Indian Palaeography c15.s9.t2.3

c15.s9.t2.3

(ii) Pl. XVII. 10 represents the style of the eighth century A.D. Some of the letters are identical with those seen in the Rāshtrakūṭa inscriptions, e.g. the initial *a* with its emphasis on the round curve of its right vertical and the reduction of the left limb into a simple line, and *ka* with its upper vertical given separately from the lower doubled lines. But one also notices in this style a tendency to straight lines, e.g. in the roof of the initial *i*, which shows a short tail on the right, and has a flat top; the initial *u* is also angular, and this angularity is also emphasized in the forms of *cha*, *ṭa*, *ṇa*, *da*, *na*, *pa* and *bha*. The initial *e* has a short stem, and *o* has a curl at the end of the upper horizontal. The loop of *kha* opens upwards. *Ga* is of the horseshoe type with its left arm curved inwards. *Gha* has a wavy base and its left vertical is bent. *Chha* is very crudely drawn with its two loops hardly touching each other. *Ba* has its left arm deeply curved inwards. The most important distinction from the Rāshṭrakūṭa form is in the case of *la*, which here does not extend its upper curl into a circle and of which the left limb preserves its full hook form. *R̤a* has a mid-line on which rest two upper loops, while *ḷa* shows a variation in the double-looped form.