Kamarupi script (Kamrupi script, ancient Assamese script) was the script used in ancient

Kamarupa Kamarupa (; also called Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa), an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was (along with Davaka) the first historical kingdom of Assam. Though Kamarupa prevailed from 350 to 1 ...

from as early as 5th century to 13th century, from which the modern

Assamese Assamese may refer to: * Assamese people, a socio-ethnolinguistic identity of north-eastern India * People of Assam, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious people of Assam * Assamese language, one of the easternmost Indo-Aryan language ...

script eventually evolved. In the development of the Assamese script, this phase was followed by the medieval and then by the modern Assamese scripts. Though the script development was in general agreement with the development in Bengal and Bihar, it had local peculiarities. The angular and calligraphic style of writing prevalent to its west is not found in this development.

History

The Kamarupi script originated from

Gupta script The Gupta script (sometimes referred to as Gupta Brahmi script or Late Brahmi script)Sharma, Ram. '' 'Brahmi Script' ''. Delhi: BR Publishing Corp, 2002 was used for writing Sanskrit and is associated with the Gupta Empire of the Indian subcon ...

, which in turn developed from

Brahmi script Brahmi (; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such ...

. It developed on its own in Kamarupa, till the Nidhanpur copper-plate issued by Bhaskarvarman from his military camp at Karnasubarna, which took on Kutila characteristics. Sometimes, Kamarupi script origins are traced to Kutila script, which is not widely accepted. The Kamarupa inscriptions were engraved during this development period, and they display the development of this script in this period. The scripts of the 5th-century Umachal and Nagajari-Khanikargaon rock inscriptions are nearly identical to the eastern variety of the

, which over the centuries evolved into the proto-Assamese script of the 12th-century Kanai-Boroxiboa inscriptions. S. N. Sarma has observed that the Assamese script pertaining to the period from the 6th century to the twelfth century can be termed as the ancient Kamrupi script. The Kamrupi script took the form of the old Assamese script in the latter period.''Assam district gazetteers - Volume 6'' (1976), Page 478 "S. N. Sarma has observed that the Assamese script pertaining to the period from the 6th century to the twelfth century can be termed as the ancient Kamrupi script."

Descendants

In late medieval period, three variations surfaced namely: (1) "Gargaya" used around Gargaon, (2) "Bamonia" used in preparation of Sanskrit texts, used by

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

s, (3) "Kaitheli" used by the

Kayastha Kayastha (also referred to as Kayasth) denotes a cluster of disparate Indian communities broadly categorised by the regions of the Indian subcontinent in which they were traditionally locatedthe Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of North India, t ...

s and called "Lakhri" in Kamrup.''Les Langues Ecrites Du Monde: Releve Du Degre Et Des Modes D'Utilisation'' (1978), p.39

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{refend Gupta scripts Brahmic scripts Kamrupi culture Linguistic history of India

History

Descendants

See also

References

Bibliography