ABSTRACT
Recent research has established the diversity of dialects used in Ashokan inscriptions and their careful composition. It is also evident that regional specificities in terms of the art and architecture of Buddhist monastic sites in the subcontinent further strengthened linguistic diversity. For example, the Kharoṣṭhī script and the Gāndhārā Prakrit language are accepted as the defining features of Gandhara, though drawing precise boundaries based on this information would be hazardous. This chapter follows from the previous one, which had provided an overview of monastic sites and focuses on language and writing as critical factors providing identity to monastic lineages or nikāyas. The use of writing is usually discussed with reference to royal inscriptions, though it extended well beyond these and religious texts to include writing on pottery and other material objects, as discussed here. Another theme developed in the chapter relates to the diversity in formulae used for recording donations.
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