Indian Palaeography c13.s1.1

c13.s1.1

In this region there are five odd inscriptions which, being isolated in far-flung areas, have proved difficult for palaeographical study. The first is a series of three inscriptions from the Nagarjuni caves in Bihar, found not far from the Barabar caves where Aśokan inscriptions are engraved. These have been securely dated as they refer to Devānaṁpiya Dasaratha, the grandson of Aśoka. Palaeographically the inscriptions of Aśoka and Dasaratha are closely comparable. Both of them have short verticals. Some words, such as *kubhā* and *(a)bhisitena*, are virtually identical in the two series of inscriptions, but there are also some differences, e.g. in the forms of *a*, *ya*, and *va*. The Dasaratha inscriptions show a more cursive hand than the Aśokan. In the reading of the Dasaratha inscriptions there has been one blatant mistake. The dental *sa* has been taken for cerebral *sha*, but the error is proved by the addition of the medial *ū* to the main curve of *sa*, e.g. [Figure:] (*sū*).