On the Origin of the Indian Brahma Alphabet c7.s3.15
On the Origin of the Indian Brāhma Alphabet c7.s3.15
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c7.s3.15
The cause of the formation of ligatures in order to express the absence of vowels must again be sought for in the influence of the Sanskrit phoneticists on the development of the Brāhma alphabet. The Prātiśākhyas and the later works on phonetics and grammar all use the expression *saṃyuktākṣara* "a conjunct syllable" for groups like *kta*, *kra* and so forth. The combination of the signs in writing looks very much like a practical illustration of the meaning of the term.