The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c17.s3.11

c17.s3.11

We shall now make a few remarks about individual letters. The right limb of *a* is angular in some cases¹ and round in others;² in rare cases its vertical develops a tail.³ *U* shows a pronounced loop in its lower limb.⁴ The vertical of *ka* is long and its horizontal line straight; but sometimes owing to want of space, the horizontal line changes into two lines meeting the vertical at acute angles.⁵ *Kha* has a triangular base.⁶ *Ga* and *gha* have been already commented upon. The letter *ña* appears only as the first part of the conjunet *ñha*; it is like *ja* without the central horizontal line.⁷ The form of *cha*⁸ is the usual one, while *chha* is of the butter-fly type.⁹ The horizontal lines of *ja* sometimes show a slight tendency towards becoming slanting.¹⁰ The letters *jha*, *ñ*, *ṭ*, *ṭha*, *ḍhh*, *pha*, *sha* and *jña* do not appear in the legends. The letter *ḍa* is of the usual type.¹¹ The bipartite form of the letter *ṇa* is rather rarely used,¹² probably because it required more space; the letter usually shows one vertical with one horizontal line above and another below.¹³ The letter *ta* is without a loop and its right limb is often longer than the left one;¹⁴ sometimes the top vertical is omitted.¹⁵ *Tha* is usually a circle,¹⁶ but sometimes it opens at the top.¹⁷ *Da* opens to right and *dha* shows the semicircle to the left.¹⁸ The letter *na* has usually a loop in the left limb;¹⁹ it is dispensed with only on rare occassions.²⁰ The letter *ba* is a square²¹ and the right lower limb of *bha* is usually slightly angular.²² The letter *ma* has four forms. Its lower limb shows sometimes a triangle²³ and sometimcs a circle.²⁴ In its third form the two upper lines are seen to meet the lower one at two different points,¹ and in its fourth form, these lines meet the lower one at one point.² *Ya* is usually tripartite,³ both its limbs being usually denoted by a curve. From the reign of Kumāragupta I, we begin to get a *ya*, where the left limb curve tends to become a straight line in continuation of the base line.⁴ *Ra* is a long straight line, but the vertical of *la* dwindles in height.⁵ *Va* has usually a triangular base,⁶ but on rare occassions it becomes a circular one.⁷ *Śa* has usually a round back with a horizontal line joining its two arms, of which the right one is longer than the left one.⁸ The letter *sha* appears only in the conjunct *ksha*; it is like *pa* with a horizontal line, which does not always join its two limbs.⁹ Both loops of *sa* are well formed and its vertical dwindles in height.¹⁰ Besides its usual form, the letter *ha* shows the eastern one also where the base line is suppressd.¹¹