Indian Palaeography c12.s2.6

c12.s2.6

It was on the writer's method of producing the letters on a given surface that their actual shape depended. Leaving aside individual mannerisms, which are also a factor to be considered, we can detect the final influence of the tool of writing on the shapes of the letters. Individual mannerisms, if common to a large group of writers in a given region, determine the regional school, but the introduction of new tools results in a new style of writing, with consequent simplification or elaboration of shapes. After all, writing is an art, and its principles are not different from those governing other arts. In the Aśokan inscriptions the writer used the simplest of tools—a longish piece of chalk, charcoal, or haematite—so that the lines drawn were uniform in width. His hand is clearly discernible in the long wavy lines at Girnar and Jaugada. This device cannot result in the formation of the so-called 'serifs' on the tops of verticals. Bühler was mistaken in detecting these marks in Aśokan Brāhmī. Their formation is due to the introduction of a new tool in a subsequent period (see Chapter 5). The size of letters again is not a fundamental factor, for it depends on the available space. More important is the ratio between the verticals and the horizontals; double is usual, but longer forms, as in the Mysore inscriptions (i.e. Brahmagiri, Siddhapur, and Jatinga Ramesvara), and shorter (as in Kosam P.E.), are also to be found.