Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c7.s1.t3.2

c7.s1.t3.2

This system, and particularly the inherent vowel rule, leads to certain complications. First, to represent a syllable consisting of a vowel only, without a preceding consonant,²⁶ these scripts require a set of full vowel signs in addition to the more frequently used diacritic vowels; thus Brāhmī 𑀅 = Devanāgarī अ = *a*; 𑀆 = आ = *ā*, and so on. Second, the representation of consonants which are not immediately followed by vowels, that is, of consonant clusters and of word, line, or sentence final consonants, also requires special techniques. Consonant clusters are represented by various types of ligatures of the consonants concerned, joined together or abbreviated in such a way as to make it evident that the prior consonant(s) are to be pronounced together with the following one(s), without an intervening vowel. Thus in Brāhmī the syllable *tva* must be written as 𑀢𑁆𑀯 (= Devanāgarī त्व ) in order to distinguish it from 𑀢𑀯 = *tava* ( तव ). Final consonants are indicated either by a reduced form of the normal consonant or by a special diacritic sign (called *virāma* or *halanta*) indicating cancellation of the inherent vowel (e.g., Devanāgarī क् = *k*, not *ka*).²⁷