Indian Palaeography c15.s2.16

Language: English

c15.s2.16.1

(iii) *The development of new forms.* In the initial vowels there appear altogether new forms of *i* and *e*. The initial *i* has two dots at the top and a third lower one with a curved tail, but very occasionally has two dots below with a top line. The first form becomes henceforward the standard type in this region. The initial *e* has the base of the triangle at the top and the head below, and its left arm slightly curves to meet the point. This form leads on to the modern Nāgarī *e*. Development is also seen in the form of *a*, where the lower hook at the left limb projects its two arms beyond the vertical line. The lower curve of the initial *u* is further prolonged. But in the Amauna inscription the old form of *a*, seen in the Allahabad inscription, persists. Of the consonants, *kha*, *ga*, and *śa* have flat tops, though in the Amauna inscription rounded tops are retained. *Gha* undergoes a fundamental change by the division of its base into two halves—the straight right half meeting the upright at an acute angle and the left half curving with the left upright. This form paves the way for the North India *gha* of modern times. *Ja* bends its lower limb still farther. The upper arm of the half-circle *ṭa* is flattened. *Ḍa* also slightly bends the lower leg. *Ṇa* henceforward has the open-mouthed form of the Kauśāmbī style, but the loop seen in the Gupta period is no longer found.

c15.s2.16.2

Another development is seen in the inscriptions of the Kanauj Maukharis, where the base slightly slopes to the right and the outer curves are slightly prolonged. *Tha* henceforward copies the form of *dha* with an additional mid-line. *Da* has a double curve meeting at a point, the upper curve opening to the left and the lower to the right, the tip of the last being turned up. This form will henceforward be called the double-curved *da*. The looped *na* is found here, but in the inscriptions of the Kanauj Maukharis this loop develops into a head and is joined by a bar to the right vertical. No change is seen in the forms of *pa*, *pha*, *ba*, and *ma*, except that at Amauna the old open-mouthed form of *ma* persists. *Bha* has developed a triangular head at the bottom of the left limb, but the old triangular form of *bha* is seen at Amauna. *Ya* has three types: the first is the tripartite form with an inner loop at the left limb and the base divided into a straight right half and a curved left half—a development from the Kushāṇa type; the second has an outward curl at the left limb instead of the loop, a type also seen in the eastern region; and the third is the hooked *ya* (henceforward called bipartite *ya*), seen earlier as a subscript. That it is adapted from the old form, and not a new invention, is clearly observable in the varying forms of the same type in the Haraha inscription of Īśānavarman.

c15.s2.16.3

The new development made in this hooked *ya* is in drawing the right limb, which now becomes straight and meets the base at an acute angle. *Ra* shows prominently the foot-mark in the form of a triangle. The hooked forms of *la* and *ha* known in the Gupta period are no longer followed. The western forms with a firm base-line are used. In the inscriptions of the Kanauj Maukharis the base of *la* slants upward, while the hook of *ha* is pulled down. In these inscriptions the old form of *sa* with a hook at the left is used optionally, but usually the looped *sa* is found, with the only change that the loop tends now to become triangular. Again the triangular form of *va* shows a development in the inscriptions of the Kanauj Maukharis. This triangle optionally turns into a round form but keeps the right arm straight. This will be henceforward called the rounded *va*. *Śa* generally has a flat top with a triangular foot-mark at the left limb. At Amauna the round-top form is seen and here the mid-line stops half-way. On the whole the forms clearly show that the Magadha Maukharis were earlier in date than the Kanauj Maukharis. Another point which is clear is the introduction of the new forms from the Malwa region, and it is not unlikely that these Maukharis originally came from Malwa, where they are known earlier from the Yūpa inscriptions.¹ (*d*) The last quarter of the sixth and the seventh century A.D. (Pl. X. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11). No.

c15.s2.16.4

7 is taken from the Bodhgaya inscription of Mahānāman, dated in the (Gupta) year 269; no. 8 mainly from the Banskhera copper plate of Harshavardhana; no. 9 from the spurious Gaya copper plate of Samudra Gupta; no. 10 from the Aphsaḍ inscription of Ādityasena; and no. 11 from the Deobarnark inscription of Jīvitagupta. All these inscriptions, except no. 9 (which is a simplified version but crudely drawn), show ornamental medial vowels and the *kuṭila* (bent right vertical) form of the letters. The inscription of Mahānāman marks the beginning of this style of writing in this region. This style is a further step from the writing seen in (*c*) above.