TheKutila inscription of Bareilly is an inscription in theKutila script (कुटिल लिपि) dating to 992CE that provides crucial evidence in tracing the shared descent of theDevanagari andBengali-Assamese scripts ofNorthern andEasternIndia from the predecessorGupta script.[1] The writing was found on a stone unearthed inBareilly district in theUnited Provinces of Agra and Oudh (modern-dayUttar Pradesh).[1] The inscription proclaims that it was created by an engraver fromKannauj who was "proficient in the Kutila character".[1] It also includes the date of the inscription,Vikram Samvat 1049, which corresponds to 992 CE.[1]
The wordKutila (कुटिल) meanscrooked in theSanskrit language, and it is assumed that the name came from the curving shapes of Kutila letters, distinct from the straighter lines of theBrahmi and Gupta scripts.[2][3]
TheUnicode encoding forSiddham is to serve as a unifying block for all regional variants of the script, such as Siddhamātṛkā and Kuṭila. The Siddham glyphs are based upon Japanese forms of Siddham characters on account of active usage of the script by Japanese Buddhist communities.[4]
... celebrated 'Kutila' inscription ... found on a stone dug up in Illahabas, a village in Bareli ... temple built by a petty local raja ... artist from Kanauj was 'a proficient in the Kutila character' Samvat year 1049, answering to 992 AD ...
... Kutila means "crooked, or bent" ...
... ब्राहमी की उत्तरी शाखा से गुप्तवंशीय राजाओं के काल में, यानी चौथी पाँचवी शताब्दी में, जिस गुप्तलिपि का विकास हुआ, उसके अक्षरों का लेखन एक विशेष टेढ़े या कुटिल ढंग से किया जाता था, जिससे आगे चलकर कुटिल लिपि का जन्म हुआ (The Gupta script, which evolved from the northern branch of the Brahmi script during the Gupta dynastic period (4th–5th century), was written in a special 'kutil' or crooked way, and further evolved into the Kutil script ...