Writing in India emerges only in the Mauryan period, 2,300 years ago. It is in the Ashokan edicts that we find the Brahmi script. Vedic hymns and Buddha's lectures, before that, were orally transmitted.

The Harappan civilisation, 4,000 years ago, with its sophisticated brick cities and sewage system, used symbols on seals. Symbols are often accompanied by images of plants, animals, humans, and fantastic beasts like three-headed goats and unicorns. No one knows what these symbols mean. Are these symbols a kind of script?