Ancient Kamarupi script "in the scheme of a scientific study, we may name the stretch of a time covering the whole range of palacographic specimens available from 5th century to 12th century as the period of ancient Kamrupi script.""The Assamese script of the period from the fifth to the thirteenth century may be termed as the ancient Assamese script or the Kamarupi script" (ancient Kamrupi script, ancient Assamese script) was the script used in ancient Kamarupa from as early as 5th century to 12th century, from which the Proto-Assamese script and then the Assamese script eventually evolved. In the development of the Assamese script, this phase was followed by the medieval and then by the modern Assamese scripts."The Kamarupi script developed into the medieval Assamese script and the latter into the modern Assamese script"
Though the script development was in general agreement with the development in Bengal and Bihar,"The detailed discussion above shows that the broad pattern of the development of writing in Assam was in line with that in Bengal-Bihar." it had local peculiarities."The Assam inscriptions discussed above furnish the documentary evidence of how the eastern version of the north Indian writing style developed in Assam with an admixture of some local peculiarities." The angular and calligraphic style of writing prevalent to its west is not found in this development."The predominantly angular style of writing of the Bengal-Assam copper plates is not to be found in the Assam copper plates; nor is the formal 'calligraphical' style so conspicuous in Bengal-Bihar for a limited period of time represented here."
History The Kamarupi script originated from Gupta script,"The a, i, ka, ga, na, ta, da, na, ma, ra and va of the Umachal and Barganga inscriptions are fairly similar to those of the Allahabad inscription (of Samudragupta)" which in turn developed from Brahmi script. 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."...Nidhanpur grant belongs to a later date having many elements from the so called western style of writing. This grant can be said to have been written in Kutila alphabets." 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 Gupta script, 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 came to be used, Les Langues Ecrites Du Monde: Releve Du Degre Et Des Modes D'Utilisation (1978), p.39
See also Kamarupi Prakrit
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