Indian Palaeography from about B.C. 350 to about A.D. 1300 c7.s19.t1: A. — The Mātṛkās

Indian Palaeography from about B.C. 350 to about A.D. 1300 c7.s19.t1

Language: English

A. — The Mātṛkās

c7.s19.t1.1

Among the numerous changes, which the letters of the acute-angled and Nāgarī scripts undergo in course of time, the following more important ones, affecting the Mātṛkās or radical signs, deserve special mention: —

c7.s19.t1.2

**(1)** The signs for *E*, *gha*, *ca*, *tha*, *dha*, *pa*, *ba*, *ma*, *ya*, *la*, *va*, *ṣa* and *sa*, develop gradually, — the later the more distinctly, — shorter or longer tails, which first slant off towards the right below the bottom-line of the letters, but later, in the Nāgarī, become vertical strokes, except in the case of *E*. **[53]** From the 10th century similar pendent lines appear in the middle of *cha* (plate V, 16, II, III, &c.), and of *ḍha* (plate V, 23, II), of *pha* (plate V, III, &c.) and of *ha* (plate V, 42, II—IV, &c.), which the Nāgari, too, retains in *cha* and *ha* and converts into a medial vertical in the case of *pha*. In the acute-angled script, *kha*, *ga*, *tha*, *dha*, and *śa* frequently show on the right a small horn-like protuberance or an elongation of the vertical, which, owing to the flattening of the tops, the Nāgarī again discards except in the case of *dha*. Both the last-mentioned peculiarities are due to the circumstance that the writers drew the left and right portions of the letters separately and neglected to join carefully the two halves.⁶ In course of time these irregularities became characteristic features of most of the letters.

c7.s19.t1.3

⁶ Anec. Oxon., Aryan Series, 1, 3, 70.

c7.s19.t1.4

(2) In consequence of the elongation of the ends of the wedges and of the use of long straight top-strokes, the heads of *A*, *Ā*, *gha*, *pa*, *pha*, *ma*, *ya*, *ṣa*, and *sa* are gradually closed, both in the acute-angled and the Nāgarī scripts.¹

c7.s19.t1.5

¹ See above, § 23, page 50.

c7.s19.t1.6

(3) The lower portion of the left half of *A* and *Ā* almost invariably consists of a curve, open towards the left, which first appears occasionally in the Kuṣana inscriptions (see above, § 19, B, 1) and later regularly on the Uccakalpa plates (plate IV, 1, IX). It is preserved in the Bālbodh of the Marāṭhās and is common in the Bombay editions of Sanskrit works. In other late specimens of the Nāgarī, it is replaced by two slanting strokes (plate V, 1, 2, XVI), to which a third, a remnant of an earlier wedge at the foot of the vertical, is added lower down. This form is the parent of the *A*, *Ā*, used in the Benares and Calcutta prints. Up to the 8th century, the long *Ā* is invariably differentiated by the addition of a curve to the right end of *A*. Later, its mark is a downward stroke, which is attached either to the right of the top (*e. g.*, plate IV, 2, XXI) or to the middle (plate IV, 2, XXII) and thus reoccupies the same positions which the corresponding horizontal bar has in the Aśoka edicts.² In the MSS., the downstroke at the top is found even earlier (plate VI, 2, VI).

c7.s19.t1.7

² See above, § 16, D, 1, 2; and plate II, 2, II—X.

c7.s19.t1.8

(4) The sign for *I* is mostly derived from the Gupta form of Indor (plate IV, 3, VII) by the substitution of a curve for the third dot (plate IV, 3, XI—XXIII; V, 3, II—IV, &c.; VI, 3, V—IX). But in addition there is (plate V, 3, V, XII, XIII, &c.; VI, 3, XII—XV) a derivative from the *I* of the Uccakalpa plates (IV, 3, IX), in which the upper dot is replaced by a straight line; and this *I* is the parent of the modern Devanāgarī *I*, in which the two lower dots have been changed into curves and finally have been connected. In Jaina MSS., the *I* with two dots above and a curve below occurs occasionally as late as the 15th and 16th centuries. The unique early forms of the long *Ī* (plate VI, 4, V, VII), as well as their later development (plate VI, 4, XV), which has followed the analogy of *I*, deserve attention.

c7.s19.t1.9

(5) *U* and *Ū* invariably show at the lower end a tail, drawn towards the left, which in course of time is developed more and more fully.

c7.s19.t1.10

(6) The curve of *Ṛ*, attached to the right of the *ra*, becomes very shallow and long in the Horiuzi palm-leaves (plate VI, 7, V), and this shallow curve is the precursor of the vertical line of the later palm-leaf MSS. of Western India (plate VI, 7, XV—XVII). In the Cambridge MS. No. 1049 (plate VI, 7, VII) and in No. 1691, the *ṛ*-curve is attached to the lower end of the *ra*.

c7.s19.t1.11

(7) Among the signs for *Ṝ*, *Ḷ* and *Ḹ*, which are first traceable in the MSS. of this period (plate VI, 8—10, V, VII, X), the long *Ṝ* is clearly formed by the addition of a second *ṛ*-curve to the short *Ṛ*. In the Cambridge MSS. Nos. 1049 and 1691, *Ḷ* is represented by a cursive southern *lṛ* (see plate VII, 34, VI—IX), just as the oldest medial *ḷ* in *kḷ* (VII, 42, XIV) is identical with another form of *la*; and the long *Ḹ* is derived from the short vowel by the addition of a second *la*, turned in the opposite direction. In the *Ḷ* and *Ḹ* of the Horiuzi palm-leaves (plate VI, 9, 10, V), the *la* has been turned round towards the left, and respectively one and two *ṛ*-curves have been attached to the foot. And the combination *l(a)-ṛ* remains [54] also in the Nāgarī both of the palm-leaves from Western India (plate VI, 9, 10, XV) and of our days, the reason being no doubt the pronunciation *lṛ*, which is customary both there and in other parts of India. These paleographical facts agree with the tradition of the Chinese Buddhists, who, as S. Lévi has discovered,³ ascribe the invention of the signs for the liquid vowels to a South-Indian, either to Sarvavarman, the minister of the Andhra king Sātavāhana, or to the great Buddhist teacher Nāgārjuna.

c7.s19.t1.12

³ Communication by letter.

c7.s19.t1.13

(8) *E* and *AI* invariably turn the base of the triangle upwards, and this innovation is found already in the inscriptions with transitional forms (plate IV, 5, X, XI).

c7.s19.t1.14

(9) *Ka* shows almost invariably¹ on the left a loop, caused by the connection of the end of the bent cross-bar with the Serif or wedge at the foot of the vertical, except in combinations with the subscribed vowels *u* and *ṛ* (see, *e. g.*, plate IV, 7, XIV; V, 10, III; VI, 15, XVI, XVII) or with other consonants (see, *e. g.*, plate IV, 41, XVI; V, 43, II, III; VI, 49, V, XV, XVII). In the Nāgarī inscriptions, the looped form occurs, however, not rarely also in the latter cases (see, *e. g.*, plate IV, 7, XX, XXII; V, 43, VII, X—XIII).

c7.s19.t1.15

¹ An exception is, *e. g.*, the Jhālrāpāṭan inscription, IA. V, 180, which shows throughout the old dagger-shaped form.

c7.s19.t1.16

(10) The loop or triangle of *kha*, which represents the ancient circle (plate II, 10, VI, and above, § 3, A, 19), stands, in all the greatly varying forms of the letters, at the left of the verticals. The very considerable differences in the shape of the left limb are partly due to the flattening of the top of the letter and still more to the various ornamental changes of the wedge, which first was added to the lower end of the ancient hook.

c7.s19.t1.17

(11) The dot to the right of *ṅa*, which is so characteristic in the modern Devanāgarī letter, appears already on the Benares copper-plate of Karṇa of A. D. 1042 in the word *jaṅgama* (line 11, end),² while our plates offer only an example from a much later document (see plate V, 14, XIX). The dot may possibly have been derived from the protuberance, which is often found at the end of the top-stroke of the letter (see, *e. g.*, plate V, 14, V, VI, VIII).

c7.s19.t1.18

² EI. 2, 297.

c7.s19.t1.19

(12) The central bar of *ja* first is made to slant downwards (plate IV, 14, XXI—XXIII, &c.) and then changed into a vertical (V, 17, XIII, &c.; VI, 22, XII, &c.). At the same time, the upper bar becomes the top-stroke of the letter, and the lowest is gradually converted into a double curve.

c7.s19.t1.20

(13) The right limb of the independent *ña* of the Horiuzi palm-leaves (VI, 24, V) is turned upwards, and the same form occurs occasionally in ligatures. But in the latter the sign is usually laid on its side, its angles are converted into curves and the right limb is attached to the end of the greatly shortened vertical. Hence it often looks like *ṇa* (see plate IV, 16, XI, &c.; V, 19, IV, V, &c.). In the Nāgarī of the 11th and later centuries, the subscript *ña* is attached to the left limb of *ja* (plate V, 19, XII—XIV; VI, 24, XVI), and the cursive *jña* of the modern Devanāgarī, which the Hindus now consider to be a Mātṛkā, is due to a simplification of this form.

c7.s19.t1.21

(14) Since the 6th century, a wedge is often placed above the lingual *ṭa* (plate IV, 17, XVII; V, 20, II, VI; VI, 25, VI); and in the Nāgarī a horizontal line with a short vertical or slanting stroke appears in the place of the wedge (plate IV, 17, XXI, XXII; V, 20, XIII, &c.; VI, 25, XV).

c7.s19.t1.22

(15) Similar additions appear above the lingual *ṭha* since the 10th century (plate V, 21, X, &c.; VI, 26, XV).

c7.s19.t1.23

(16) Since the 9th century, the round-backed lingual *ḍa* of the southern alphabets, ending with a curve open to the left, comes into use (plate V, 22, II, VIII, &c.).

c7.s19.t1.24

(17) The suppression of the original base-stroke of the lingual *ṇa* occurs in ligatures (*ṇḍa*, plate IV, 21, XIX) since the 7th century, and in the uncombined sign since the 8th century (plate V, 24, III); compare also above, § 22, B, 10, and plate IV, 21, III. The sign soon after assumes the modern form and consists of a straight top-stroke with three lines hanging down from it (plate V, 24, VII, &c.; VI, 29, XV, &c.).

c7.s19.t1.25

(18) The modern form of *ta* with the vertical on the right, which occurs already in the Aśoka edicts, reappears in the 8th century (plate IV, 22, XXI) and becomes the regular one in the 10th century.

c7.s19.t1.26

(19) The modern form of *tha*, which has been derived from the notched one of the 7th century (plate IV, 23, XVII), is found already in the inscriptions of the same period (plate IV, 23, XVIII, &c.).

c7.s19.t1.27

(20) [**55**] In the 7th century, the lower end of *da* is more clearly defined by a *Serif* (plate IV, 24, XVII, &c.), which soon after is changed into the characteristic tail of the modern letter.

c7.s19.t1.28

(21) Already in the 7th century, the right side of *na* becomes occasionally a vertical, to the left of which the loop is attached (plate IV, 26, XVIII, XIX); compare also below, § 30.

c7.s19.t1.29

(22) On the transformation of *pha* by the development of a central vertical (see above, under 1), the curve of aspiration is attached first to the top of the new sign (plate IV, 28, XXII; V, 31, III, &c.). But in the 11th century it sinks lower down (plate V, 31, XII), and it occupies already in the 12th century the position which it has in the modern Devanāgarī letter (plate V, 31, XX—XXIII). Retrograde archaic forms, like those in plate V, 31, II, XIV, are, however, not rare. Their occurrence has probably to be explained by the influence of the popular cursive alphabets.

c7.s19.t1.30

(23) As *va* was very generally pronounced *ba*, the ancient sign for *ba* was lost in Northern, Central and Western India, and it was replaced by *va* in the inscriptions of the 7th and later centuries (plate IV, 29, XX; V, 32, II, &c.). In the MSS. the substitution occurs even earlier (plate VI, 37, V, VI). A new *ba*, consisting of *va* with a dot in the centre of the loop, occurs since the 11th century (plate V, 32, XVI), and this form is the parent of the modern Devanāgarī letter.

c7.s19.t1.31

(24) The left limb of *bha*, mostly an inverted wedge with the point towards the right, is frequently changed into a triangle, open at the apex, from which the lower portion of the original vertical hangs down (plate IV, 30, XIX, &c.; V, 33, II, &c.). The modern Devanāgarī *bha* appears in the 12th century (plate V, 33, XX, &c.) and seems to be derived from the form with the wedge, for which latter a *Serif* was substituted.

c7.s19.t1.32

(25) Since the 8th century, *ma* usually has on the left a cursive loop (plate IV, 31, XX, XXI), which in the MSS. is mostly filled in with ink (plate VI, 39, XV—XVII).

c7.s19.t1.33

(26) Both the MSS., and most inscriptions, with the exception of one from Udaypur (above, page 48, note 3) and some from Nepāl (page 50), offer exclusively the looped or the bipartite *ya*, which latter occurs already in the inscriptions of the Kuṣaṇa period,¹ and has been derived from the looped form.² In the Nepalese inscriptions of the 7th century, which show the eastern *ṣa*,³ we find a tripartite *ya* with a small circle at the top of the first upstroke (plate IV, 32, XVII); the Udaypur inscription has both the ordinary tripartite *ya* of the Gupta period, and also the bipartite letter.

c7.s19.t1.34

¹ See above, § 19, B, 12.

c7.s19.t1.35

² J.ASB. 60, 87.

c7.s19.t1.36

³ J.ASB. 60, 85.

c7.s19.t1.37

(27) The right extremity of the wedge at the lower end of *ra* is often greatly elongated in the inscriptions of the 7th and later centuries (plate IV, 33, XVIII—XXI, &c.), and sometimes only the outlines of the wedge are marked. These forms are the precursors of the modern tailed *ra*.

c7.s19.t1.38

(28) Since the 7th century, we find a cursive *śa* (plate IV, 36, XVIII; 42, XIX; V, 39, II, III, &c.; VI, 44, XV—XVII), the left half of which has been turned into a loop with a little tail on the right.

Linked texts (1)

Jhālrāpāṭan inscription (No. II) — Sanskrit