Indian Palaeography c13.5

c13.5

As we have seen in the previous chapter,¹ no reliance can be placed on the length of the verticals. There is no gradual reduction in the length from Aśokan Brāhmī onward. But there is a definite reduction of the verticals in later inscriptions, and the approximate equalization of length and breadth is seen for the first time in the Śaka records. It is not found in the coin legends of the Indo-Greek rulers Antialcidas and Pantaleon. What necessitated the change during the Śaka period? The answer is related to the change in Greek palaeography, as noted by several numismatists in the coinage. Without digressing into the question of Greek palaeography I must emphasize the well-known use of the square omicron on the Śaka and Parthian coins. Its adoption is not an isolated phenomenon. It had a fundamental effect on the style of writing, and it is this new tendency that simultaneously influenced the Brāhmī writing as seen in the Śaka coins and inscriptions. Even before this the metallic issues had begun to exert influence on the way of writing, and, as indicated by the coins of the Greek rulers, the angular feature was, no doubt, dictated by the Greek lettering as well as by the technique of die-cutting. But this was a slow and doubtful process, as is shown by the forms in the Besnagar inscription of Heliodorus. It became a fully established characteristic only in the Śaka records, and from this time onward dates one most important character of Indian scripts—the equalization of all the verticals. They assumed a new face producing an effect not dissimilar to the Greek lettering. Another great change was due to the introduction of a new writing tool. This was a broad or edged pen, the use of which is noticeable clearly in the drawing of the verticals, which begin with a thick top and gradually thin downward—an effect produced even today in the Punjab by the reed pen which is used by children for learning the Arabic alphabet, which they write on a wooden board. It is from the manner of holding the pen and its proper twisting as it moves that gradually thinning lines are produced. Some children, not fully conversant with this method, produce lines of equal thickness throughout, as we see in the Ghosundi inscription. This new tool gave a new face to the letters already recognized by the earlier palaeographers, e.g. the form of *ka*, which is vaguely described as 'dagger-shaped'. This top-head formation was not deliberately done. It was implied in this new process of writing itself. It also resulted in a beautifully curved flourish in the formation of the medial *i*. In some places this technique was properly known and used, but in backward regions it was only copied in a crude fashion. In the latter case the head-formation appears like a dot or a sign, as in Nanaghat II and Arikamedu II (Pls. VI, VII). However, this head formation should not be confused with the 'serif', a term which I reserve for the deliberate marking of the heads of the letters, as we shall see in the next chapter, and which, no doubt, was a further development from the new style of writing introduced in this period. In the next stage this serif mark developed into a full headline, and ultimately we get the continuous top line of the later Indian scripts.