Indian Palaeography c15.s1.33

c15.s1.33

(ii) *Taste for ornamentation.* Different kinds of ornamentation are noticeable in different regions. Their details will be discussed when the individual palaeography is taken up. Generally speaking, the embellishment is seen in the shapes of the letters (Figs. 13, 15) and in the formation of the medial vowels (Figs. 12, 16). This development is again seen in the formation of the lines in the respective scripts, as dictated by the pen and the stylus. Both in the north and the south the medial vowels are the first to show flourishes. The best examples from the north are seen in the Bilsad inscription and the Mehrauli pillar inscription, both of the fifth century (Fig. 12). In the sixth century, as illustrated in the inscriptions of Yaśodharman and Mahānāman, the medial vowels grow to their full extent. In the seventh century the flourish is further embellished by floral decoration (not shown in the plate). From