Indian Palaeography from about B.C. 350 to about A.D. 1300 c8.s5.t3: C. — The transitional Grantha
Indian Palaeography from about B.C. 350 to about A.D. 1300 c8.s5.t3
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C. — The transitional Grantha
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The series of the published datable Pallava inscriptions of the 8th century ends for the present with the Kaśākūḍi plates; and facsimiles of documents of the next following centuries [70] are not accessible to me. I am, therefore, unable to exactly fix the time when the third or transitional variety of the Grantha, BURNELL'S Coḷa or middle Grantha, came into use, which is found in the inscriptions from the reign of the Bāṇa king Vikramāditya¹ about A. D. 1150 (plate VIII, col. XIV) and of Sundara-Pāṇḍya,² A. D. 1250 (plate VIII, col. XV), as well as in other documents.³ It would however appear, both from the Grantha signs occurring in the Gaṅga inscriptions (plate VIII, cols. XI, XII) and from BURNELL'S Coḷa-Grantha alphabet of A. D. 1080,⁴ that the new developments originated partly towards the end of the 8th century and partly in the 9th and 10th, about the same time when the Old-Kanarese script (above, § 29, C) was formed.
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¹ *EI.* 3, 75.
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² *EI.* 3, 8.
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³ Compare facsimiles at IA. 6, 142; 8, 274; 9, 45 (*EI.* 3, 79 f.); *EI.* 3, 228; Ep. Carn. 3, 166; *SII.* 2, pl. 2; the last inscription and the last but two are older than the 11th century.
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⁴ *B.ESIP.* plate 13.
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The most important changes, which the transitional Grantha shows, are as follows:—
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(1) The suppression of the last remaining dot of *I* (plate VIII, 3, XIV, XV; compare 3, XIII, *a*).
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(2) The formation of a still more cursive *E* (8, XIV) out of the Kūram letter (plate VII, 6, XXIV).
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(3) The formation of a still more cursive *kha* (plate VIII, 12, XIV, XV), closely resembling the later Kanarese-Telugu sign (plate VIII, 12, III, ff.), out of the letter of plate VII, 9, XXIII.
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(4) The development of a single or double curve to the left of *gha* (plate VIII, 14, XIV, XV).
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(5) The opening up of the top of *ca*, and the conversion of its left side into an acute angle (plate VIII, 16, XIV, XV).
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(6) The addition of a curve to the right end of *ḍa* (plate VIII, 22, XIV, XV).
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(7) The development of an additional loop in *ṇa* (plate VIII, 24, XIV, XV), in accordance with the practice of the Tamil alphabet (see below, § 32, A).
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(8) The complete opening up of the tops of *tha* and *dha* (plate VIII, 26, 28, XIV, XV).
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(9) The development of a curve at the left side of *pa* (plate VIII, 30, XIV, XV).
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(10) The closing up of the top of *ma* (plate VIII, 34, XIV, XV), found already in the Gaṅga inscription of about A. D. 775 (plate VIII, 46, XI).
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(11) The suppression of the circle or loop on the right side of *ya* (plate VIII, 35, XIV, XV), whereby the letter obtains a very archaic appearance.
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(12) The opening up of the top of *va*, and the addition of a curve to its left side (plate VIII, 38, XVI, XV).
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(13) The complete separation of medial *ā*, *e*, *ai*, *o* from the Mātṛkās, and the formation of a separate sign for the second half of *au*, consisting of two small curves with a vertical on the right.
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It is worthy of note that the later alphabet of col. XV. has some more archaic signs than the earlier one of col. XIV. The reason no doubt is that the latter imitates the hand of the clerks of the royal office, while the former shows the monumental forms, suited for a public building. All the Grantha inscriptions imitate characters written with a *stilus*.