Usually manuscripts will have an end note which is termed as colophon. In some instances, manuscripts without colophon were also seen. A colophon may be as simple as to mention only title of the work or may provide information about the poet/author, his titles, patronage etc. Usually colophons are seen in the end of sections/cantos…
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The scribe is a professional copyist who copies a manuscript or document for others. He is sometimes confused with the author. Lipikara, Lipikāra, Lekhaka are the Sanskrit terms for scribe. Official scribes were also there in the past. They were called as Karaṇika, Kāyastha, Rājalekhaka and Rājalipikara. The keeper of records were called as…
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Ink is necessary for writing on materials like paper and Bhūrja patra. The same is required to view the incised letters on a palm leaf. The lexicons give the names viz Mela, Maṣījala, Patrāñjana. Of these Patrāñjana is a paste used to blacken the letters on a palm leaf. The ink pots are referred as…
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We have seen the material leather for writing manuscripts. Now other materials like bricks, ivory and Shells are discussed. BRICKS Most of the Bricks containing writing on it have been discovered from Uttara Pradesh and they are kept at Mathurā museum. Brick tablets from Gopālapura, Gorakhpur district have Buddhist sūtras and dated as…
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We have seen about the important materials that are used for manuscripts viz Palm leaf, Paper, Bhūrjapatra and Sāñcīpāt. Now we can move into other materials. As I have stated elsewhere, other materials are divided into two. Metals Non metals. Among metals, now we can see the usage of gold the royal metal in the…
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The third important material used for manuscripts in India is paper. It is generally accepted that paper was invented in China by Tsai Lun in 105 CE and was introduced in India during the Moghul rule. But some interesting evidences are there to claim that paper was invented in India. Nearchos, admiral of Alexander…
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We have seen the usage of palm leaf as material for writing. The second important material is Bhūrja patra or Birch bark in English. The botanical name of the tree is Baetula utiles or Baetula bhoj-patra. The tree is very commonly grown in Himalayan slopes (above 30000 feet high). The tree is also called…
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Among the materials used for books in ancient India, Palm leaf seems to be the ancient one. The word “Patra” used for materials directly denotes Tālapatra -Palm “Leaf” and not Bhūrja patra since the word patra in the compound doesn’t mentions any leaf, but the bark. Buddhist canonical works employ the term “Paṇṇa” which is…
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