________________
( 247
endorsed the views of G.H. Ojha.3 Among the scholars, who do not take this inscription as pre-Mauryan record, the name of D. C. Sircar stands quite notable. 4 The arguments of these scholars are as under :
(i) No early record contains the use of Mahavir Nirvana era.
Its use in Rajasthan specially within a century of Mahavira's death, is extremely doubtful.
(ii) Practice of recording specific eras was actually started at
much later date.
(iii)
The word "chaturasiti” is perhaps used to indicate certain geographical limits.
(iv)
The inscription belongs to Sunga period and pertains to the reign of king Bhagavata.
No genuine epigraph anterior to Asok is known from any part of India. Therefore, it seems that the origin of the Brahmi script took place in the early period of the Mauryan kingdom.5
In this way the date of Badali inscription comes at much later date than ascribed by Ojha.
The moot point about this inscription pertains to the reading of its first letter. G. H. Ojha takes it as "vi''6 and suggests that the medial sign attached to this letter is a style of long medial "j", which was according to him prevalent in pre-Asokan era. K. P. Jayasawal also takes the letter as “Vakara"? but denied the mark as a sign for long medial “i”. According to him the loop on the
3. R.B. Pandey, Indian Palaeography, p. 21. 4. DC. Sircar, Indian Epigraphy, p.240/ Journal of Bihar and Orissa Rescarch
Society, Vol. XXXVII]. pp. 34-38. 5. S.R. Goyal's paper “Brahmi-An Invention of Early Mauryan Period”
published in the Origin of Brahmi Script, edited by S. P. Gupta and K, S.
Ramachandrap (Delhi 1979), pp. 1-49. 6. G.H. Ojha, op.cit, p.2 fo. 7. K.P. Jayasawal, op. cit., p. 67.
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