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Indian Palaeography from about B.C. 350 to about A.D. 1300 c7.s7.t3: C. — Ligatures

Indian Palaeography from about B.C. 350 to about A.D. 1300 c7.s7.t3

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C. — Ligatures

c7.s7.t3.1

(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.

c7.s7.t3.2

(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.

c7.s7.t3.3

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

c7.s7.t3.4

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

Cites (1)