Indian Palaeography from about B.C. 350 to about A.D. 1300 c7.s7.t2: B. — Medial vowels and Anusvāra
Indian Palaeography from about B.C. 350 to about A.D. 1300 c7.s7.t2
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B. — Medial vowels and Anusvāra
c7.s7.t2.1
(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).
c7.s7.t2.2
(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).
c7.s7.t2.3
(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.
c7.s7.t2.4
(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).