Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c7.s3.t7: 2.3.8 The paleographic development of Kharoṣṭhī
Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c7.s3.t7
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2.3.8 The paleographic development of Kharoṣṭhī
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Unlike Brāhmī and its derivatives, Kharoṣṭhī script did not undergo extensive paleographic changes in the course of its historical development. This is no doubt mainly due to the fact that its history (at least as known to us from extant documents) covers only some five centuries and takes place within a relatively limited geographical area, as opposed to Brāhmī, which developed over two millennia throughout India and in many other parts of Asia. Kharoṣṭhī can be treated essentially as one and the same script throughout its history, and, with the exception of the central Asian variety, does not have clearly differentiated local variants. The changes which the individual characters underwent were gradual and for the most part minor, so that it is difficult to establish reliable criteria for the paleographic dating of Kharoṣṭhī documents in anything other than broad terms such as “early,” “middle,” and “late.” Even the central Asian form of the script is not essentially different from the Indian; many of its peculiar characteristics, such as its generally more cursive aspect, are attributable as much to the different physical character of the documents, which were written in pen and ink rather than carved into stone or metal, as to geographical variation.
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Among the characters which do show clear chronological development, *sa* is often cited as the most reliable “test letter.” In the early forms of Kharoṣṭhī of the Aśokan and Indo-Greek period, the head portion of *sa* is usually closed (𐨯). In the middle period of the Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian era, the head is typically open, but the vertical line still has a projection toward the top of the letter (𐨯). Finally, in the later phase of the script during the Kuṣāṇa period, the head is fully open (𐨯). This character, along with a few other test letters such as *ya* and *ca*, can be used to date Kharoṣṭhī documents in a broad fashion. But, as pointed out by Das Gupta (DKS, 102, 146), the three types of *sa* actually overlap considerably throughout the history of the script, so that to use it alone as a criterion for paleographic dating is an uncertain method at best (see 5.4.1).
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Several other characters underwent similar developments involving cursivization and stroke reduction or reordering. The original form of 𐨐 *ka*, for example, developed into a secondary one in which the extra stroke at the right is combined with the top stroke (𐨐); this, in turn, led to a late form in which the right-hand portion curves around to the left to meet the vertical (𐨐). In certain cases paleographic changes resulted in the development of ambiguous letters, the most important case being *ya*, whose original angular form (𐨩) developed a horizontal line across the top (𐨩) which often makes it virtually identical with *śa* (𐨭). In some cursive hands, *ta* and *ra*, *ta* and *da*, *va* and initial *a*, and various other pairs of letters are so similar as to cause serious difficulties in interpretation.
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The diacritic vowels were also subject to minor changes, notably postconsonantal *u*, which originally was written as a short horizontal line to the left of the foot of the consonant to which it is attached (e.g., 𐨐𐨂 *ku*) but later developed into a loop (𐨐𐨂). Similarly, the original mark for *anusvāra* (e.g., 𐨒𐨎 *gaṃ*), clearly recognizable as a miniature *ma*, later changed into a hook shape (𐨒𐨎) which disguises its origin. Certain combinations of consonants and vowel diacritics were subject to special cursive developments leading to ligatures in which the constituent parts are no longer readily apparent; for example, *mu* (with several other varieties) and *de*.
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Several modified characters developed in Kharoṣṭhī of the middle and later periods. For instance, *ṣa* frequently appears in alternation with ordinary *sa* (), of which it is presumably a modification, perhaps derived from a reduction of the conjunct *sya*.¹⁷⁷ Several consonants, such as *ga*, *ḍa*, and *va*, were often written in intervocalic position with a diacritic mark consisting of a horizontal line added at the lower right, which is usually thought to represent a fricative pronunciation; for example, *g'a*. Such diacritically marked consonants are particularly common in the central Asian documents but also occur in some later Indian inscriptions, notably in the Wardak vase inscription (CII 2.1, 165–70). Another diacritic sign, again most common in central Asia but also found in India, is a horizontal line or dot above the character, which usually indicates an abridged conjunct consonant; thus *ṣ̄a* = *ṣṇa*, *c̄a* = *śca*, and so on.
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¹⁷⁷ See Brough, GD 67–70; see also GD 75–7, for the similar problem of the characters *ṭha* and *ṭ'ha*.
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Various further modifications arose in varieties of Kharoṣṭhī used to write texts or words of non-Gāndhārī origin. Most important, late Kharoṣṭhī records sometimes added a line or curve at the lower right of a consonant character to indicate a long vowel (e.g., = *kā*). A few sporadic and somewhat uncertain examples of this device are noted in inscriptions from India,¹⁷⁸ but it is much more common in the central Asian documents, especially those in Sanskrit (e.g., KI II nos. 511, 523). In the latter we also find signs for syllabic *r*, the *vṛddhi* vowels *ai* and *au* (formed by combining the ordinary diacritics for *e* and *o* with the long vowel sign), vowelless consonants (see KI III.297), *ṅa*, and *visarga* (the last two being perhaps borrowings from Brāhmī). In the central Asian documents, non-Indic names and loan words were represented with the help of new conjuncts such as *pga*, *cma*, and *jhbo*. Many of the diacritically modified characters mentioned previously were also used for this purpose.
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¹⁷⁸ See Konow, CII 2.1, cxx, and Salomon, StII 7, 1981, 14.