View source for Gupta script

{{short description|Script system used to write Sanskrit}}
{{Redirect|Late Brahmi script|the Brahmi script|Brahmi script}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox Writing system
| name        = Gupta script<br/><small>(Late Brahmi script)</small>
| type        = [[Abugida]]
| sample      = Barabar Caves Gopika Cave Inscription of Anantavarman 5th- or 6th-century CE Sanskrit in Gupta script.jpg
| caption     = The [[Gopika Cave Inscription]] of Anantavarman, in the [[Sanskrit]] language and using the Gupta script. [[Barabar Caves]] in [[Jehanabad]] Bihar, 5th or 6th century CE.
| languages   = [[Sanskrit]]
| time        = {{Circa|4th}}–6th century CE<ref>{{cite book |last1=Salomon |first1=Richard |title=Indian Epigraphy |date=1998 |page=32}}</ref>
| fam1        = [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|Egyptian]]
| fam2        = [[Proto-Sinaitic]]
| fam3        = [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]]
| fam4        = [[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic]]
| fam5        = [[Brahmi script|Brahmi]]
| fam6        = Northern Brahmi
| sisters     = [[Pallava script]], [[Kadamba script]], [[Sinhala script|Sinhala]], [[Tocharian script|Tocharian]]
| children    = *[[Sharada script|Sharada]]
*[[Siddham script|Siddham]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/epigraphyindianepigraphyrichardsalmonoup_908_D|title=Epigraphy, Indian Epigraphy Richard Salmon OUP|via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography, R. Malatesha Joshi, Catherine McBride(2019), p.27</ref>
*[[Tibetan script|Tibetan]]<ref name=daniels>{{citation |last1=Daniels |first1=P. T. |title=Writing systems of major and minor languages |date=January 2008}}</ref><ref name="masica">{{cite book |last1=Masica |first1=Colin |title=The Indo-Aryan languages |date=1993 |page=143}}</ref>
*[[Kalinga script|Kalinga]]
*[[Bhaiksuki script|Bhaiksuki]]}}
{{brahmic}}
The '''Gupta script''' (sometimes referred to as '''Gupta Brahmi script''' or '''Late Brahmi script''')<ref name=sharma>Sharma, Ram. '' 'Brahmi Script' ''. Delhi: BR Publishing Corp, 2002</ref> was used for writing [[Sanskrit]] and is associated with the [[Gupta Empire]] of the [[Indian subcontinent]], which was a period of material prosperity and great [[Religion|religious]] and [[Science|scientific]] developments. The Gupta script was descended from [[Brahmi script|Brāhmī]] and gave rise to the [[Sharada script|Śāradā]] and [[Siddhaṃ script|Siddhaṃ]] scripts. These scripts in turn gave rise to many of the most important Indic scripts, including [[Devanagari|Devanāgarī]] (the most common script used for writing [[Sanskrit]] since the 19th century), the [[Gurmukhi|Gurmukhī script]] for [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], the [[Odia script]], the [[Bengali-Assamese script]] and the [[Tibetan script]].

==Origins and classification==
The Gupta script was descended from the Ashokan [[Brahmi script|Brāhmī script]], and is a crucial link between Brahmi and most other [[Brahmic scripts]], a family of alphasyllabaries or [[abugida]]s. This means that while only consonantal phonemes have distinct symbols, vowels are marked by diacritics, with {{IPA|/a/}} being the implied pronunciation when the diacritic is not present. In fact, the Gupta script works in exactly the same manner as its predecessor and successors, and only the shapes and forms of the graphemes and diacritics are different.

Through the 4th century, letters began to take more cursive and symmetric forms, as a result of the desire to write more quickly and aesthetically. This also meant that the script became more differentiated throughout the Empire, with regional variations which have been broadly classified into three, four or five categories;<ref name=anupama>Srivastava, Anupama. ''The Development of Imperial Gupta Brahmi Script''. New Delhi: Ramanand, 1998</ref><ref>[[Steven Roger Fischer|Fischer, Steven Roger]]. ''A History of Writing''. UK: Reaktion, 2004</ref> however, a definitive classification is lacking, because even in a single inscription, there may be variation in how a particular symbol is written. In this sense, the term Gupta script should be taken to mean any form of writing derived from the Gupta period, even though there may be a lack of uniformity in the scripts.
{{clear}}
{{Brahmi-Gupta-Devanagari}}

==Inscriptions==
The surviving inscriptions of the Gupta script are mostly found on iron or stone pillars, and on gold coins from the Gupta Dynasty. One of the most important was the ''Prayagraj (Allahabad) [[Prashasti|Prasasti]]''. Composed by [[Harisena]], the court poet and minister of [[Samudragupta]], it describes Samudragupta's reign, beginning from his accession to the throne as the second king of the Gupta Dynasty and including his conquest of other kings. It is inscribed on the [[Allahabad pillar]] of [[Ashoka]].

==Alphabet==
The Gupta alphabet is composed of 37 letters: 32 consonants with the inherent ending "a" and 5 independent vowels. In addition diacritics are attached to the consonants in order to change the sound of the final vowel (from the inherent "a" to other sounds such as i, u, e, o, au ...). Consonants can also be combined into compounds, also called [[conjunct consonant]]s (for example sa+ya are combined vertically to give "sya").<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fischer |first1=Steven Roger |title=History of Writing |date=2004 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=9781861895882 |page=123 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iYMXnSko5QwC&pg=PT123 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Publishing |first1=Britannica Educational |title=The Culture of India |date=2010 |publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing |isbn=9781615302031 |page=82 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6cabAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="GU"/>

=== Independent vowels ===
{{multiple image
| align    = right
| caption_align = center
| direction =horizontal
| header=Late Brahmi vowel diacritics
| total_width=500
| image_gap =10
| image1   = Gupta script diacritics.jpg
| caption1 = Gupta script vowel diacritics<br />([[Allahabad pillar|Allahabad]] standard).<ref>{{cite book |title=Das Buch der Schrift: Enthaltend die Schriftzeichen und Alphabete aller ... |date=1880 |publisher=K.K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei |page=[https://archive.org/details/dasbuchderschri01faulgoog/page/n142 126] |url=https://archive.org/details/dasbuchderschri01faulgoog |language=German}}</ref><ref name="GU">{{cite web |title=Gupta Unicode |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2003/03249r-brahmi-proposal.pdf}}</ref>
| image2   = Gupta diacritics and compounds.jpg
| caption2 = Usage examples<ref name="GU"/>
}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Letter
!IAST and<br />Sanskrit IPA
!Letter
!IAST and<br />Sanskrit IPA
|-
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad a.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|a}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/ə/}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad aa.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ā}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/aː/}}
|-
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad i.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|i}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/i/}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |
|{{IAST|ī}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/iː/}}
|-
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad u.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|u}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/u/}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |
|{{IAST|ū}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/uː/}}
|-
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad e.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|e}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/eː/}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad o.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|o}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/oː/}}
|-
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |
|{{IAST|ai}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/əi/}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad au.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|au}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/əu/}}
|-
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |{{script|Brah|𑀋}}
|{{IAST|ṛ}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/r̩/}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |{{script|Brah|𑀌}}
|{{IAST|ṝ}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/r̩ː/}}
|-
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |{{script|Brah|𑀍}}
|{{IAST|l̩}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/l̩/}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |{{script|Brah|𑀎}}
|{{IAST|ḹ}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/l̩ː/}}
|}

=== Consonants ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:95%"
!
! colspan="8" |[[Stop consonant|Stop]]
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
! colspan="4" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|-
![[Voice (phonetics)|Voicing]] →
| colspan="4" |Voiceless
| colspan="8" style="background:beige;" |Voiced
| colspan="2" |Voiceless
| colspan="2" style="background:beige;" |Voiced
|-
![[Aspiration (phonetics)|Aspiration]] →
| colspan="2" |No
| colspan="2" style="background:beige;" |Yes
| colspan="2" |No
| colspan="2" style="background:beige;" |Yes
| colspan="4" |No
| colspan="4" style="background:beige;" |Yes
|-
![[Velar consonants|Velar]]
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad k.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ka}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/k/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad kh.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|kha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/kʰ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad g.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ga}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/g/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad gh.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|gha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɡʱ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad ng.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ṅa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ŋ/}}}}
| colspan="4" |
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad h.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɦ/}}}}
|-
![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad c.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ca}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/c/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad ch.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|cha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/cʰ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad j.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ja}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɟ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka jh.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|jha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɟʱ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad ny.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ña}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɲ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad y.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ya}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/j/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad sh.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|śa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɕ/}}}}
| colspan="2" rowspan="4" |
|-
![[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad tt.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ṭa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ʈ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad tth.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ṭha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ʈʰ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad dd.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ḍa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɖ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad ddh.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ḍha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɖʱ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad nn.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ṇa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɳ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad r.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ra}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/r/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad ss.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ṣa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ʂ/}}}}
|-
![[Dental consonant|Dental]]
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad t.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ta}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/t̪/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad th.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|tha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/t̪ʰ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad d.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|da}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/d̪/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad dh.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|dha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/d̪ʱ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad n.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|na}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/n/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad l.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|la}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/l/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad s.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|sa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/s/}}}}
|-
![[Labial consonant|Labial]]
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad p.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|pa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/p/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad ph.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|pha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/pʰ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad b.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ba}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/b/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad bh.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|bha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/bʱ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad m.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ma}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/m/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta allahabad v.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|va}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/w, ʋ/}}}}
| colspan="2" |
|}

=== In Unicode ===

The Unicode Standard does not explicitly state that the Gupta script is considered a stylistic variation of Brahmi,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Unicode Consortium |year=2022 |title=The Unicode® Standard Version 15.0 – Core Specification |url=https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode15.0.0/ch14.pdf |website=Unicode Consortium website}}</ref> though use of the Brahmi encoding is one approach. 

{{Unicode chart Brahmi}}

==Gupta numismatics==
[[File:Kushan signet in Gupta Brahmi script 3rd century CE.jpg|thumb|[[Kushan Empire]] signet in Gupta Brahmi script, showing [[Septimius Severus]] and [[Julia Domna]]. The seal reads ''Damputrasya Dhanguptasya'' ("[Seal of] Dhangupta son of Dama). 3rd century CE.]]
[[File:Coin of Vikramaditya Chandragupta II with the name of the king in Brahmi script 380 415 CE.jpg|thumb|right|Coin of Vikramaditya ([[Chandragupta II]]) with the name of the king in Gupta Brahmi script 380–415 CE.]]
[[File:Mihirakula of the Alchon Huns.jpg|thumb|Coin of [[Alchon Huns]] ruler [[Mihirakula]]. Obv: Bust of king, with legend in Gupta script ([[File:Gupta_allahabad_j.svg|12px]])[[File:Gupta_allahabad_y.svg|12px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_tu.jpg|12px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_mi.jpg|12px]][[File:Gupta ashoka hi.jpg|14px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_r.svg|12px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_ku.jpg|12px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_l.svg|12px]]<ref>The "h" ([[File:Gupta ashoka h.svg|12px]]) is an early variant of the Gupta script.</ref> ''(Ja)yatu Mihirakula'' ("Let there be victory to Mihirakula"). Rev: Dotted border around Fire altar flanked by attendants.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Verma |first1=Thakur Prasad |title=The Imperial Maukharis: History of Imperial Maukharis of Kanauj and Harshavardhana |date=2018 |publisher=Notion Press |isbn=9781643248813 |page=264 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=09FqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT264 |language=hi}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sircar |first1=D. C. |title=Studies in Indian Coins |date=2008 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=9788120829732 |page=376 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1JYwP5tVQUC&pg=PA376 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tandon |first1=Pankaj | pages=24–34|title=Notes on the Evolution of Alchon Coins Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society, No. 216, Summer |date=2013 |publisher= Oriental Numismatic Society |url=http://coinindia.com/galleries-alchon-early.html}} also [http://coinindia.com/galleries-toramana.html Coinindia Alchon Coins (for an exact description of this coin type)]</ref>]]
The study of Gupta coins began with the discovery of a hoard of [[gold coin]]s in 1783. Many other such hoards have since been discovered, the most important being the [[Bayana]]  (situated in [[Bharatpur, Rajasthan|Bharatpur]] district of [[Rajasthan]]) hoard, discovered in 1946, which contained more than 2000 gold coins issued by the Gupta Kings.<ref>Bajpai, KD. '' 'Indian Numismatic Studies. ' '' New Delhi: Abhinav Publications 2004</ref> Many of the Gupta Empire's coins bear inscriptions of legends or mark historic events. In fact, it was one of the first Indian Empires to do so, probably as a result of its unprecedented prosperity.<ref name=anupama/> Almost every Gupta king issued coins, beginning with its first king, [[Chandragupta I]].

The scripts on the coin are also of a different nature compared to scripts on pillars, due to conservatism regarding the coins that were to be accepted as currency, which would have prevented regional variations in the script from manifesting on the coinage.<ref name=anupama/> Moreover, space was more limited especially on their silver coins, and thus many of the symbols are truncated or stunted. An example is the symbol for /ta/ and /na/, which were often simplified to vertical strokes.

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="4">
File:Allahabad stone pillar inscription of Samudragupta.jpg|The [[Allahabad pillar]] inscription of [[Samudragupta]], with its standardised Gupta characters.
Image:brahmi.png|Brahmi and its descendent scripts.
File:5th or 6th century Gopika cave inscription, Sanskrit, Shaktism, Anantavarman, Gupta script 2.jpg|The 5th- or 6th-century Gupta script [[Gopika Cave Inscription]] in Sanskrit about goddess [[Durga]]
File:Das Buch der Schrift (Faulmann) 141.jpg|Gupta script decipherment table
File:A palm leaf Sanskrit manuscript in Brahmi script from Miran China.jpg|A palm leaf Sanskrit manuscript in early Gupta Brahmi script, discovered in [[Miran (Xinjiang)|Miran]], northwest China.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Puri |first1=Baij Nath |title=Buddhism in Central Asia |date=1987 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=9788120803725 |page=187 Note 32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sluKZfTrr3oC&pg=PA187 |language=en}}</ref>
File:Sri Yashodharman.jpg|The name [[File:Gupta allahabad shrii.jpg|14px]][[File:Gupta allahabad y.svg|14px]][[File:Gupta allahabad sho.jpg|16px]][[File:Gupta allahabad dh.svg|10px]][[File:Gupta allahabad rmm.jpg|14px]] ''Śrī Yaśodharmma'' ("Lord [[Yashodharman]]") in Gupta script in Line 4 of the [[Mandsaur stone inscription of Yashodharman-Vishnuvardhana]].<ref name="EG">{{cite book |last1=Fleet |first1=John Faithfull |title=Inscriptions Of The Early Gupta Kings And Their Successors |date=1960 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.463254/page/n151 150]-158 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.463254}}</ref>
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Bengali–Assamese script]]
* [[Bhattiprolu script]]
* [[Brahmic scripts]]
* [[Kadamba script]]
* [[Lipi (script)|Lipi scripts]]
* [[Pallava script]]
* [[Telugu-Kannada alphabet]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Carl Faulmann (1835–1894), Das Buch der Schrift, Druck und Verlag der Kaiserlichen Hof-und Staatsdruckerei, 1880

==External links==
* {{in lang|es}} [http://www.proel.org/index.php?pagina=alfabetos/gupta The Gupta Alphabet]
* [http://www.ancientscripts.com/gupta.html AncientScripts.com] entry on the Gupta Script
* Ye, Shao-Yong. (2009). ''[http://www.fanfoyan.com/resour/pale/buddhapalita.pdf An eastern variety of the post-Gupta script: Akṣara List of the Manuscripts of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and Buddhapālita's Commentary (ca. 550–650 CE)]''. Research Institute of Sanskrit Manuscripts & Buddhist Literature, Peking University.

{{list of writing systems}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gupta Script}}
[[Category:Brahmic scripts]]
[[Category:Gupta scripts| ]]
[[Category:Gupta Empire]]