Indian Palaeography c14.2

c14.2

BRĀHMĪ was marked by a definite 'pen' style in the previous period, with the main body of the letters equal in length and the verticals drawn with tapering thickness. The medial vowels and the long verticals (e.g. in letters such as *a*, *ka*, *ra* and *la*) received no particular attention, except that the medial *i* sometimes had a tall flourish and *ra* had its lower tip curved. This 'pen' style was much elaborated in this period. The elaboration is the result of three notable tendencies in writing: (i) a predilection for cursive forms dictated by the swift flow of the hand in writing, e.g. in the forms of *na*, *ma*, *la*, *sa* and *ha* in the Kosam region (Pl. VIII *a*, *b*); (ii) a desire for an ornate style, as is seen especially in the Bijayagadh inscriptions (Pl. IX *a*, *b*); and (iii) fondness for symmetry and proportion noticeable in the inscriptions from Jogeyyapeta and Nagarjunikonda (Pl. IX. 12). While the first tendency deformed the letters and hence paved the way for new shapes, the second and the third added ornamental curves, triangles and rectangles, and thus created different styles. The different ways of writing resulted in the gradual introduction of newer forms. The writer, by his personal mannerisms, prepared the way for a particular style of writing, which led to the growth of a definite school in due course. But for the present the style was fluid. Its ornamental additions were essentially superfluous, and there was no fundamental difference in the main body of the letters. Brāhmī maintained its unity throughout the subcontinent. This unity was the result, not of any political integration as in the time of Aśoka, but of those socio-religious forces which were let loose after the invasion of the Kushāṇas and which gathered round different nuclei in different regions by the end of this period to develop into local cultures. From the point of view of palaeography this led to regional scripts, the beginning of which is traceable from the fifth century A.D. onwards, with slight variations of date in some regions. These grew out of the various styles of writing that prevailed in this period. It is to the definition of these styles that the present chapter is devoted.