Indian Palaeography from about B.C. 350 to about A.D. 1300 c8.s4.7

c8.s4.7

In the grants of the 3rd and 4th centuries of the Gāṅgeya era, and in a late undated inscription, the mixture of the characters is much greater, and the same letter is often expressed by greatly differing signs. In plate VIII, col. X, from the Chicacole plates of the Gāṅgeya year 51, that is 251,⁶ and in col. XI, from the Vizagapatam plates of the year 254, and in col. XII, from the Alamanda plates of the year 304, we find a northern *A*, *Ā* (1, 2, X—XII), *I* (3, XI), *U* (5, X), *ka* (44, XI, XII), *kha* (12, XI), *ṅga* (15, X), *ṅka* (15, XII), *ja* (18, XII), *ña* (in *jñā*, 19, X), *ḍa* (22, XII), *ṇa* (24, XI, XII), *dha* (28, 45, XI), *na* (48, X), and *pra* (47, XII). The other letters are of southern origin, and belong partly to the middle Kanarese, partly to the middle Grantha, or are peculiar developments. The restricted space available in plate VIII. has made it impossible to enter all the variants for each letter. But the three different forms of *ja* (18, 46, and 47, X) show how very great the variations are.