korean hangul (1444 AD).

Tamil Manuscripts - 6th - 18th Century:
 
  
16th CentuaryAD
Christian prayers written in Tamil, on palm leaf manuscripts
 Ref: The Book in India, edited by B. S. Kesavan, National Book Trust India, N Delhi, 1986
  
18th CentuaryAD
Tamil manuscripts


Stack of manuscripts in Palm leaves enclosed in a brass frame
 Ref: The Book in India, edited by B. S. Kesavan, National Book Trust India, N Delhi, 1986
  
18th CentuaryAD
Scribe


Scribe using metal pen to write on dried palm leaves.

Devanagiri Manuscripts - 9th - 17th Century:
 
  
Bamboo pens - also known as Reed pens used for writing devanagiri script. The 45 degree cut is the reason for the thick and thin features of the letterings.
 
  
1630 AD
Devanagiri Manuscript of Bhagavata Purana
 
  
16th CentuaryAD
Jain Instructions using old Gujarathi prose describing how to live a jain way of life.
 
  
17th CentuaryAD
Devanagiri Manuscript
 
  
17th CentuaryAD
Devanagiri Manuscript
 
  

Details of the above Devanagiri Manuscript
 
  
18th CentuaryAD
Devanagiri Manuscript - depicting the battle of Kurukshetra
 
  
18th CentuaryAD
Devanagiri ManusScript
 
  

Details of the above Devanagiri ManusScript

Mughal Writings - 14th - 18th Century:
 
  
16th CentuaryAD
A page from the copy of the holi Quran - probably transcibed in Lucknow.
 
  
16th CentuaryAD
Detail from a painting depicting a massacre following the destruction of the tomb of Imam Husayn at Kerbela. 1595, India

Part II (to be continued)
The next section will illustrate the history of typography using the technology of the printing press.


  References for the above history and images courtesy:
Typography of Devanagri, Volume I, by Bapurao S. Naik
and
The Book in India, edited by B. S. Kesavan, National Book Trust India, N Delhi, 1986

Other useful Links:
The Ancient Indus Valley Script and Interpretations

Indus Script from Wikipedia:

Indus Script from Ancient Scripts:

Brahmi Script from Wikipedia:

Brahmi Script from Ancient Scripts:

Devanagiri Script from Wikipedia:

The Indic Language Fonts



Link to Typography in India:

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