Indian Palaeography c17.s4: Borneo

c17.s4.1

Several *yūpa* inscriptions have been found in Koetei in East Borneo, four of which have been edited by Vogel. They refer to a king called Mūlavarman. Pl. XXI. 1 is taken from the illustration accompanying the article by Vogel. As we have seen, the style of writing represented here bears some connexion with that of the Bhadravarman’s inscriptions from Lin-i. The resemblance can be marked in the absence of the curves at the lower verticals of *ka*, *ra*, and the vertical type of the medial *u*. Only very rarely is the curve seen in the case of *ka* and *ra*. But there is another development. At the ends of these verticals a left slant is added. The medial *i* and *ī* are of the same type, though here they are occasionally extended downwards, the most exceptional being in *vi*. One more link is seen in the use of the looped forms of *ṇa*, *na* and *ta*, and the broad looped base of *kha* seen in the conjunct *khyā*. A still closer link is established by the rectangular head-marks seen in these letters, but these head-marks are apparently derived from the south rather than from Malwa. Here the head-marks are not added to the top left of the verticals, but they are centrally placed over them, as is seen in the inscriptions of the Madharas and the Gaṅgas of the eastern coast of India. The link with the south is further established by the medials *ā*, *e*, *ai*, *o* and *au*. The medial *ā* (except in *shā*, where it is a top slant) and the medial *o* have their strokes extended downwards. The medial *e* and *ai* also fall down, and end in a curl. These medial vowels agree with those given in the Pallava records of the fifth to sixth century A.D. (Pl. XVIII. 4, 5). The connexion with Pallava writing is further strengthened by the forms of *ga*, the left limb of which is curved inwards, *tha* which has a mid-line in place of the central dot, and *śa* and *sha*, both of which have a short mid-line attached to the right vertical. The Pallava form is also seen in the conjunct *ksha*, in which the subscript *sha* is broadened. The forms of the other letters agree with the southern type. Another important clue is the ornamental form of the subscript *ya* in *khyā*, which is of the hooked type. This ornamental form, with the extended forms of the medial vowels, provides a link with the inscriptions of Pūrṇavarman from Java, and further suggests that there should not be a long gap between them. The inscriptions of Mūlavarman may be dated towards the close of the fifth century A.D.