Indian Palaeography c13.s2.t1.8

c13.s2.t1.8

Coin palaeography is rather suspicious, because firstly the legends are short, and secondly conservatism dies hard in coinage. However, its study has opened our eyes to the new technical knowledge that was gradually spreading in India. This conclusion is further supported by a very valuable pillar inscription from Besnagar (Pl. V) of the ambassador Heliodorus from the court of the Indo-Greek king, Antialcidas, ruling at Taxila, to King Bhāgabhadra in Malwa. This inscription provides an insight into the prevailing mode of writing and an inkling of the new tendency that was soon to affect this region. Remarkable forms, though optional, are the angular forms of *pa*, *va*, *sa*, *la*, and *ha*. The lower circle of *ma* faintly copies the triangular form. *Dha* is of the later regular variety. *Ra* has a new type of serpentine vertical, described by Bühler as the 'cork-screw' type, and also an optional curved form of the straight vertical. One variety of *ya* has exceptionally equalized verticals, as seen in the countermarked coins. *Bha* has a slanting vertical, and the medial vowels are attached in the older Aśokan fashion. The date of this inscription is towards the close of the second century B.C.