Indian Palaeography c12.s6: The Formation of the Conjuncts

Indian Palaeography c12.s6

Language: English

The Formation of the Conjuncts

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The conjuncts are formed by placing one consonant on the top of the other. Unlike the practice in modern Indian scripts, the first letter is fully formed and the second is cursively added. According to the later rule the first letter should be mutilated, so as to drop its vowel, as the Sanskrit grammar requires, but this is not the case in Aśokan Brāhmī.¹ In Aśokan Brāhmī the following conjuncts are found:

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¹ Cf. Bühler's remark on p. 15 of his *Indian Palaeography*, where he is mistaken.

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(i) Having the second element *ya*:

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*kya*, *khya*, *gya*, *chya*, *tya*, *dhya*, *nya*, *bhya*, *mya*, *vya*, *sya*, and *hya*.

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In all these cases *ya* comes later, except in the Girnar R.E. where *vya* is spelt like *yva*. G. H. Ojha takes this as a mistake, and, judging from the practice in all other inscriptions, I think Ojha is right.

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(ii) Having the second element *va*:

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*tva*, *dva*, *rva*, *śva*, *sva*, and *hva*.

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In all these cases *va* comes later, and is added, sometimes with its vertical and at times without it, to the right, centre, or left.

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(iii) Having the second element *ba*. There is only one word, *dvādasa*, which is spelt sometimes with *va* and sometimes with *ba* in the Girnar R.E. Does this mean that the writer of the Girnar R.E. hailed from Bengal?

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(iv) Having the second element *ra*:

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*kra*, *tra*, *dra*, *pra*, *vra*, and *sra*.

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This conjunct is very ingeniously formed. As the letter *ra* makes a serpentine vertical, in conjunction with another letter it replaces the straight vertical of that letter. When this conjunct is drawn, the letter *ra* is formed first and the other consonant follows. *Ra* is fully drawn and the second letter is added in abbreviated form. Normally the first component of a conjunct is placed above the second, but this is an exception. It is for this reason that the same sign is read as *sra* and *rsa*, or *vra* amd *rva*. In the case of *dra* in Mysore inscriptions both the verticals are serpentine. On the evidence of this principle the reading of *dra* in Jaugad R.E. IV, line 3, by Hultzsch is not justified. Similarly, in the Bairat M.R.I., line 3, the reading *rve* is not correct. We do not find the serpentine *ra* in these cases. The idea of *repha* had not yet developed. For the same reason the reading of *dhra* in Girnar R.E. I, line 12, and edict XIII, line 9, and Kalasi R.E. I, line 4, is mistaken. A knotty problem arises from the *bra*, read twice in Girnar R.E. IV, lines 2 and 6, simply because the left vertical of the rectangular *ba* has a slight notch in the middle. This notched vertical cannot be taken to be *ra*, firstly because it is exceptional (and actually doubtful in the second example), and secondly (which is fundamental) because it does not conform to the principle given above.

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(v) Having the second element *sa*:

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*rsa*. See my remark in (iv) above.

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(vi) Having the second element *ṭa*:

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*ṣṭa* is found in the Girnar R.E. III and IV. But *ṭa* is written first and then *sa* is cryptically added below it. This may be an exceptional case like that of *ra* (but see below, (vii)).

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(vii) Having the second element *ta*:

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*sta*, *pta* (but read as *tpa*).

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In both these cases *ta* is an adjunct of the first letter which is fully drawn. The reading of *pta* as *tpa* in the word *ātpa-pāsaṃḍa* is grammatically justified, but whether that was the actual pronunciation at the time is doubtful. If it was so, it has to be reckoned as an exception like *ṣṭa* in (vi). But more probably this was not the case, if we remember how the letters are reversed in popular language; e.g. *kāchū* for *chākū* in Punjābī. Hence even the *ṣṭa* of (vi) occurring at Girnar is a mistake, just as is *yva* at the same place.