Indian Palaeography from about B.C. 350 to about A.D. 1300 c9.s1.18

c9.s1.18

The inclined cross, used to express the 4 in the later Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions, is found only in Nabataean inscriptions incised after the beginning of our era, and is used there only rarely for the expression of the higher units. The late occurrence of the sign both in Indian and in Semitic inscriptions makes it probable that both the Hindus and the Semites independently invented this cursive combination of the original four strokes.