Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c7.s3.t4.1

c7.s3.t4.1

Unlike Brāhmī and the many scripts derived from it, Kharoṣṭhī, alone among Indic scripts,¹⁴¹ is written from right to left. Unlike the highly symmetrical, “monumental” early Brāhmī script, Kharoṣṭhī has a cursive ductus which would seem to reflect an origin in a “clerk’s” script, written with pen and ink.¹⁴² The Kharoṣṭhī script also contrasts with Brāhmī in that it is top-oriented; that is, the distinctive features of each character tend to be at the top instead of at the bottom as in Brāhmī.