Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c7.s3.t4.7

c7.s3.t4.7

Some of the resulting conjuncts, for example, 𐨮𐨿𐨐 *ṣka* < 𐨮 *ṣa* + 𐨐 *ka*, are self-evident, but many others involve alterations of the constituent parts to the point that they may become unrecognizable. As in later forms of Brāhmī and its derivatives (see 2.2.5.2), *ra* (which is especially common in Kharoṣṭhī texts, since the Gāndhārī language tends to retain it in consonantal groups; see 3.1.2.3 and 3.1.4.2.1) develops special forms for both pre- and postconsonantal position: for example, 𐨪 *ra* + 𐨬 *va* > 𐨪𐨿𐨬 *rva*; 𐨬𐨿𐨪 = *vra*. Similarly (and again as in Brāhmī),¹⁴⁴ postconsonantal *ya* has a special form, as in 𐨯𐨿𐨩 *sya*.