Indian Palaeography c15.s5.t2: (b) The Inscriptions of the Parivrājakas and the Uchchhakalpas
Indian Palaeography c15.s5.t2
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(b) The Inscriptions of the Parivrājakas and the Uchchhakalpas
c15.s5.t2.1
Only copper-plate inscriptions of these rulers have been illustrated here, and these show only the simplified styles. On the basis of the head-marks they fall into two groups: (i) those having hollow triangles, and (ii) those showing notches or simple lines. In their forms influences from the Middle Ganges Valley are easily traceable. Similarly, the medial vowels adopt the northern fashion.
c15.s5.t2.2
(i) Pl. XIV. 6 is taken from the Poona copper plate of Prabhāvatī Guptā, which actually belongs to the Vākāṭaka dynasty, but is included here as it is the only inscription of the Vākāṭakas showing triangular head-marks. Pl. XIV. 7 is derived from the Majhgawan plates of Mahārāja Hastin, dated in the (Gupta) year 191. Similar triangular head-marks are also seen in the Sunaokala (Broach district) plates of the Gurjara king Saṅgaṇasiṁha, dated in the (Kalachuri) year 292 (A.D. 540).¹ The Poona plate shows a rather mixed style containing features both of the north and of the south. The influence of Kauśāmbī is seen in the longer right arms of *ga*, *ta*, *bha* and *śa*, the triangular foot-marks at the left limbs of *ga* and *śa*, the use of the open-mouthed *ṇa*, the oval *tha* with a mid-line, the looped *na*, the angular *bha*, the open-mouthed *ma*, the hooked *la* and *ha*, and the looped *sa*. The northern tendency is again seen in the curved types of the medial *i* and *ī* and the top slants for *e* and *o*. Southern influence is traceable in the curved tips of *a*, *ka*, *bha* and the vertical type of the medial *u*. The southern forms are observable in the initial *u* with its base turned upwards, *kha* with its short upper hook, *cha* with its broad body, *da* with angular back, the broad *dha*, *pa* and *ba* with their left sides curved, the tripartite form of *ya* without the loop at the left, *va* with a broad body attached to the right vertical, and *ma* in the conjunct *mrā*, obviously derived from the form with a base loop as seen in the Vākāṭaka records. On the whole the inscription clearly shows how with the political influence of the Guptas their writing style also influenced this distant region.
c15.s5.t2.3
¹ *Epigraphia Indica*, x. 74–76.
c15.s5.t2.4
The Majhgawan inscription does not show southern influence at all. Apart from the triangular head, the letter-forms are mainly traceable to the Middle Ganges Valley, but a few letters maintain their regional characteristics. Of these *la*, *sa* and *ha* are notable.
c15.s5.t2.5
Both *la* and *ha* have firm bases with two uprights and a hook. *Sa* has a hook on the left. The medial vowels are all of the same type as is seen in the Gupta inscriptions of the fifth century A.D. Other Gupta forms can be seen in *a* with a hook at the left limb below, the open-mouthed *ṇa*, the looped *na*, the angular *bha*, and the tailed *ma*. *Ya* has two forms, the tripartite with a loop at the left vertical, and the bipartite. The initial *e* has a flat top, but *ga* and *śa* have rounded tops. The initial *au* is unique, having a very simplified form of *a* with two additional curved strokes as in the medial *ū*. *Kha* has its upper hook short, and the base of *gha* is straight, while *cha* is of the beaked type. *Chha* is of the double-looped form. *Ja* has three straight arms attached to the left vertical. Both *ṭa* and *da* are angular but the two verticals of *ta* meet in an upper curve. *Tha* is oval with a mid-line. *Dha* is oblong. *Pa* optionally has its right arm bent, while the left side of *ba* is curved. In the conjuncts the notable forms are *ṅho* and *ṣṭhi*.
c15.s5.t2.6
(ii) Pl. XIV. 8 is taken from the copper plates of Hastin and Jayanātha, dated between the (Gupta) years 163 and 177, Pl. XIV. 9 is derived from the copper plates of Sarvanātha and Saṅkshobha, dated between the (Gupta) years 193 and 214, and Pl. XIV. 10 from the Arang plates of Bhīmasena II, dated in the (Gupta) year 282. These plates illustrate the change from the Gupta to the Malwa or Rajasthani style of writing. These inscriptions preserve the simplified style of the medial vowels and do not show the forms associated with the *kuṭila* writing, though the Middle Ganges Valley forms survive in the open-mouthed *ṇa*, the looped *na*, and the tailed *ma*, and bent right verticals are occasionally seen in *e*, *ga*, *pa* and *ma*. The acute-angled forms are not known here at all. The initial *a* develops the curved type but also optionally preserves the Gupta form in nos. 8 and 9. The initial *i* exists in the three-dot variety as well as the roof type in no. 8. The long *ī* is of the Gupta type with a dot on either side of a vertical. *U* curves its base downwards to the left, and *e* sometimes has a flat top or bottom. *O* is of the northern type with its base curved downwards. The left limbs of *kha*, *ga* and *śa* show the line foot-mark. *Gha* has a straight base in no. 8, but divides it in no. 9. *Cha* has the pointed beak as well as the broad type. The lowest arm of *ja* is slightly bent. *Jha* keeps up the angular form. *Ña* in the conjunct *jña* optionally is of the cursive form. *Ṭa* has a flat top, and *ḍa*, *ḍha*, and *da* have rounded backs. *Ta* is angular in some cases, and in others preserves the Deccani type¹ with a curved hook attached to the right of a sloping vertical. *Tha* is oval with a mid-line, but *dha* in no. 10 is of the bulged form. *Pa* rounds its left angle in nos. 8 and 9, but in no. 10 has a slight notch on the base line. *Ba* has a square form, and *ya* is tripartite with a loop added optionally at the left vertical. Both *la* and *ha* have firm bases with two uprights and a hook, but optionally their bases are rounded. *Va* is triangular with the base sloping. *Sa* has a hook attached to the left. The conjunct *lpa* has a common vertical for *la* and *pa*, and *ṭa* in *shṭa* has its mouth turned downwards.
c15.s5.t2.7
¹ See above, p. 67.