Indian Palaeography c15.s4.17

c15.s4.17

(*b*) Pl. XII. 3 is taken from the Mehrauli iron pillar inscription of Chandra. The execution of the letters on the pillar is superb. Each letter has been boldly brought out, and the writing, if it truly portrays the scribe's hand, is inclined to over-emphasize the angularity. The head-mark as well as the verticals are thick-lined. If these special features are borne in mind, it is not difficult to place the inscription in time and area. No initial vowels are known from this record. The medial vowels follow only the Kushāṇa system, as they easily lend themselves to ornate forms, noticeable particularly in the up-curled form of the medial *i*, and in the rectangular head added to the long vertical of the medial *ī*. The right limbs of *ga*, *ta*, *bha*, and *śa* are longer than the left, as in all the inscriptions of the Guptas. Similarly the left limbs of *kha*, *ga*, and *śa* have triangular foot-marks, and the tops of these letters are flat. Identical with the Middle Ganges Valley forms are the open-mouthed *ṇa*, with a loop at the left, the looped *na*, the tailed *ma*, the hooked *la*, the looped *sa*, and the hooked *ha*. The presence of so many forms from the Kauśāmbī style definitely proves that the writer of this inscription came from the Middle Ganges Valley. The forms of the other letters do not militate against this view. The cross-bar of *ka* is horizontal with ticks at either end. *Cha* has an ornate form with its beak drawn up to the line of the head-mark. *Ja* has three arms attached to the vertical. Angularity is marked even in the double curve of *Da*. *Dha* narrows its lower end, a characteristic of fifth-century writing. *Bha* is of the angular type. *Ya* has lost its third left arm but the loop is traceable in the thickening left at this point. This type of *ya* is seen in the Gadhwa inscription of Kumāra Gupta. In the conjuncts *ṅa* merges its upper arm with the head-mark. *Ña* has the cursive form, *sha* has its mid-line slanting downwards, *tha* is horizontal, and *ha* and *la* in combination have a common vertical. There is no doubt that the inscription was written in the early fifth century A.D. by a writer from the Middle Ganges Valley.