Used to write Telugu, a South Central Dravidian language spoken by approximately 81 million people, Telugu is the official language of the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Significant numbers of Telugu speakers live in the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The script is also used to write Gondi, a minority language spoken in Telangana. The Telugu script largely shares its character forms with the Kannada script. Both scripts share a long common history. The Erraguḍipāḍu inscription, of c. 575 CE, is the earliest recorded inscription in Telugu. Late medieval rulers under the Vijayanagara Empire issued Telugu inscriptions in the Tamil and Kannada regions too, taking the script beyond its own linguistic region and leaving behind numerous manuscripts and inscriptions. Telugu speakers also wrote Sanskrit using the script, well into modern times.