Gandhara Suls Regular Urdu Font

The Gandharan writings are among the earliest known Asian compositions, many of which were inscribed on birch bark and discovered in labeled clay pots. The renowned grammarian Panini referenced both the Vedic form of Sanskrit and what appears to be Gandhari, an evolved form of Sanskrit, in his work, Ashtadhyayi.

Gandhara’s language, referred to as Gāndhārī, was a Prakrit or Middle Indo-Aryan language, typically written in the Kharosthi script, which fell out of use around the 4th century. Modern languages like Punjabi, Hindko, and Kohistani are believed to have descended from the Prakrits spoken in Gandhara and its neighboring regions. The Gandhara culture also influenced the Pashtun tribes, who began settling in the area from Central Asia.

One of the key discoveries in Gandhara includes a Sanskrit manuscript found in Gilgit, Pakistan, highlighting the significance of the Medicine Buddha in the region. These texts, dating before the 7th century, were written in the upright Gupta script. Additionally, various manuscripts, including Mahāyāna sūtras, have been uncovered, with some written in Gāndhārī and Kharosthi, while others were inscribed in Sanskrit using forms of the Gupta script.

The Gandhara script is part of an ancient cultural heritage, offering a glimpse into the region’s linguistic and religious history. The preservation of these texts, some of which are housed in the Schøyen Collection, is crucial for understanding the cultural and spiritual dynamics of ancient Gandhara.