Indian Palaeography c17.s9.1

c17.s9.1

Three early inscriptions from Siam have been published. Pl. XXII. 11 is taken from the Pra Pathom inscription, which is in the Mon language; Pl. XXII. 10 is derived from the Srideb inscription; and Pl. XXII. 12 from the Vat Maheyang inscription; both the latter are in Sanskrit. The characters used in all of them are similar. No. 10 is in the sixth-century style of South-east Asia, showing the Pallava forms of the letters and the medial vowels, with the only difference that it does not favour ornamental extensions. The inscription may be placed in the first half of the sixth century a.d. Nos. 11 and 12 prefer the ornamental style, especially remarkable for the extended length of the verticals of the medials on the right. In no. 10 the medial *au* has been read as *o*, and the initial *o* as *u*. Here the initial *a* has a short curve at the end of the right vertical, and the hook on the left has its tip turned outwards. No. 11 has *i* with a tail below the notched roof. *Ka* is of two types—one with its lower vertical almost doubled, and the other in which the vertical is equal in length to the bends of the central bar. *Ṇa* shows a loop at the left corner of the open-mouthed form, and the subscript *ya* is of the ornamental type as in the inscriptions of Pūrṇavarman. Except for the last form, which is probably due to the preference for ornamentation, other features place the inscription in the first half of the seventh century a.d.