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Indian Palaeography from about B.C. 350 to about A.D. 1300 c7: II. The Kharoṣṭhī Script

Indian Palaeography from about B.C. 350 to about A.D. 1300 c7

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Contents

II. The Kharoṣṭhī Script

§ 6. — How it was deciphered

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The Indian alphabet running from right to left, the *Kharoṣṭhī lipi*,¹ has been deciphered exclusively by European scholars, among whom MASSON, J. PRINSEP, CH. LASSEN, E. NORRIS, and A. CUNNINGHAM must be particularly mentioned.² The coins of the Indo-Grecian and Indo-Scythian kings with Greek and Prākrit inscriptions furnished the first clue to the value of the letters. The results, which the identifications of the royal names and titles seemed to furnish, were partly confirmed, partly rectified and enlarged, by the discovery of the Shāhbāzgarhī version of the Aśoka edicts and E. C. BAYLEY’S Kāngrā inscription in Brāhmī and Kharoṣṭhī. The characters of the Aśoka edicts are readable with full certainty, with the exception of a few ligatures (see below, § 11, C, 3, 4). Similarly, the inscriptions of the Sakas offer no difficulties, and the new MS. of the Dhammapada from Khotan³ is in general not difficult to read. But considerable portions of the inscriptions of the Parthian Guduphara and of the Kuṣana kings Kaniṣka and Huviṣka, still resist the attempts of decipherers and interpreters.

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¹ Regarding the name, see § 1 above, and B.IS. III², 113 f.

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² P.IA. 1, 178—185; 2, 128—143; W.AA. 242 ff.; J.ASB. 23, 714; C.ASR. 1, VIII; Centenary Review 2, 69—81; C.CIS. 3 ff.; SENART, IP. 1, 22 ff.; ZDMG. 43, 129 ff.

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³ See the next paragraph.

§ 7. — Use and characteristics

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In its form, known to us at present, the Kharoṣṭhī is an ephemeral, chiefly epigraphic, alphabet of North-Western India. The majority of the inscriptions written in Kharoṣṭhī have been found between 69°—73° 30′ E. Long. and 33°—35° N. Lat., in the ancient province of Gandhāra, the modern eastern Afghanistan and the northern Pañjāb; and the oldest documents are confined to the districts the capitals of which were Taxila (Shāh-Derī) to the east of the Indus, and Puṣkalāvatī or Carsādā (Hashtnagar) to the west of the river. Single inscriptions have turned up further south-west in Bhāwalpur near Multān, south in Mathurā, and south-east in Kāngrā, and single words or letters in Bharahut, Ujjain and Maisūr (Siddāpura Aśoka edicts).⁴ Coins, cameos and MSS. with Kharoṣṭhī characters have been carried much further north and north-east. The period during which, according to the documentary evidence at present available, the Kharoṣṭhī seems to have been used in India, extends from the fourth century B. C. to about the third century A. D., the earliest letters occurring on the Persian *sigloi* (§ 8) and the latest perhaps on the Gandhāra sculptures and the Kuṣana inscriptions.⁵ As the note in the Fawanshulin of A. D. 668 (see above, § 1) shows, the Buddhists preserved a knowledge of the existence of the alphabet much longer.

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⁴ B.IS. III², 47—53; C.ASR. 2, 82 ff., pl. 59, 63; 5, 1 ff., pl. 16, 28; W.AA. 55 ff.; C.CAI. 31 f.

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⁵ B.IS. III², loc. cit.; the question of the lower limit of the use of the Kharoṣṭhī is difficult on account of the uncertainty regarding the dates of Kaniṣka and his two successors, all of whom S. LÉVI now places in the first cent. A. D.(JA. 1897, 1, 1 ff.). The limit given above is based on the assumption that Kaniṣka’s dates refer to the Saka era or to the fourth cent. of the Seleucidan era. I still make use of it, not because I consider it to be unassailable, but for the reasons stated in WZKM. 1, 169. The letters in the inscriptions of Saṁvat 200 and 276 or 286 (Hashtnagar image) look more ancient than those of the Kuṣana inscriptions. According to a communication from Dr. Th. Bloch, Prof. Hoernle has read dates of the fourth cent. of the same unknown Saṁvat on recently found Gandhāra sculptures.

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Hitherto, the Kharoṣṭhī has been found (1) in stone-inscriptions, (2) on metal plates and vases, (3) on coins, (4) on cameos, and (5) on a longer known small piece of birch bark from a Stūpa in Afghanistan⁶ and on the Bhūrja MS. of the Dhammapada from Khotan. The latter MS. has probably been written in Gandhāra during the Kuṣana period. The dialect of its text shows characteristic affinities to that of the Shāhbāzgarhī version of the Aśoka edicts, and its characters agree very closely with those of the Wardak vase.¹ On the metal plates and vases, [20] the letters frequently consist of rows of dots, or have been first punched in in this manner and afterwards scratched in with a stilus.² On stone vases they are sometimes written with ink.³

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⁶ W.AA. pl. 3 at p. 54, No. 11; similar twists have been found in other Stūpas, see op. cit. 60, 84, 94, 105; but the fragments in the British Museum, said to belong to them, show no letters.

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¹ See S. v. OLDENBURG, Predvaritelnaë zamjetkao Buddhiiskoi rukopisi, napisannoi pismenami Kharoṣṭhī, St. Petersburg, 1897, and SENART, Acad. des Inscr's., Comptes rendus, 1897, 251 ff.

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² IA. 10, 325.

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³ W.AA. 111.

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' In spite of its frequent utilisation for epigraphic documents, the Kharoṣṭhī is a popular script, destined for clerks and men of business. This is proved by the throughout highly cursive character of the letters, by the absence of long vowels, which are useless for the purposes of common daily life, by the expression of groups of unaspirated double consonants by single ones (*ka* for *kka*) and of unaspirated and aspirated ones by the latter alone (*kha* for *kkha*), and by the invariable use of the Anusvāra for all vowelless medial nasals.⁴ The discovery of the Khotan MS. makes it very improbable that there existed another form of the script which, being more similar to the Brāhmī in completeness, would have been more suitable for the Brahmanical Sāstras.

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⁴ B.IS. III^2, 97 f.

§ 8. — Origin

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⁵ B.IS. III^2, 92 ff.

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The direction of the Kharoṣṭhī from right to left made it *a priori* highly probable that its elements had been borrowed from the Semites; and the almost exact agreement of the forms for *na*, *ba*, *ra* and *va* with Aramaic signs of the transitional type induced E. THOMAS to assume a closer connection of the Kharoṣṭhī with this alphabet.⁶ His view has never been disputed; but of late it has been given a more precise form by I. TAYLOR and A. CUNNINGHAM, who assign the introduction of the Aramaic letters into India to the first Akhaemenians.⁷ The reasons which may be adduced for this opinion are as follows: — (1) The Aśoka edicts from the western Pañjāb use for "writing, edict," the word *dipi*, which evidently has been borrowed from the Old Persian, and they derive from it the verbs *dipati*, "he writes," and *dipapati*, "he causes to write;" see above, § 2, B. (2) The districts where Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions occur, especially in earlier times, are just those parts of India which probably were subject to the Persians, be it with or without interruptions, from about B. C. 500 to 331. (3) Among the Persian *sigloi*, there are some marked with single syllables in Kharoṣṭhī and Brāhmī,⁸ whence it may be inferred that they were struck in India during the Persian period, and that the Kharoṣṭhī was current during a great part of the fourth century B. C., certainly before the fall of the Persian empire in B. C. 331.

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Some considerable variations in the Kharoṣṭhī letters of the Aśoka edicts, as well as the strongly cursive forms of several ligatures, such as *sta*, *spa*, &c. (see below, § 11, C, 2, 3), likewise point to the conclusion that the alphabet had had a long history before the middle of the third century B. C. (4) Recent discoveries in Semitic epigraphy make it extremely probable that the Aramaic, which was used already in Assyria and Babylon for official and business purposes side by side with the cuneiform writing, was very widely spread during the rule of the Akhaemenians. Numerous Aramaic inscriptions of this period have been found in Egypt, Arabia, and Asia Minor, and one even in Persia. Besides, Egypt has furnished a number of official Aramaic papyri, and Asia Minor many coins with Aramaic legends, struck by Persain satraps.⁹ In addition, there is the curious statement in the Book of Ezra, IV, 7, according to which the Samaritans sent to Artaxerxes a letter written in the *Ārāmī* script and language. Taking all these points together, there are sufficient reasons to warrant the assertion that Aramaic was commonly employed not only in the offices of the satraps, but also in the royal secretariate at Susa. The ultimate cause for the official use of the Aramaic script and language during the Akhaemenian period was, no doubt, that numerous Aramaeans held appointments as clerks, accountants, mint-masters and so forth in the Persian Civil Service.

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[21] When the Persian empire was rapidly built up on the ruins of more ancient monarchies, its rulers must have found the employment of the trained subalterns of the former governments, among whom the Aramaeans were foremost, not only convenient, but absolutely unavoidable. In these circumstances, it is but natural to assume that, after the full organisation of the administration by Darius, the Persian satraps introduced Aramaean subordinates into the Indian provinces, and thereby forced their Indian subjects, especially the clerks of the native princes and of the heads of towns and villages, to learn Aramaic. At first, the intercourse between the Persian and the Indian offices probably led to the use of the Aramaic letters for the north-western Prākrit, and later to modifications of this alphabet, which were made according to the principles of the older Indian Brāhmī,¹ and through which the Kharoṣṭhī finally arose. The adoption of the Arabic alphabet, during the middle ages and in modern times, for writing a number of Indian dialects, is somewhat analogous, as it likewise happened under foreign pressure, and as its characters were and are used either without or with modifications. (5) With these last conjectures agrees the general character of the Kharoṣṭhī, which is clearly intended for clerks and men of business; see above, § 7.

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(6) Finally, they are confirmed by the circumstance that the majority of the Kharoṣṭhī signs can be most easily derived from the Aramaic types of the fifth century B. C. which appear in the Saqqārah and Teima inscriptions of B. C. 482 and of about B. C. 500, while a few letters agree with somewhat earlier forms on the later Assyrian weights and the Babylonian seals and gems, and two or three are more closely allied to the later signs of the Lesser Teima inscription, the Stele Vaticana, and the Libation-table from the Serapeum. The whole *ductus* of the Kharoṣṭhī, with its long-drawn and long-tailed letters, is that of the characters on the Mesopotamian weights, seals and cameos, which re-occurs in the inscriptions of Saqqārah, Teima and the Serapeum. Others² have compared the writing of the Aramaic papyri from Egypt, which partly at least, like the Taurinensis, belong to the Akhaemenian period. But it does not suit so well. Many of its signs are so very cursive that they cannot be considered as the prototypes of the Kharoṣṭhī letters, and its *ductus* is that of a minute current handwriting. Some special resemblances appear to be, on a closer investigation, the results of analogous developments. Taking all these points together, the Kharoṣṭhī appears to have been elaborated in the fifth century B. C.

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⁶ P.IA. 2, 144 ff.; regarding Kharoṣṭhī legends on late coins running from left to right, see Proc. J. ASB. 1895, 83 f.

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⁷ I. TAYLOR, The Alphabet, 2, 261 f.; C.CAI. 33.

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⁸ J.RAS. 1895, 865 ff.

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⁹ CLERMONT-GANNEAU, Revue Archéologique, 1878-79; PH. BERGER, Hist. de l'Écrit. dans l'Antiquité, 214, 218 ff.

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¹ WEBER. Ind. Skizzen, 144 f.; E. THOMAS, P.IA. 2, 146; C. CAI. 33; and below, § 9, B, 4.

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² J. HALÉVY, JA. 1885, 2, 243—267, believes the Kharoṣṭhī to have been derived about B. C. 330 from 16 signs of the papyri and of a Cilician coin, and, Revue Sémitique, 1895, 372 ff., from the script of the papyri and of the *ostraka* from Egypt.

§ 9. — Details of the derivation

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The subjoined comparative table illustrates the details of the derivation. The signs in col. I. have been taken (with the exception of No. 10, col. I, *a*) from EUTING’S Tabula Scripturae Aramaicae, 1892, cols. 6, 8, 9, 11 and 12; those in col. II, from the same work, cols. 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, and those in cols. III, IV, from plate 1 of this manual; and all have been reproduced by photolithography.

A. — Borrowed signs

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³ B.IS. III², 99 ff.; compare the more or less differing attempts of E. THOMAS, P.IA. 2, 147; I. TAYLOR, The Alphabet, 2, plate at p. 236 ff.; J. HALÉVY, JA. 1885, 2, 252 ff., Revue Sémitique, 1895, 372 ff.

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*Preliminary remarks.* — The changes of the Aramaic signs have been caused chiefly by the following principles: (1) by a decided predilection for long-tailed signs with appendages at the upper end, the foot being left free for the addition of *u*, *ra* and the Anusvāra, and by an aversion to appendages at the foot alone; (2) by an aversion to signs with heads containing more than two lines rising upwards, [22] or with transverse strokes through the top-line, or with pendants hanging down from it, — all of which peculiarities would have been awkward for the insertion of the vowels *i*, *e* and *o*; (3) by a desire to differentiate the signs which, altered according to these principles, would have become identical.

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No. 1, *A*, col. III, = *Aleph*, col. I, *a* (Saqqārah), with a cursive change of the head to a curve; the position and the size of the letter make a connection with the forms in col. I, *b*, or col. II, improbable. — No. 2, *ba*, col. III, = *Beth*, col. I, *a*, *b* (Teima, Saqqārah), with a cursive curve for the angle at the right; the cursive forms of the *Beth* of the papyri, [23] col. II, *b*, *c*, are further developed than the Kharoṣṭhī signs. — No. 3, *ga*, col. III, = *Gimel*, derived from col. I, or a similar form (compare col. II, and Euting, TSA. 1, *a*), with a cursive loop on the right and a curve on the left; similar loops are common in later ligatures, see pl. I, 33, 35, 36, XII; 34, XIII; and they occur even in *ja*, pl. I, 12, XII. — No. 4, *da*, col. III, = *Daleth*, derived from a form like that in col. II, *b*, which, according to col. I, *a*, occurs already about B. C. 600 on Assyrian weights. — No. 5, *ha*, col. III, = *He*, derived from a form like that in col. I, *a* (Teima), with the transposition of the pendant in the middle of the curve to the right end of the foot in order to facilitate the insertion of *i*, *e* and *o* (see preliminary remarks, 2, page 20 f., above, and below under No. 17). — No. 6, *va*, col. III, = *Waw*, col. I (Teima, Saqqârah) ; the papyri in col. II. show more advanced forms.

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No. 7, *ja*, col. III, *a*, = *Zain*, derived from a form like those in col. I, *a*, *b* (Teima), the left corner being turned upwards still further, whence the usual Kharoṣṭhī letter in col. III. is derived by omitting the stroke at the foot ; the papyri, col. II, show more advanced forms unsuitable for comparison. — No. 8, *śa*, col. III, = *Cheth*, col. I (Teima), the sound of the Indian *śa* being very similar to a palatal *xa*, as in the German *ich*. — No. 9, *ya*, col. III, = *Yod*, derived either from a form like col. I, *b*, or directly from one like col. I, *a* (Assyrian weights), with the omission of the bar on the right (see preliminary remarks, 1) ; analogous forms occurring in later Palmyranian and Pahlavi (E.TSA. cols. 21—25, 30—32, 35—39, 58). — No. 10, *ka*, col. III, = *Kaph*, derived by a turn from right to left from col. I, *b* (Assyrian weights, Babylonian seals, &c.), and with the addition of a top-stroke, in order to distinguish the new sign from *la* (No. 11, col. III) and from *pa* (No. 15, col. III) ; the signs of the papyri, col. II, differ entirely. — No. 11, *la*, col. III, = *Lamed*, a form like those in col. I, *a*, *c* (Teima) being turned topsy-turvy owing to the aversion to signs with appendages at the foot alone (preliminary remarks, 1), and the curved line being broken and attached lower in order to distinguish the new letter from *A*.

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No. 12, *ma*, col. III, *a*, *b*, = *Mem*, derived from a form like that in col. I, *a*, *b* (Saqqârah) with a curved head, by the omission of the transverse line and a rudimentary indication of the vertical standing originally on the right, whence comes the semicircular ordinary *ma* of the Aśoka edicts, col. III, *c*, still more mutilated on account of the vowel-signs ; the forms of the *Mem* of the papyri, col. II, are unsuited to be considered the prototypes of the Kharoṣṭhī *ma*. — No. 13, *na*, col. III, *a*, = *Nun*, col. I, *a*, *b* (Saqqârah), a later derivative being the *na* of col. III, *b* ; the *Nun* of the papyri, col. II, is again unsuited for comparison. — No. 14, *sa*, col. III, = *Samekh*, col. I (Teima), with transposition of the slanting bar to the left end of the top-stroke from which it hangs down, and with connection of its lower end with the tail of the sign, which has been pushed forward towards the left (see the figures in B.IS. III², 105) ; analogous developments appear in Nabataean (E.TSA. cols. 46, 47) and in Hebrew. — No. 15, *pa*, col. III, *a*, = *Phe*, col. I (Teima), turned from right to left to distinguish it from *A* ; in the more usual *pa* of col. III, *b*, the curve has been pushed lower down. — No. 16, *ṣa*, col. III, = *Tsade*, derived from an acute-angled form like col. I, *a*, *b* (Teima), with the omission of the second hook on the right (see preliminary remarks, 2) and with the development of a hook below the head, because the vertical was made separately ; the analogous *Tsade* of col. II, *b*, has been developed, because the right stroke of the head was made separately and drawn to the vertical.

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No. 17, *kha*, col. III, = *Qoph*, derived from a form like col. I, *a*, *b* (Serapeum) with the conversion of the central pendant into an elongation of the top-stroke on the left ; similarly, the pendant has been transferred to the right end of the letter in the Teima form (E.TSA. col. 10). — No. 18, *ra*, col. III, = *Resh*, col. I, *a*, *b* (Saqqârah), with complete removal of the angular protuberance on the right. — No. 19, *ṣa*, col. III, = *Shin*, col. 1 (Teima), turned topsy-turvy owing to the aversion to tops with more than two strokes rising upwards (preliminary remarks, 2), and with a lengthening of the central stroke owing to the predilection for long-tailed signs. — No. 20, *ta*, col. III, = *Taw*, derived from a form like that in col. I, *a* (Assyrian weights) or in col. I, *b* (Saqqârah), with the transposition of the bar to the top of the [24] vertical, as in col. II, *a*, the new sign at the same time being turned from right to left in order to avoid the resemblance to *pa* (No. 15), and being broadened in order to distinguish it from *va* and *ra* (Nos. 6, 18); the older form and the intermediate steps appear in *tha* (No. 20, col. IV, *a*) and *ṭa* (No. 20, col. IV, *b*) where the original *Taw* has been preserved, and in *ṭa* (No. 20, col. IV, *c*) where the bar stands at the top; compare below, B, 1, *c*, and B, 2.

B. — Derivative signs

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(1) Aspiration. — The aspiration is expressed by the addition of a curve or a hook, which probably represent a cursive *ha* (TAYLOR), and for which cursively a simple stroke appears; at the same time, the original *mātṛkā* is sometimes simplified. — (*a*) A curve or a hook is added to the right of the vertical of *ga* in *gha*, No. 3, col. IV, to the top of *da* in *dha*, No. 4. col. IV, *a*, and to the end of the second bar of *ṭa*, No. 20, col. IV, *c*, from which it rises upwards, in *ṭha*, No. 20, col. IV, *d* (properly *ṭho*). — (*b*) A hook, a curve, or cursively a slanting stroke, appears to the right of *ba* in *bha*, No. 2, col. IV, *a*, *b*, the head of *ba* being converted at the same time into a straight line and pushed somewhat more to the left, in order to avoid the identity with *ka*, No. 10, col. III. — (*c*) In the following aspirates appear only cursive straight strokes, added on the left in *jha*, No. 7, col. IV, and *pha*, No. 15, col. IV, and on the right in *cha*, No. 16, col. IV, *ḍha*, No. 4, col. IV, *c*, and *tha*, No. 20, col. IV, *a*, all of which letters show, however, additional peculiarities. In *cha*, the little pendant on the left of *ca* has been made horizontal and combined with the stroke of aspiration to a cross bar. In *ḍha*, the head of *ḍa* has been flattened into a straight line. *Tha* has been formed out of the ancient Aramaic *Taw*, No. 20, col. I, *a*, turned from right to left, and the stroke of aspiration continues the bar of *Taw* towards the right.

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(2) Linguals. — *Ṭa* has been formed out of the older *Taw*, turned from the right to the left, by the addition of a short bar, which in the Aśoka edicts usually stands on the right and lower than that on the left, as in No. 20, col. IV, *b*. In col. IV, *c*, the sign of lingualisation stands on the left, below the *ṭa* with the bar at the top. This form of *ṭa*, which appears rarely in the Aśoka edicts, must formerly have been common, as the *ṭha* has been derived from it (see above, B, 1, *a*). The *ḍa* of No. 4, col. IV, *b*, exactly resembles the common Aramaic *Daleth* in col. I, *b* (Teima) and may be identical with it. If the alphabet imported into India contained two forms for *ḍa* (col. I, *a*, *b*), both may have been borrowed, and the more cumbrous one may have been used for the expression of the fuller sound. It is, however, also possible that the *ḍa* has been formed out of the *da* of No. 4, col. III, *a*, by the addition of the bar of lingualisation, placed vertically on the right. The *ṇa*, No. 13, col. IV, *a*, is likewise derived from *na*, col. III, *a*, *b*, by the addition of a straight stroke going downwards; compare what has been said above, § 4, B, 4, regarding the use of a short stroke for denoting the change of the quality of a borrowed or derivative sign in forming the *AI*, *O*, *ña*, *ṇa* and *ṇa* of the Brāhmī.

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(3) The palatal *ña*, No. 13, col. IV, *b*, *c*, consists of two *na* (col. III, *a*) joined together (E. THOMAS), and illustrates the modern Indian name for *ña* and *ṇa*, which the Paṇḍits often call the big *nakāras*. The sign, which is really not necessary for a clerk's alphabet, has perhaps been framed only because it existed in the Brāhmī, the Paṇḍit's alphabet.

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(4) Medial vowels, absence of vowel in ligatures, and Anusvāra. — Long vowels are not marked, and a inheres, just as in the Brāhmī, in every consonant. Other vowels are marked by straight strokes. In the case of *i*, the stroke passes through the left side of the top-line or top-lines of the consonant; in *u*, it stands to the left of the foot; in *e*, it descends on the left side of the top-line; in *o*, it hangs down from this line, see *ṭho*, No. 20, col. IV, *d*; for further details see below, § 11, B. Joined to *A*, the same strokes form *I*, *U*, *E* and *O* (No. 1, col. IV, *a*—*d*). The absence of a vowel between two dissimilar consonants, except nasals, is expressed, as in the Brāhmī, by the combination of the two signs into a ligature, in which the second letter is usually connected with the lower end of the first. But *ra* stands invariably at the foot of the other consonant, whether it may have to be pronounced before or after it. Double [25] consonants, except nasals, are expressed by single ones, and non-aspirates and aspirates by the aspirates alone. Nasals immediately preceding other consonants, are always expressed by the Anusvāra, which, in the Aśoka edicts, is attached to the preceding *mātṛkā*.

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The non-expression of *a*, and the rules regarding the formation of the ligatures, no doubt, have been taken over from the Brāhmī, only minor modifications being introduced. And it seems probable that the use of straight strokes for *i*, *u*, *e* and *o* comes from the same source. For, already in the Brāhmī of all the Aśoka edicts, *u*, *e* and *o* are either regularly or occasionally expressed by simple strokes, and in Girnār *i* is represented by a shallow curve, often hardly distinguishable from a straight stroke; moreover, *i*, *e* and *o* stand in Brāhmī, just as in the Kharoṣṭhī, at the top of the consonants, and *u* at the foot. A connection of the two systems of medial vowel-signs is therefore undeniable, and that of the Brāhmī must be regarded as the original one, since its signs, as has been shown above, § 4, C, 1, evidently have been derived from the initial vowels.

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The notation of *I*, *U*, *E* and *O* by combinations of *A* with the medial vowel-signs is peculiar to the Kharoṣṭhī, and is attributable to a desire to simplify the alphabet. Among the later Indian alphabets, the modern Devanāgarī offers an analogy with its ओ and औ, and the Gujarātī with its એ *E*, ઐ *AI*, ઓ *O*, and ઔ *AU*. Several among the foreign alphabets derived from the Brāhmī, as *e. g.* the Tibetan, show the principle of the Kharoṣṭhī fully developed.

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The Anusvāra, which is used, as in the Brāhmī, for all vowelless nasals, is derived from *ma* (E. Thomas). In *maṁ*, No. 12, col. IV, it still has the full form of *ma*, but usually it undergoes cursive alterations; see below, § 11, B, 5.

§ 10. — The varieties of the Kharoṣṭhī of Plate I

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¹ Preparation of Plate I: — 1—37, cols. I—V, and 38, 39, cols. I—XIII, traced by Dr. Dedekind from Dr. Burgess' impressions of the Aśoka edicts of Shāhbāzgarhī and Mansehra, and reduced by photography. 1—37, cols. VI, VII, and 38, 39, col. XIV, drawn by Dr. W. Cartellieri from P. Gardner's autotypes of Indo-Grecian coins. 1—37, cols. VIII, IX, and 22—25, col. XIII, traced from Dr. Burgess' impressions of the Mathurā lion capital and the photograph of the Taxila copper-plate of which a collotype has since then been published in *EI.* 4, 55 (10 and 14, col. VIII, and 25, col. XIII). 1—37, cols. X—XII, and 31—37, col. XIII, traced or drawn according to Dr. Hoernle's facsimile of the Suë Bihār inscription, supplemented by some signs from the Manikāla stone and gelatine copies of the Wardak and Bimāran vases by Dr. S. von Oldenburg. 23—30, col. XIII, drawn according to P. Gardner's autotypes of the older Kuṣana coins. 1—20, cols. XIII, XIV, numerals drawn according to the impressions and facsimiles of the Aśoka edicts and later inscriptions. Older tables of the Kharoṣṭhī alphabet, in P.*IA.* 2, 166, pl. 11; W.*AA.* 262; C.*IA*(CII. 1), pl. 27: P. Gardner, *Cat. I. C. Br. Mus.* p. LXX. f. ; Von Sallet, *Nachfolger Alex. d. Gr.* (end); G. H. Ozha, *The Ind. Pal.* pl. 26.

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According to plate I, the Kharoṣṭhī shows four chief varieties, *viz.*: — (1) the archaic one of the fourth and third centuries B. C., found in the Aśoka edicts of Shāhbāzgarhī (photolithograph of edict VII. in *ZDMG.* 43, 151, and of edict XII. in *EI.* 1, 16) and of Mansehra (photolithograph of edicts I—VIII. in *JA.* 1888, 2, 330, = Senart, *Notes d'Épigraphie Indienne*, 1), with which the signature in the Aśoka edicts of Siddāpura (photolithographs in *EI.* 3, 138—140), the legends on the oldest coins (autotypes in C.*CAI.* pl. 3, Nos. 9, 12, 13) and the syllables on the Persian *sigloi* (autotypes in *J.RAS.* 1895, 865) fully agree.

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(2) The variety of the second and first centuries B. C. on the coins of the Indo-Grecian kings, which is imitated by some later foreign kings (autotypes in P. Gardner's *Catalogue of Indian Coins in the British Museum*, pl. 4—21).

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(3) The variety of the Saka period, first century B. C. to first century A. D. (?), on the Taxila copper-plate of Patika (lithograph in J.RAS. 1863, 222, pl. 3, and collotype in EI. 4, 56), and on the lion-capital of the satrap Soḍāsa or Suḍasa from Mathurā, which occurs also on some sculptures from Gandhāra (autotype in J.ASB. 58, 144, pl. 10; Anzeig. phil. hist. Cl. WA. 1896), on the Kaldawa stone (WZKM. 10, 55, 327) and on the coins of several Śaka and Kuṣana kings (autotypes, P. GARDNER, op. cit., pl. 22—25).

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(4) The strongly cursive script of the first and second centuries A. D. (?), which begins with the Takht-i-Bahi inscription of Gondopherres (autotype in JA. 1890, I, = S.NEI. 3, pl. 1, No. 1) and is fully developed in the inscriptions of the later Kuṣana kings Kaniṣka and Huviṣka (autotype of the Zeda inscription in JA. 1890, I, = S.NEI. 3, pl. 1, No. 3, of the Manikyāla stone, JA. 1896, I, = S.NEI. 6, pl. 1, 2, of the Suē Bihār inscription, IA. 10, 324, lithograph of the Wardak vase, J.RAS. 1863, 256, pl. 10),¹ and occurs also in the MS. of the Dhammapada from Khotan; see above, § 7.

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¹ Other facsimiles of Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions: — (1) Aśoka edicts in J.RAS. 1850, 153; C.IA(CII. 1), pl. 1, 2; C.ASR. 5, pl. 5; S.IP. 1 (end); IA. 10, 107; — (2) later inscriptions in P.IA. 1, 96 (pl. 6), 144 (pl. 9), 162 (pl. 10); W.AA. 54 (pl. 2), 252; C.ASR. 2, 124 (pl. 59), 160 (pl. 63); 5, pl. 16, 28; J.RAS. 1863, 222 (pl. 3), 238 (pl. 4), 250 (pl. 9), 256 (pl. 10), and 1877, 144; J.ASB. 23, 57; 31, 176, 532; 39, 65; IA. 18, 257; S.NEI. Nos. 3 (JA. 1890, I, pl. 1, No. 2) and 5 (JA. 1894, II, pl. 5, Nos. 34, 36): all useless except the last three.

§ 11. — The archaic variety

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² Compare ZDMG. 43, 128 ff., 274 ff.

A. — The radical signs

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(1) [**26**] A small stroke, rising upwards at an acute angle, may be added at the foot of every letter ending with a straight or slanting line, in order to mark its end (plate I, 1, II; 6, II, V; 7, II; 8, II; &c). If a letter ends with two slanting lines, like *ya* and *śa* (34, II), the upstroke may be added to the left. In the Aśoka edicts of Mansehra, *ḍa* receives instead occasionally a straight base-stroke (18, V).

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(2) *Ca* has three varieties, (*a*) head with obtuse angle (10, I, II, IV); (*b*) head with curve (10, V); (*c*) head with curve, connected by a vertical with the lower part (10, III). — (3) The head of *cha* is likewise sometimes angular (11, I, IV) and sometimes round (11, II), and loses occasionally the cross-bar below the head, as in the later types. — (4) The full form of *ja* occurs at least once in Shāhbāzgarhī (12, I, V) and oftener in Mansehra, where once (edict V, l. 24) the bar stands to the left of the foot. The left side-stroke of *ja* is often curved (12, III). — (5) In *ña*, the second shortened *na* (see above, § 9, B, 3) is sometimes added on the right (14, I, V) and sometimes on the left (14, III, IV). Occasionally, the right side of the letter is converted cursively into a vertical, as in the later inscriptions (14, IX).

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(6) The normal form of *ṭa* is that of 15, I, II; but the bar on the left stands occasionally lower than that on the right (15, V; 38, II), or both bars stand on the left (38, VI), or the bar on the right is omitted (commonly in Mansehra) (15, III).

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(7) *Ta* (20) is mostly shorter and broader than *ra* (31), and either its two lines are of equal length, or the vertical one is shorter. Forms like 20, V, are rare. — (8) *Di* (22, II) shows twice, in Shāhbāzgarhī edict IV, l. 8, and Mansehra edict VII, l. 33 (where the transcript in ZDMG. has erroneously *dri*), a curve to the right of the foot, which is probably nothing but an attempt to clearly distinguish *da* from *na*. — (9) *Dha* with the left end turned upwards (23, V) is rare and a secondary development (see above, § 9, B, 1). In the abnormal *dha* of 38, VIII (*dhra*), from Mansehra, the second bar is a substitute for a very sharp bend to the left (23, V). — (10) The *na* with the bent head (24, III) occurs not rarely in the syllable *ne*.

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(11) The greatly mutilated *ma* (29, I) is more common than the forms with remnants of the old pendant (compare above, § 9, A, No. 12). It appears invariably in connection with vowel signs and owes its existence to such combinations.

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(12) *La* with a curve on the left, as in the later inscriptions (32, VIII), is rare in the Aśoka edicts, but occurs in Mansehra edict VI, l. 29.

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(13) The cursively rounded *śa* of 34, III, is rare; but once, in Shāhbāzgarhī edict XIII, l. 1, appears a *śa* hardly distinguishable from *ya*. — (14) The *sa* with a triangular head (36, II), and that with a rounded head (36, I, III, IV), are cursive developments from the old polygonal form (36, V). The vertical stroke of *sa* is occasionally omitted, as in Mansehra [27] edict VI, l. 27.

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(15) The common forms of *ha* with a curve (37, I, IV) or a short hook (37, III, V) at the foot, are cursive developments of the *ha* of 37, II; see above, § 9, A, No. 5.

B. — Medial vowels and Anusvāra

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(1) The *i*-stroke goes regularly across the left side of the horizontal strokes of the consonants (6, III; 7, III; 15, II, III; &c.); in letters with two horizontal or slanting top-strokes, it passes through both (14, III; 16, III; 38, III, VI; &c.), likewise through both the top-strokes of *ṇa* (19, X). In *I* (2, I), *di* (22, II), and *ni*, it stands just below the head, and in *yi* (30, II) it hangs in the left side.

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(2) The *e*-stroke corresponds in form and position to the upper half of the *i*-stroke (4, I; 6, IV; 12, II; 19, III; &c.); in *E* (4, II) it may also stand straight above the head of *A*.

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(3) The *o*-stroke mostly corresponds in its position to the lower half of the *i*-stroke (5, I; 12, IV; 14, IV; &c.), but it stands further to the right in the angle, formed by the upper part of the letters, in *go*, *gho* (9, II) and *so* (36, IV).

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(4) The *u*-stroke stands regularly at the left lower end of the consonant (3, I; 8, III; 10, IV; 12, III; &c.), but a little higher up if the foot of the consonant is curved to the left (*U*, 3, II), or to the right (*du*, 22, IV), or has a hook on the right (*pru*, 25, V; *hu*, 37, IV). In *mu* it stands to the left of the top of *ma* (see *mru*, 29, V).

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(5) The Anusvāra has the full form of *ma* (see above, § 9, B, 4) only occasionally in *maṁ* (29, IV). More commonly it is represented cursively by a straight stroke as in *maṁ* (38, XI), or by two hooks at the sides of *ma* as in *maṁ* (38, X). In combination with other consonants ending in a single slanting or vertical line, the Anusvāra is marked by an angle, opening upwards, which the foot of the consonant bisects (8, IV; 11, IV; 17, V; 19, V; &c.), or, rarely in Shāhbāzgarhī, oftener in Mansehra, by a straight line, a substitute for the curve of *ma*, as in *thaṁ* (21, V). If the foot of the consonant has some other appendage, the Anusvāra is attached higher up to the vertical, as in *ñaṁ* (14, V); *ḍaṁ* (18, V); *vraṁ* (33, V); *haṁ* (37, V). The angular Anusvāra is always divided in *yaṁ* (30, V) and in *śaṁ*, and the one half is added to the right end of the *mātṛkā*, and the other to the left. This may also be done in *kaṁ* and in *bhaṁ* (28, IV).

C. — Ligatures

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(1) *Bhye* (38, IX), *mma* (38, XII) and *mya* (38, XII, *b*) show no changes or only very slight ones in the combined letters. In other cases, one or the other is usually mutilated.

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(2) For *ra*, which must be pronounced sometimes before and sometimes after its *mātṛkā* (exception in *rṭa* in Mansehra edict V, l. 24), appears, besides slightly mutilated forms (in *rṭi*, 38, IV, and *rva*, 39, I), (a) a slanting line, with or without a bend, which goes through the middle of the vertical of the combined consonant (as in *gra*, 38, I; *rṭa*, 38, II; *rṭi*, 38, III); (b) also a curved or straight stroke at the foot of the combined sign (*rti*, 38, V; *kra*, 6, V; *gra*, 8, V; *tra*, 20, V; *dhra*, 23, V; 38, VIII; *pru*, 25, V; *bra*, 27, V; *vram*, 33, V; *śru*, 34, V; *stri*, 39, VIII, IX). In combination with *ma*, the *ra*-stroke stands invariably at the right top, as in *mru* (29, V), and in *kra* and *bhra* (28, V), occasionally at the right end of the hooks of those letters. Sometimes, especially in Mansehra, a curve open above, as in *thra* (21, IV), is substituted for the straight stroke. The stroke and the curves, of course, are cursive substitutes for a full *ra*, attached to the foot of the combined consonants.

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(3) In *vru* (39, II) the two consonants have been pushed the one into the other, so that the vertical does duty both for the *va* and the *ra*. The same principle is followed in the formation of the ligature *sta* (which consists only in Shāhbāzgarhī edict I, l. 2, *srestamati*, of *sa* with a *ta* hooked into the vertical, 39, IV). At the same time *sa* is mutilated, the middle of its top remaining open and the hook on the left being omitted. This is clearly visible in *sti* (39, V) and *stri* (39, IX), while *sta* (39, III), *sti* (39, VI), *stu* (39, VII), and *stri* (39, VIII) are made more negligently. The ligature of *sa* and *pa* is formed according to [28] the same principles, but the *sa* is mutilated still more and merely indicated by a little hook at the top of the vertical of *pa* in *spa* (39, X) and *spi* (39, XII).¹ In *spa* (39, XI) the hook stands on the side-limb of *pa*.

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¹ O. Franke, Nachr. Gött. Ges. d. Wiss., 1895, 540, and ZDMG. 50, 603, proposes to read *fa* and *fi* for the signs which I read *spa* and *spi*.

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(4) The ligature in 38, VII, seems to have two different meanings. In Shāhbāzgarhī edict X, l. 21, the sign appears in the representative of the Sanskrit *tadātvāya*, which in the dialect of the Aśoka edicts might be either *tadatvaye* or *tadattaye*, and in Mansehra it occurs frequently in the representative of the Sanskrit *ātman*. As the Kuṣana inscriptions offer a similar sign (31, XIII) in the representative of the Sanskrit *satvānām*, we have probably to read *tva* in Shāhbāzgarhī edict X, l. 21, and to assume that the curve at the foot of *ta* represents a *va*, just as it stands in *thra* (21, IV) for the similar *ra*. This explanation is confirmed by the ligatures 30, XIII, and 37, XIII, which most probably are equivalent to *śva* (*iśvara*) and *sva* (*visharasvamini*). In Mansehra (especially edict XII) the sign 38, VII, has to be read *tma*.²

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² The MS. of the Dhammapada shews this same sign both in the terminations of the absolutives in *tva* (*tvā*) and in atma (*ātman*), and thus further confirms the explanation proposed.

§ 12. — Changes in the later varieties

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³ Regarding the characters on the Indo-Grecian coins, see WZKM. 8, 193 f.; regarding the script of the Śaka and Kuṣana inscriptions, see J.RAS. 1863, 238, pl. 4 (where, however, in l. 1 the second *ch* must be deleted, in l. 2 *sa* must be substituted for *si*, and *tha* for *ṭṭ*, and in l. 3 *rya* for *rś*, and the signs for *sy* in l. 4 are doubtful), and O. Franke, ZDMG. 50, 602 ff.

A. — The radical signs

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(1) The meaningless upward stroke connected with the foot of the verticals occurs only occasionally on the Indo-Grecian coins (7, VI; 20, VI; 36, VI). More frequently it appears detached to the left of the signs, as in *A* (1, VI), and even with *ha* (37, VI). A cursive substitute is the very common dot, as in *ha* (37, VII); compare also *ma* (29, VII). Finally, various letters, like *ta* (20, VII) and *na* (24, VII), receive on the Indo-Grecian coins a horizontal base-line (see above, § 11, A, 1). In the variety of the Śaka period, the ends of the verticals shew sometimes a meaningless hook, as in *ca* (10, VIII) and in *sa* (36, IX), or a straight stroke on the right, as in *ṣi* (35, VIII). The same hook appears also in the cursive script of the Kuṣana period (*ṣa*, 35, X), or a horizontal stroke to the left, as in *A* (1, XI), *ka* (6, X), *dha* (23, XI), *na* (24, XII), *bi* (27, XI), *ya* (30, X), as well as curves both to the right and left, as in *kha* (7, X), *ca* (10, XII), *dhi* (16, XI), *ghi* (9, X), *ba* (27, X), *mi* (29, XI), where the curve has been added to the vowel-stroke.

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(2) In the Śaka and Kuṣana varieties, the head of *ka* is commonly converted into a curve (6, VIII), and in the Kuṣana variety this curve is connected with the side-limb of *ka* (see 6, X). — (3) In all the later varieties, the top of *kha* is made longer and curved to the right (7, VI—XI; 39, XIV).

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(4) In the Śaka type, we have a cursive form of *ca*; derived from 10, III, in which the left end of the lower portion of the sign is attached to the short vertical below the top. Similar, still more cursive, forms are common in the Kuṣana variety; see 10, X, and XII. — (5) All the later varieties show the *cha* without the cross-bar, and the vertical is occasionally made to slant so that the sign looks like *mo*. — (6) In the later varieties, the left side-limb of *ja* is nearly always rounded, and in the Kuṣana variety the head of the sign often consists of a shallow curve, from the left end of which the vertical hangs down (12, XI). Hence is developed the looped *ja* (12, XII) of the Bimāran vase. The full *ja* with the bar across or to the left of the foot occurs on the Indo-Grecian coins (12, VII). — (7) In all the later varieties, one side of *ña* invariably shows a vertical (14, VIII, IX).

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(8) The only known *ṭa* of the Śaka period in the ligature *ṣṭe* (22, XIII) shows the archaic form with one bar on the left; compare 15, III. In the Kuṣana variety, the two bars to the right and left (15, I) are converted into a straight line, whereby *ṭa* becomes *tha* (15, X—XII). The small strokes at the top of *ṭu* (15, XI) are, as FLEET's impression of the Suë Bihār inscription shows, due to rents in the copper. The correct reading of the word, in which it occurs, is *kuṭubini* instead of *kichubini* (HOERNLE). — (9) In all [29] the later varieties, *ṭha* (16, VIII, X, XI) loses the hook at the end of the second bar.

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(10) On the Indo-Grecian coins, *ta* (20) is very similar to *ra*; in the Śaka inscriptions it is only one-third of the size of *ra*, and in the Kuṣana variety the two letters are again very similar. — (11) The Śaka *da* of *do* (22, IX) is derived from the form 22, II, while the signs 22, VIII, and X, come from the ordinary *da* of the Aśoka edicts. The Kuṣana form (22, XI) shows an inverted curve at the head.

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(12) The inscription of Gondopherres, and some coins of that king and of Azilises (P. GARDNER, Cat. Ind. C. Br. Mus. p. 94, No. 22), show — the first in the king's name — a peculiar sign (26, X) usually read *pha*, but possibly meant for *ja*, as O. FRANKE proposes *ZDMG*. 50, 603. — (13) In the Kuṣana variety, the right end of the horizontal top of *bha* is occasionally connected with the vertical (28, X), and sometimes the top-stroke is connected with the side-limb, just as in *ku* (6, XI). — (14) The fuller *ma* (29, VI) is common on the Indo-Grecian coins, and for its slanting stroke the later coins often show a dot (29, VII). In the *ma* of the Śaka and Kuṣana varieties (29, IX, XII) *ma* is laid on its side, the right part of the semicircle rises high up, and the left is bent downwards: compare the late *mam* (33, XIII).

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(15) In the Kuṣana inscriptions, *ya* often becomes a curve or rhombus-like figure, open below (30, XI, XII). — (16) In the later varieties, the left limb of *la* (32, VIII, X) is invariably round, and in the Kuṣana type it is often attached to the top of the vertical (32, XI, XII). — (17) In later times, the head of *va* (33, VIII, X) is invariably rounded.

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(18) Equally, *śa* (34, VIII, X) is often made round and similar to *ya*. — (19) In later times, *sa* (36, VII—XI) invariably loses the line connecting the left side of the head with the tail, and the new form becomes in the Kuṣana inscriptions often highly cursive; see 36, XII.

B. — Medial vowels and Anusvāra

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(1) Medial *i* often crosses the vertical low down; see I (2, VII, VIII, X), *di* (22, XI), *ni* (24, XI), &c.; and in the Kuṣana variety it gets a hook in *mi* (29, XI). Medial *o* likewise is occasionally attached low down to the vertical, see *ro* (31, XI); *ho* (37, XII).

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(2) The *e*-stroke stands in *E* invariably on the right of the *A* (4, VI—VIII), and it may sink down as low as the foot. The short stroke is then converted into a long bent line (4, X, XII) or receives a hook at the end (4, XI). Occasionally *e* stands also at the foot of other letters, as in *śe* (34, IX, Mathurā lion-capital).

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(3) On the Indo-Grecian coins, medial *u* keeps its old form; but in *ju* (12, VII) the stroke rises upwards on account of the base-line of *ja*, likewise in *pu* (25, VII) on account of the bend in the *pa*. In later times, *u* is represented by a curve or a loop, as in. *U* (3, VIII), *ku* (6, XI), *khu* (7, XI), &c.; in *mu* (29, IX, XII), the curve opens to the right.

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(4) The Anusvāra is marked by a *ma*, laid on its side, which either is connected with its *mātṛkā*, as in *Aṃ* (1, VII), *Iṃ* (2, VII), *ṭhiṃ* (16, XI), or stands separate to the left, as in *yaṃ* (30, VII), or may be placed below (see *mahaṃtasa* in the Taxila copper-plate, line 1).

C. — Ligatures

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(1) The ligatures of the Indo-Grecian coins, such as *kra* (6, VII), *khre* (39, XIV), *stra* (38, XIV), and those of the Śaka inscriptions, *ṣṭe* (22, XIII), *khsa* (25, XIII), *sta* (23, XIII), show only small changes. The same remark applies to the ligatures on the coins of the Śakas and the older Kuṣaṇas, where, however, some new groups appear, such as *psa* (26, XIII), *rma* (28, XIII; compare the shape of *ma* in P. GARDNER, op. cit., pl. 25, 1, 2), *śpa* (29, XIII), which has been mostly misread *spa* on account of the Greek Spalyrises, *śva* (30, XIII) with the *va* turned into a curve (see above, § 11, C, 4), and the doubtful representative of *Jphi* (27, XIII) in *Kadphises*, the upper part of which is plainly *pi*, while the lower one does not correspond to any known letter.

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(2) Among the ligatures of the cursive Kuṣaṇa inscriptions, some, like *gra* (8, XI), *bhra* (28, XII), exactly agree with the archaic forms, and [30] during this period we still find even the old *vra* (*rva*) (39, I) in the word *sarva*. The ligatures *tva* (31, XIII), *tśa* (32, XIII), often misread as *tsa*, *ṣka* (35, XIII), and *ṣṭa* (36, XIII), show the new Kuṣaṇa forms of the component parts. But the *sa* of *sva* (37, XIII) is badly mutilated, and the loops of *rya* (34, XIII), *rva* (33, XII), *sya* (35, XII), and *sya* (36, XII)¹ are new cursive formations. In all words where one would expect *sta*, the Kuṣaṇa inscriptions show *tha* (16, X, XI). Probably the omission of the bar on the right (compare 23, XIII) is merely cursive, and the sign has to be read both *tha* and *sta*, as the case may require. The MS. of the Dhammapada has both signs.

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¹ O. FRANKE, op. cit. 604, proposes to read this *ssa*; but compare 35, XIII, which can be only *ṣya*.

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III. THE ANCIENT BRAHMI AND DRAVIDI FROM ABOUT B. C. 350 TO ABOUT A. D. 350.

§ 13. — How it was deciphered

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The first scholar who read, in 1836, an inscription in the oldest Brāhma characters, the legend on the coins of the Indo-Grecian king Agathocles, was CH. LASSEN.² But the whole alphabet was deciphered by J. PRINSEP in 1837-38.³ His table⁴ is, with the exception of the signs for *U* and *O*, quite correct, as far as it goes. Since his time, six missing signs have been found, among which, *Ī*, *Ū*, *śa*, *ṣa* and *ḷa* have been given in plate II. of this manual, while *n*, discovered by GRIERSON in Gayā, is figured in my Indian Studies, III², pp. 31, 76, and on page 35 below. The existence of *AU* in the third century B. C. is assured by the Gayā alphabet of Aśoka's masons.⁵ *Ū* and *śa* have been first recognised by CUNNINGHAM.⁶ One form of *ṣa* has been first pointed out by SENART,⁷ and another by HOERNLE.⁸ I have found *ḷa* in the Sāñci votive inscriptions.⁹ Regarding *Ī*, compare below, § 16, C, 4.

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² C.ASR. 1, XII.

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³ C.ASR. 1, VIII—XI; J.ASB. 6, 460 ff.

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⁴ J.ASB. 6, 223; P.IA. 2, 40 (pl. 39).

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⁵ B.IS. III^2, 31.

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⁶ C.IA(CII. 1), pl. 27.

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⁷ S.IP. 1, 35.

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⁸ J.ASB. 53, 74.

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⁹ EI. 2, 362.

§ 14. — Common characteristics of the ancient inscriptions

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The forms of the Brāhmī and Drāviḍī, used during the first 600 years, are known at present only from inscriptions on stones, copper-plates, coins, seals and rings,¹ and there is only one instance of the use of ink from the third or second century B. C.² The view of the development of the characters during this period is, therefore, not complete. For, in accordance with the results of all paleographic research, the epigraphic alphabets are mostly more archaic than those used in daily life, as the very natural desire to employ monumental forms prevents the adoption of modern letters, and as, in the case of coins, the imitation of older specimens not rarely makes the alphabet retrograde. The occurrence of numerous cursive forms together with very archaic ones, both in the Aśoka edicts (see above, § 3) and also in later inscriptions, cléarly proves³ that Indian writing makes no exception to the general rule. And it will be possible to use the numerous cursive letters for the reconstruction of the more advanced alphabets, which were employed for manuscripts and for business purposes.

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¹ J.BBRAS. 10, XXIII.

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² See above, § 2, B (end).

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³ B.IS. III², 40—43.

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The full recognition of the actual condition of the Indian writing is obscured also by the fact that the inscriptions of the earliest period, with two exceptions, are either in Prākrit or in a mixed language (Gāthā dialect), and that the originals, from which they were transferred to stone or copper, were drafted by clerks and monks who possessed little or no education. In [31] writing Prākrit these persons adopted nearly throughout — (in writing the mixed dialect less constantly) — the practically convenient popular orthography, in which the notation of long vowels, especially of *ī* and *ū*, and of the Anusvāra, is occasionally neglected as a matter of small importance, and in which double consonants are mostly represented by single ones, non-aspirates are omitted before aspirates, and the Anusvāra is put for all vowelless medial nasals.⁴ This mode of spelling continues in the Prākrit inscriptions with great constancy until the second century A. D. The constant doubling of the consonants appears first in a Pāli inscription of *Hāritīputta Sātakaṇṇi*, king of Banavāsī, which has been recently found by L. RICE.⁵ The longer known inscription of the same prince (IA. 14, 331) does not show it. Besides, we find in some other, partly much older, Prākrit documents, faint traces of the phonetical and grammatical spelling of the Paṇḍits. Thus, the Aśoka edicts of Shāhbāzgarhī offer some instances of *mma* (see above, § 9, B, 4), the Nāsik inscriptions Nos. 14, 15, and Kuḍā No. 5, have the word *siddha*, and Kaṇheri No. 14 *āyyakena*.⁶ Such deviations from the rule indicate that the writers had learned a little Sanskrit, which fact is proved also for the writer who drafted the Kālsī edicts by the, for the Pāli absurd, form *baṃhmane* for *baṃbhane* (Kālsī edict XIII, l. 39).

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⁴ See above, § 7.

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⁵ According to an impression and a photograph kindly sent by MR. L. RICE.

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