India had a well-developed system of secret communication. Starting from a simple method of passing a message in an unknown language or in sign language, Indians have used all the various methods of encoding messages including the highest form of cryptography - better known as cipher writings. The main qualification of a secret agent, according to Kautilya is to remain faithful to his country and guard the secrets known to him even at the cost of his life. The motto of a secret agent, in the past as well as the present is: "Protect the code and protect the secret". Indians have remained true to this ideology.
Indians might have developed furthermore codes when considering their indepth knowledge of mathe-matics, metrics and such sciences. India by and large had been the origin of mind-bogging games like Chess; had been the forerunner in mathematical principles; had been the first to talk of atomic theory and stands first in many more such inventions.
With such a background it may not be incorrect to say that prior to Kautilya himself the code system should have been in existence especially the written code methodology. The Mahabharta, no doubt makes clear that there was code language (gudhabhasa) in existence (by 3000 B.C.). By 3 Century B.C. Kautilya talks about gridhalekhya and samjna lipi. Hence it can be said positively that India had been the birth place of code language and code writings.
Ms. N. Meena holds M.Phil. in Sanskrit from the University of Madras being a research scholar at the Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute, Chennai.
She has Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Madras, a Masters in Sanskrit from Sree Venkateswara University, Tirupathi and also Masters in Business Management and Journalism from the Alagappa University, Karaikudi. She also holds a diploma and B2.1 in Deutsch (German) from Goethe Institute, Bangalore.
She has participated in several workshops and seminars and also presented papers on various topics.
She is at present a senior faculty, Department of Sanskrit, Vidya Mandir PU College, Bangalore.
She has also been a faculty of English and has trained students for the competitive examinations of GRE, GMAT, TOFEL, German A1, A2, A3.
It seems to be a fashion, all over the world, to deny India her rights as the most ancient progenitor of many of the world cultures. As a consequence, the use of code system in ancient India has not been recognised by many of the writers on code language.
This book, earlier submitted to the University of Madras as M.Phil. dissertation, is the outcome of my inquiry into our Sanskrit literature about the use of code language in ancient India. In the process, I have also dwelt upon the western treatment of the same.
I express my deep gratitude to my guide and supervisor, Dr. V. Kameswari, of the Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute, Chennai, for suggesting the topic of research, guidance and also for her ready help in the preparation of this book.
I am highly indebted to Dr. C. S. Sundaram (Former Reader, Dept. of Sanskrit, University of Madras) and to Dr. N. S. Satakopan (Former Prof. of Sanskrit, A.M. Jain College, Chennai) for their help in teaching me some of the difficult passages.
I am thankful to Dr. K. S. Balasubramanian and Dr. T. V. Vasudeva, Deputy Directors of the K.S.R. Institute for going through the book and providing valuable suggestions.
My sincere thanks are due to the authorities of the Karnataka Historical Research Society for selecting my dissertation for publication as a part of the Centenary Celebrations of their Society.
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