On the Origin of the Indian Brahma Alphabet c6.11

c6.11

In addition to the local differences in the form of the initial *A* and *Ā*, there are also others observable in *kha*, *ja*, *ma*, *ra* and *sa*, which may be briefly noticed here, though the full details must be reserved for the discussion of the palaeography of the Edicts in my *Grundriss*.¹ The *kha* with a circle² or loop at the foot, a very ancient form, alone is used in Kālsī and besides occurs only in Jaugada together with the simplified forms showing a dot instead of the circle or no appendage at all. The *ja* with a loop in the middle³ is used only in Kālsī. It seems to be a form peculiar to the extreme North and the Northwest, as it is found also on the coins of Agathocles and of the Taxila merchants (see below p. 48 f.). The other northern versions have mostly a secondary development from it, the *ja* with a dot in the middle (plate I, No 7, Col. V, c) more rarely the independent form (given under No 7, Col. V, d), which is used exclusively in Girnār together with its derivative, the later angular *ja* with three horizontal bars (see below p. 41). The *ma* with the angle at the top, an ancient form, (plate I, No 13, Col. V) occurs in the southern versions (with the exception of Siddāpur), where an open square appears instead of the angle) [37] and is used exclusively in Girnār. All the northern versions of the Edicts have a semicircle instead of the angle. The angular and wavy forms of *ra* and their insertion in the verticals of consonants are also peculiar to the southern versions (Girnār and Siddāpur); the solitary *ra* in the Rūpnāth Edict consists of an almost straight stroke. Finally, the ancient *sa* with a straight limb on the left (plate I, No 15, Col. VI, b) is likewise confined to the South (Girnār and Siddāpur).