Indian Palaeography c14.s7.1

c14.s7.1

After the Aśokan edicts the next group of the inscriptions of this region belongs to the time of the early rulers of the Sātavāhana dynasty. The standard style of the Western Deccan is revealed in the Nanaghat inscriptions, which, as has been shown in the last chapter, cannot be dated earlier than the first century A.D. Next in the series is the Nasik inscription of Haku Siri¹ (Pl. IX. 1). This follows the Nanaghat style, and there should not be much difference in date between it and the Nanaghat inscriptions. No headmark is seen in the inscription and no particular attention has been paid to the equalization of the verticals, though, generally speaking, uniform length is maintained. The medial vowel-marks follow the same old style. Letters such as *ga*, *gha*, *ṭa*, *ṭha*, *ṇa*, *ta*, *tha*, *da*, *na*, *pa*, *ya*, *la*, *sa* and *ha* are in the same tradition. But definite change is seen in the curving of the verticals in *a*, *ka* and *ra*. *Ḍa* has its angles rounded. *Cha* has developed a beaked form, while triangularity is unmistakable at the base of *ma* and *va*. On the basis of these features it can hardly be doubted that this inscription belongs to about the middle of the first century A.D.