Indian Palaeography c17.s2.3.3

c17.s2.3.3

The forms are rather ornamental, with notches in the lower sides of *va*, *ma* and *sha*. The subscript *ra* is of the southern rounded form. *Ta* is northern, while *ma* has a looped base. The medial *i* is an upward stroke ending in a curl, as seen in the Western Indian inscriptions of the fourth to fifth century A.D. The nearest comparable material comes from Malwa (Pl. IX. 7). They may be dated in the fifth century A.D. The Malayan seal belongs to this group. Thus all these seals point to the region of Gujarat and Malwa between the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. It is natural therefore to suppose that the first contact was established with Western Indian seaports. As the detailed analysis given below will show, it is from this region that the earliest writing style of South-east Asia was derived. It is found again in Indo-China. Two types of writing are known—one represented by the Vo-Canh inscription, and the other, the square-headed type, seen in the inscriptions of Bhadravarman. These styles are quite in keeping with the two styles in use in Malwa between the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. A crude local copy of the first type of writing is also seen on a stone inscribed with the Buddhist creed from site no. 1 at Kedah in Malaya, but that inscription must be dated to the end of the fifth century A.D., as it shows the later form of *tha*, and the open-mouthed type of *ṇa*.