Indian Palaeography c11.40

c11.40

Whatever may be the particular source of inspiration, Brāhmī is a creation of the Indian Pandits. The script has been evolved to suit the local grammar, and hence the semi-syllabic character of Brāhmī and the invention of the strokes for the medial vowels. The only case where the script conflicts with the grammar is in the formation of the conjuncts.¹ Here we find two or three letters placed one above the other, disregarding the presence of the inherent *a* in the consonants. The same is the case when the medial strokes are applied to the consonants. In these examples they are taken to be pure consonants, at least in the early writings known from India. Later on the first letter of the conjunct came to be mutilated, suggesting the loss of the inherent *a*. But this is a later practice. The original construction as seen in Aśokan Brāhmī still preserves the true alphabetic nature of the writing, and thus, despite innovations, Brāhmī falls within the general class influenced or inspired by Semitic.