Indian Palaeography c15.s3.t1.26

c15.s3.t1.26

The initial vowels *a*, *ā*, *i*, and *e* are of the Kauśāmbī style. The verticals of *a*, *ka*, and *ra* have the foot-mark. All the medial vowels, except long *ī*, follow the Bengal style of the fifth century A.D. The most important to note is the medial *ā* in *khā*, *gā*, *ṭhā*, *ṇā*, *thā*, *dhā*, and *bā*, in which a hook is added to the lower right of the letters. This practice continued in Nepal in the case of *bā* even in the sixth century A.D. Nepal has the curve of the medial *i* to the left and that of the medial *ī* to the right from the earliest inscriptions, but in Bengal this practice started in the seventh century A.D. From the sixth century A.D. the curve of the medial *i* is extended to the bottom of the letter. Of the consonants the longer right limbs of *ga*, *ta*, *bha*, and *śa* are common to other styles in North India and similarly these letters, except *bha*, have triangular heads at the left limbs. But in Nepal the flat-topped *kha*, *ga*, *ṭa*, and *śa* are seen from the beginning and the round-topped forms lost favour after the fifth century A.D. *Gha* has a straight base in the fifth century, which is divided into a straight right half and a curved left half from the sixth century onwards. *Cha* is of the beaked type, while *chha* in the conjuncts is of the double-looped form. *Ja* has its vertical slightly bent and its lowest right arm curves at the tip. In conjuncts such as *ñja* the letter *ña* is cursively drawn and *ja* is slightly tilted. In the fifth century the open-mouthed type of *ṇa* has a loop on the left, but from the sixth century onwards this loop is given up. *Tha* is oval with a mid-line in the fifth century, but in the sixth it is almost oblong with a flat top. In conjuncts such as *sthu* it lies horizontally. *Da* develops an upward slant at the tip of the curve in the sixth century, while *dha* is oblong in the fifth but in the sixth narrows towards the bottom. *Na* is of the looped type. The left corner of *pa* is rounded, but it has a definite angle on the right. The left arm of *ba* is bent, while *bha* is of the angular form with a foot-mark at the left limb. *Ma* is of the tailed variety. *Ya* is tripartite with a loop at the left arm, but optionally divides the base line into a sloping right half and a curved left. The other characteristic *ya* of Nepal has an outer curl instead of the loop at the left arm—a form also seen in Bengal in the sixth century. In the photographs published by Gnoli this form appears in the inscriptions of Nepal in the fifth century, but in the reproduction of the same inscriptions by Bhagwanlal Indraji the loop is found in place of the curl. As this is a doubtful case, it has not been shown in the plate. If the curl is really present in the fifth-century inscriptions, this is its earliest occurrence in India. Both *la* and *ha* are of the hooked type. The base of the triangular *va* slightly slopes to the right. The hooked type of *sa* is found, but in some cases the loop is triangular. Of the conjuncts, *ṅgha* and *ṇḍa* take the usual form. Cursive forms are seen in *hla* and *tpra*. The cerebral *sha* is not used in Nepal until the middle of the seventh century A.D. Though Gnoli transliterates in the correct grammatical fashion, actually the form of *sa* serves the purpose of both, as is seen in the conjuncts. In the sixth century A.D. the lower *ṭa* in the conjunct *ṭṭa* is turned on one side, with its mouth downwards, as was also the practice in Bengal.