The oldest known palm leaf manuscript in India is the Rig Veda Palm-Leaf Manuscript, dated to 1464 CE, which contains hymns from the Rig Veda and is preserved in Pune.
However, the earliest surviving palm leaf manuscripts in India are generally believed to date back to the Gupta period (320–550 CE), with historical references indicating that palm leaf writing was already established by this time.
Evidence of palm leaf manuscripts in India may extend even further back, with some sources suggesting their use as early as the 4th century CE in Central Asia, though the oldest surviving examples from India emerged during the Gupta era.
The Rig Veda Palm-Leaf Manuscript from 1464 CE is one of the oldest surviving palm leaf records in India, currently housed in Pune.
The Bower Manuscript, discovered in Chinese Turkestan and dated to the 5th century CE, is written on birch-bark sheets shaped like palm leaves, indicating the cultural and material influence of palm leaf writing in early Indian traditions.
Palm leaf manuscripts were used across India and South-East Asia, with the oldest surviving examples found in colder, drier climates such as Nepal, Tibet, and Central Asia, where preservation conditions were more favorable.
The practice of writing on palm leaves involved curing and treating the leaves, inscribing text with a metal stylus, and binding them with strings through holes punched in each sheet.