On the Origin of the Indian Brahma Alphabet c7.s1.12

c7.s1.12

No 4. The identity of the Brāhma *dha* with the Semitic *Daleth* has also been generally admitted, Dr. Taylor, who derives it from *tha* (No 9, Col. V) alone dissenting. To me it seems that the first form, given in Col. V, with the vertical on the right, is the immediate offspring of the oldest Semitic forms, the letter having been made higher and the right hand stroke straightened in accordance with the general principles of formation, stated, above. The round back is probably due to a cursive development. In the Edicts this form is rare, and the second, given in Col. V, which is younger and due to the change in the position required by the change in the direction of the writing, is found in the great majority of cases. The older one (Col. V, a) is used exclusively in the Bhaṭṭiprolu inscriptions and usually in the Western cave inscriptions of the Nānāghāt, Nasik, Karle, Junnar and so forth, which range from about 150 B. C. to 200 A. D. It is also the parent of all the later northern forms of the letter, including the present Devanāgarī *dha*. In the caves mentioned we find also in the Andhra and other inscriptions of the first and second centuries A. D. numerous triangular forms¹ like ⨞ or ⨞. They may be possibly ancient survivals, especially as the Edicts too occasionally offer forms with half angular backs like [Figure:].