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Indian Epigraphy and South Indian Scripts c8: Select Passages from Inscriptions

Indian Epigraphy and South Indian Scripts c8

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English

Select Passages from Inscriptions

c8.1

The earliest Brāhmī records yet discovered in India, as already pointed out, are the Piprahwa vase inscriptions and the writing on the Eraṇ coin. But from the third century B.C. the inscriptions of Aśoka form the most important records in that early script distributed all over the land. There are, as previously stated, local variations in the script used for the edicts of Aśoka incised on rocks and pillars. The passage given below (Fig. 66) is a small selection from one of the Mysore edicts of Aśoka or, more specifically, the Brahma-giri inscription in the vicinity of Siddāpura (Hultzsch *C. Inscr. Ind.* I p. xxvii and pp. 177–178) discovered by B. L. Rice during his explorations in Mysore. It is in the southern variety of the Aśoka script which is most pronounced at Siddāpura¹ and Girnar (*Ind. Ant.* XXXIII, p. 34). Regarding the similarity between South Indian epigraphical documents and those from Gujrat or Kathiawād, Bühler has drawn pointed attention to the grants of the Traikūṭakas, Gurjjaras and the rulers of Valabhī where the letters are of the Southern type (*Epigraph. Ind.* III, p. 135). These inscriptions from Siddāpura were written by a scribe called Capaḍa who must have served in Northern India, as the last letters of these are in the Northern Kharoṣṭhī alphabet to which he was accustomed. The use of *ra* here, instead of *la*, in places where ancient Māgadhī would require *la*, is one of the important points to be noted, as this is peculiar to the Southern variety of Prākṛt.

c8.2

¹ Includes Siddāpura, Brahmagiri, Jaṭiṅga Rāmeśvara; the Maski and Yerraguḍi inscriptions should be added to this list.

c8.4

से हेव्वं देवानं पिये
आह मातापितिसु सुस्रू सितविये हेमेव गरुतं प्राणेसु द्रहितव्यं सचं
वतवियं से इमे धंमगुणा पवतितविया हेमेव अंतेवासिना
आचरिये अपचायितविये नातिकेसु च कं यथारहं पवतितविये

c8.5

एसा पोराणा पकिती दिघावुसे च एस हेव॓ एस कटविये
चपडेन लिखिते लिपिकरेण¹

c8.6

¹ So says the Beloved of the Gods: Mother and father are to be waited on or honoured. Similarly respect for living creatures should be firm. Truth should be spoken. Even these virtuous qualities should be practised or cultivated. Similarly a pupil should be respectful to his teacher and to his blood relations he should behave befittingly. This is the ancient standard (of virtue), it is conductive to long life, and thus it has to be practised. Written by Capaḍa, the scribe.

c8.7

The southern variety of Aśoka's script is only a variation of the usual type of letters found all over the land. But at Bhaṭṭiprolu, a village in the Krishna district, where A. Rea discovered inscriptions on stone caskets and a crystal piece from a stupa, the script is of a special variety (*Epigraph. Ind.* II, p. 323). Some of the letters here are, as already pointed out, quite peculiar and differ substantially from letters of the Aśoka variety denoting the same values. The five abnormal letters *gha*, *ja*, *ma*, *la*, *sa*; the letter *ḷa*, altogether new to Aśokan Brahmi, but which continues in later Southern inscriptions like those of the Sātavāhanas and their successors in the Deccan, the abnormal horizontal stroke whose presence connotes lengthening of a consonant is the regular Aśokan variety—are among the most noteworthy points of the Bhaṭṭiprolu script. The inscription given here (Fig. 67) is from the third casket. The lines in the centre are from the lid and the line running all around is from the edge of the lower or the box-portion of the casket.

c8.8

FIG. 67.

c8.9

On the lid—
नेगमा
वछो चघो
जतो जभो तिसॊ
रेतो अचिनो षभिको
अखघो केलो केसो माहॊ
सेटा छंदिको ओखबूलो
सोणुतरो समणो
समणदाषो सामको
कामुको चीतको¹

c8.10

¹ Members of the guild—Vacha (Skt. *Vatsa*), Cagha, Jeta (Skt. *Jayanta*) Jambha (Skt. *Jambha*)., Tisa (Skt. *Tiṣya*), Reta, Acina, Ṣabhika, Akhagha (Skt. *Akṣaghna*), Kela, Kesa, Māha, Seṭa, Chadika (Skt. *Chandika*) Okhabulā, Soṇutara (Skt. *Soṇottara*), Samana (Skt. *Śramaṇa*), Samaṇadāsa (Skt. *Śramaṇadāsa*), Sāmaka (Skt. *Śyāmaka*), Kāmuka, Citaka.

c8.11

*On the rim of the casket.*
अरहदिनानं गोठिया मजूस च षमुगो च तेन कम येन कुबिरको राजा अकि²

c8.12

² A casket and box are given by the Council of followers of the venerable Arahadina (Skt. *Arhadatta*). The work is executed by him whom king Kubiraka got to prepare the carving.

c8.13

The Brāhmī script clearly suggests its great antiquity in South India by the separate form of some letters in inscriptions found in caverns in South India, specially in the Pāṇḍyan country. Bühler felt that the southern variety of Brahmi, represented by the Bhaṭṭi-prolu inscriptions, should have had many varieties in the 3rd century B.C., an existence independent of the Aśoka edicts, and a long history of growth. This is supported by the letters in the puzzling inscriptions of the Pāṇḍyan country. Cammiade's discovery of a cavern with Brāhmī inscriptions at Marugaḷalai, in Tirunelveli district, was followed by the discovery of many others. V. Venkayya, who examined the newly discovered ones, felt they were Buddhist caverns, the inscriptions being the earliest lithic records in the Tamil country and important for throwing valuable light on the origin and development of Tamil and Vaṭṭeḷuttu alphabets. Such caves with inscriptions were found in Aḷagarmalai, Ānaimalai, Aracallur. Āykuḍi, Kaḷugumalai, Karungalakkudi, Kīḍaripaṭṭi, Kīlavalavu, Kongāpulayankuḷam, Kunnakkudi, Māmandur, Mankalam, Margalvalai, Meṭṭupaṭṭi, Muttuppaṭṭi, Pugalur, Sittannavāsal, Tiruchirāppalli, Tiruḻparankuṉṟam, Vāvicaiyur and Vikkiramangalam. H. Krishna Sastri tried his best to decipher many of them and published their impressions to enable decipherment. But their language has always been a puzzle. One of the discoverers of these caverns, K . V. Subrahmanya Aiyar, has given an explanation of these letters which is very interesting and plausible.³ According to him, the inscriptions are Buddhist and in the Tamil language. He has specially noted five letters of this alphabet, not known to the Aśokan inscriptions and explained them as *ī*, *ṇa*, *ḷa*, *ḻa*, and *ṟ* all of them special to Tamil and Vaṭṭeḻuttu. Jouveau Dubreuil discovered at Arikamēḍu, near Pondicherry, potsherds with inscriptions in letters similar to these, which await interpretation ; and this extends the area of these inscriptions further north, thus covering almost the whole of the Tamil country. The discovery and interpretation of these inscriptions is one of the greatest contributions to Indian epigraphy and K. V. Subramanya Aiyar has done a great service by his very valuable contribution. The present selection (Fig. 68) is from the Sittanavāśal cave and the inscription is typical of the rest.

c8.14

³ The Pāṇḍyan country and the inscriptions in Proceedings and Transactions of the Third Oriental Conference 1924.

c8.16

எஉமி நாடு குமுளூர் பிறாநதா காவுடிஇ தென கூ
சிடுபோசில இளயரசெயதா அதிட அணம¹

c8.17

¹ Citupoil Ilayar made this *adhiṣṭanam* for Kāvuḍi Iten who was born at Kumaṭṭūr, a village in Erumināḍu.

c8.18

The script of the early Kuṣaṇas, developed from that of the earlier epoch (Śodāsa, Rañjuvula, etc.) is characteristic for its squat letters, specially noticeable in *ha*, *ya*, *ṇa*, *bha*, *ca*, etc. There is a small nail-head serif for the letters. There is a tendency for the lower ends of all vertical strokes to remain straight, except in the case of *ra*. *E* is a triangle elongate topwise; *ba* a square, *va* a triangle with stroke over apex, *kha* a triangle with curve over the apex to left, *ma* a triangle with the sides lengthened beyond the apex and *tha* a circle. *Ā*, *e* and *o* medials are slanting top strokes to right, left and to both respectively *Ya* has a curve in its left limb and as subscript the letter continues to be used in its complete form, i.e., tripartite. *Ca* projects its belly too far left. The tripartite subscript *ya* becomes bipartite in later Kuṣān script. The present extract (Fig. 69) is from the inscription on the sides of the umbrella post for the Bodhisattva image erected by friar Bala at Banaras (*Epigraph. Ind.* VIII, p. 176).

c8.19

FIG. 69.

c8.20

महाराजस्य काणिष्कस्य सं ३ ह ३ द २२ एताये पुर्वाये भिक्षुस्य पुष्यवुद्धिस्य सद्ध्वेवि हारिस्य भिक्षुस्य बलस्य त्रपिटकस्य बोधिसत्वो छत्रयष्टि च प्रतिष्ठापितो बाराणसिये भगवतो चकम॓ सहामाता पितिहि सहा उपद्ध्यायाचेरेहि सद्ध्वेविहारि¹

c8.21

¹ In the third year of Mahārāja Kaṇiṣka, the third month of winter, the twenty-second day, on this aforesaid day, the figure of Bodhisattva and an umbrella with handle (gifts) of the monk Bala, a master of the Tripiṭaka and fellow of the monk Puṣyavuddhi, was consecrated at Bārāṇasī (Banaras) at the Lord’s promenade, with his father and mother, with his teachers and professors, his fellows...:

c8.22

In the Western Indian caves, like Kārle, Kaṇheri, Kuḍā, etc., we get the archaic and clumsy variety as also a more advanced and beautiful variety of script. The Nāsik inscription of Uṣavadāta has excellent letters which contrast with the clumsy ones of his at Kārle. These letters resemble the early Mathurā variety. They have very few Southern characteristics though the Southern *ḍa* is clear. The curves at the lower end of vertical strokes are very faint, bringing them nearer the northern strokes which mostly lack the curves. The vertical stroke of *la* does not curve to the left but to the right top, the left limb of *sa* has a peculiar curve at its tip ; *śa* slants to the right ; and subscript *ya* is tripartite. Medial *ā* and *e* are represented by horizontal strokes but occassionally, as in *ja*, the stroke curves upwards. Medial *u* and subscript *ra* are distinuished by the slight curvature in the case of the latter. Square patterns are obvious in letters like *pa*, *ṣa*, *ba*, *ha*, and triangles in *e*, *va*, *ma*. The present extract (Fig. 70) is from Uṣavadāta's inscriptions from Nāsik (*Epigraph. Ind.* VIII, p. 78) the letters of which are among the finest in Indian epigraphy.

c8.24

।सिद्धम् राज्‍ञः क्षहरातस्य क्षत्रपस्य नहपानस्य जामात्रा दीनोकपुत्रेण उषवदातेन त्रिगोशतसहस्रदेन नद्या बार्णासायां सुवर्णदानतीर्थकरेण देवताभ्यः ब्राह्मणेभ्यश्च षोडशग्रामदेन अनुवर्षं ब्राह्मणशतसहस्रभोजापयित्रा

c8.25

प्रभासे पुण्यतीर्थे ब्राह्मणेभ्यः अष्टभार्याप्रदेन भरुकच्छ
दशपुरे गोवर्धने च चतुशालावसधप्रतिश्रय
प्रदेन आरामतडाग उदपानकरेण इवा पारदा दमण तारप
करबेणा दाहानुका नावापुण्यतरकरेण एतासां च नदीना उभतोतीर

c8.26

In Gujrat and Kathiawad the southern type of script was in vogue. This is indicated by the similarities in the Aśokan script from Girnār and from Mysore. The Southern form of script is also found in the Junāgaḍh inscription of Rudradāman (*Epigraph. Ind.* VIII, p. 36). This forms an interesting study in tracing a later development of the Southern variety of Gupta script in Skandagupta's inscription in the same place. Rudradāman's inscription is one of the most important of Indian inscriptions as it is the earliest yet known in Sanskrit. This is a fine example of classical Sanskrit. The poet of the inscription, whom Kielhorn describes as 'endowed with no mean poetic power' is well acquainted with the diction of the *Rāmāyaṇa* and *Mahābhārata* (Ibid, p. 40) and has used phrases bodily taken from the epics. As examples, may be noted पौरजानपदं जनं and पर्जन्येन एकार्णवभूतायामिव पृथिव्यां कृतायाम् reminding of the lines पौरजानपदं जनं (*Rāmāyaṇa*) and अयं ह्युत्सहते क्रुद्धः कर्तुमेकार्णवं जगत् (Ibid, V, 49, 20 and comment on this in Sivaramamurti 2, P. 4). *Śabdālaṁkāra* abounds as for instance in quotations from this inscription, अविधेयानां यौधेयानां, दानमानावमान, नाम्ना ...... -दाम्ना ... रुद्रदाम्ना; etc. (*Epigraph. Ind.* VIII, p. 41). The letters of this inscription appear to be the precursors of the Southern variety, the form being apparent in the curve at the lower end of the vertical strokes of *a*, *ā*, *kā*, *ña* and *ra*, the rounded form of *ḍa*, the leftward turn of the top vertical stroke of *la* and the form of medial *r* not easily distinguished from subscript *ra*. The letter *ḷa*, peculiar to the Southern variety, occurs in this inscription. Though some of the letters of the Kṣatrapa and contemporary Sātavāhana inscriptions like *a*, *ka*, *ña*, *ra*, etc., have a little curve at the end of the verticals, a feature which is absent in Kuṣāṇ letters, the verticals of the Kṣatrapa letters slant a little before curving at the tip. The use of final consonant is illustrated by *t* as in *āsīt*, the letter going just below the line. The subscript consonants are written in their normal full form. Medials *ā*, *e*, *o*, and *ai* are represented usually by horizontal strokes at the top of the consonant but sometimes this is different as in *ṭā*, *mā*, *dhā*, *mo*, etc., where the stroke curves up or down as in the first two and is added to the middle of the consonant as in the next two, or runs up vertical in continuation of the central part as in *jā*. Subscript *i* is represented by an upward curve on top to the right and *i* by curved strokes to right and left. Medial *u* is represented by a bottom curve or stroke to the right of consonants with open bottom or having a single vertical stroke, as in *gu*, *tu*, etc., or *ku*, but otherwise it is turned to the left as in *mu*, *su*, etc.; *ru* and *rū* however are represented by a single or double stroke to the right centre of the vertical stroke of *r*. The additional stroke to denote subscript *ū* may be seen in *bhū*. The following small passage (Fig. 71) is typical of the rest of this long well-engraved though damaged inscription (*bid*, pp. 38-39).

c8.27

¹ Success! by Uṣavadāta, son of Dīnīka, son-in-law of King Nahapāna the Kṣaharāta Kṣatrapa—donor of three hundred thousand cows, performer of sacred gifts of gold on the irver Bārnāsā, giver of sixteen villages to the Gods and Brāhma as, feeder all the year round of a hundred thousand Brāhma as, giver of eight wives to Brāhmaṇas in the sacred place Prabhāsa, donor of quadrangular hermitages, dwellings and shelter houses* at Bharukacha, Daśapura, Govardhana and Śorpāraga, maker of pleasuanccs, tanks and wells, founder of free ferries by boats on the *Ibā*, *Pārādā*, *Damana*, *Tāpī*, *Karabenā* and *Dāhānukā* and on both the banks of these rivers . . . . *(On this see R. G. Bhandarkar in *Ind. Ant.* XII, p. 142).

c8.28

[Figure: FIG. 71. *C. S. del.*]

c8.29

शब्दार्थगान्धर्व्वन्यायाद्यानां विद्यानां महतीनां पारणधारणविज्ञानप्रयोगावाप्त विपुलकीर्त्तिना तुरगगजरथचर्य्यासिचर्मनियुद्धाद्या.........तिपरबललाघव सष्ठवक्रियेण अहरहर्दानमानानवमानशोलेन स्थललक्षेण यथावतप्राप्तैर्बलि शुल्कभागैः कनकरजतवज्रवैदूर्यरत्नोपचयविष्यन्दमानकोशेन स्फुटलघुमधुर चित्रकान्तशब्दसमयोदारालंकृतगद्यपद्य..........न प्रमाणमानोन्मानस्वरगतिवर्ण्ण सारसत्वादिभिः परमलक्षणव्यञ्जनेरुपेतकान्तमूर्त्तिना स्वयमधिगतमहा क्षत्रपनाम्ना नरेन्द्रकन्यास्वयंवरानेकमाल्यप्राप्तदाम्ना महाक्षत्रपेण रुद्रदाम्ना वर्षसहस्राय गोब्राह्म ......त्त्यर्थधर्मकीर्त्तिवृद्ध्यर्थं च अगोडयित्वा ¹

c8.30

¹ 'Mahākṣatrapa Rudradāman, who has acquired great fame by study, memorising, understanding and practice of grammar, music, logic and other great sciences, who......management of horses, elephants and chariots, use of sword and shield, pugilistic combat and other......acts of quickness or speed and efficiency of enemy forces, who day by day is in the habit of bestowing gifts, honouring and avoiding disrespect, who is most bounteous, whose treasury with rightfully acquired tribute, tolls and shares overflows with an accumulation of gold, silver, diamonds, beryls and other precious stones, who......prose and verse, clear, lucid, sweet dexterous, beautiful, nobly adorned by the proper use of words, whose lovely form has the best marks and signs like proper proportions, height voice, gait, colour, vigour and strength who himself acquired the name Mahākṣatrapa who has been wreathed with many garlands at the Svayamvaras of princesses (lit. king's daughters)—for..cows and. Brahma..as for a thousand years, to increase his wealth, religious merit and glory..-

c8.31

The Nāsik inscriptions of the Queen mother Balaśiri, of the time of her grandson Vāsiṣṭhīputra Pulumāyi, is in the typical Sātavāhana script of the second century A.D. in the Eastern and Western parts of the Āndhra empire which extended all over the Deccan from the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea. This script is the parent of the later Ābhīra, and Traikūṭaka scripts in Western Deccan, and the Ikṣvāku and early Pallava scripts in the Eastern Coast. The letters of the Nāsik inscriptions of the Sātavāhanas resemble to some extent the script of Uṣavadāta's inscription from the same cave and even the Kṣatrapa inscription of Rudradāman in certain cases; but there is an individuality in these Sātavāhana letters. *Dha* is triangular, *bha* has the countour of an armless chair, *kha* is a large hook with small base line. *Ca*, *pa*, *ma*, *va*, *ya*, etc., resemble the letters of Uṣavadāta's Nāsik inscription but *ba* sometimes shows the tendency to curve inwards on the left side, a feature which is observed in the later inscriptions, specially Rudradāman's, and which develops in all later Southern and Central Indian scripts. *Ya*, unlike as in Kṣatrapa and Kuṣāṇ inscriptions, but like the letter in Uṣavadāta's inscription, lacks the curl on the left. The vertical stroke of *lā* is sometimes somewhat curved to the right. The lower ends of verticals, like *ra*, *ka*, *a*, show a tendency to curve. Medial *ā*, *e*, and *o* are indicated by horizontal strokes except occassionally as in *jā*. In some of the Sātavāhana inscriptions there is a tendency to show small loops for *ta* and *na*. *La* and *da* are typically southern forms. The following extract (Fig. 72) is from the inscription of the Queen mother Balaśiri who got it engraved in the Nāsik cave in the 19th year of Siri-Pulumāyi (*Epigraph. Ind.* VIII, p. 60). It is a masterly description of the prowess and grandeur of a sovereign ruler and, as a literary piece, it ranks among the best in Indian Epigraphy.

c8.33

सवराजलोकमंडलपतिगहीतसासानस दिवसकरकरविबोधित
कमलविमलसदिसवदनस तिसमुदतोयपीतवाहनस पलि
पूनचंदमडलससिरिकपियदसनस वरवारणविकमचारुविकमस
भुजगपतिभोगपीनवाटविपुलदीघसुदरभुजस अभयोदकदान
क्लिननिभयकरस अविपनमातुसुसूसकस सुविभततिवगदेस
कालसं पोरजननिविसेससमसुखदुखस खतियदपमान
मदनस सकयवनपल्हवनि Funkदनस धमोपजितकरविनियोग
करस कितापराधेपि सतुजने अपानहिसारुचिस दिजवरकुटुब
विवधनस खखरातवसनिरवसेसकरस सातवाहनकुलयसपतिठापन
करस सवमदलाभवादितचरणस विनिवतितचातुवणसकरस अनेक¹

c8.34

¹ Whose command was accepted by the entire circle of kings, whose face was lovely and pure like the lotus opened by the rays of the sun, whose horses had drunk the water of the three oceans, who was lovely to look at with the charm of the full lunar orb, whose gait was beautiful like that of a noble elephant, whose arms were full, rounded, broad and long like the body of the lord of serpents, whose fearless hand was wet with the water poured out in assurances of protection, who without a stop attended on his mother, who well divided the place and time for the pursuit of the triple objects, i.e., *dharma, artha* and *kāma*, who equally rejoiced and sorrowed at the joys and sorrows of his citizens, who crushed the pride and conceit of Kṣatriyas, who destroyed the Śakas, Yavanas and Pahlavas, who utilised taxes acquired righteously, who disliked hurting life even in the case of an enemy at fault, the promoter of the families of the twice-born and the lowly, who exterminated the race of the Khakharatas, who established the glory of the family of the Sātavāhanas, whose feet were saluted by all provinces, who stopped the contamination of the four castes........

c8.35

From the later half of the 2nd century A.D., the Sātavāhana script in the Kṛishṇa valley undergoes a change. The letters get elongate and more ornamental, with curls and flourishes at the ends of verticals, rather over-elongated. This tendency is to be seen in the inscriptions of the fourth period at Amarāvati (See Sivaramamurti 1 pl. LXV, 8, 10.). This ornamentation of the letters is seen at its best in the inscriptions from Jaggayyapeta (Burgess pl. LXII, LXIII) and Nāgārjunakoṇḍa (*Epigraph. Ind.* XX pl. i-v). The inscriptions from Jaggayyapeṭa and Nāgārjunakoṇḍa are of the Ikṣvāku dynasty, of which King Sirivīrapurisadata figures prominently. The letters are beautiful specimens. The vertical strokes of *a, ā, ka, ña, ra, la* and the medial *i, ī* and *u* are quite elongate and beautifully curled. The medial *e* is also curled downwards in the typically Southern manner, as in the later inscriptions (Bühler, *Ind. Ant.* XXXIII, p. 43). *L* peculiar to Southern script occurs in the Nāgārjunakoṇḍa inscriptions (*Epigraph. Ind.* XX, p. 12). The discovery of the inscribed Āyaka pillars from Nāgārjunakoṇḍa supplies quite an amount of material for the study of the script. The passage given below (Fig. 73) is from the second Āyaka pillars to the south of the Māhācaitya at Nāgārjunakoṇḍa (*Ibid.* p. 18).

c8.36

FIG. 73.

c8.37

सिधम् महाराजस असमेधयाजिस अनेकहिरंणकोटिगोसतसहसह़लसत

सहसपदायिस सबथेसु अपतिहतसंकपस वासिठीपुतस इखाकुस

सिरिचातमूलस दुहुता रञो सिरिविरपुरिसदतस भगिनि महासेनापतिस महा

तलवरस महादंडनायकस धनकानं खंदविसाखंणकस भया महातलवरि

अटविचांतिसिरि अपनो उभयकुलं परिणामे[त्]न अत्तनोच उभयलोकहित

*सुखावधथनाय

भगवतो संमसंबुधस धातुवरपरिग्गहीतम गहाचेतिये इमं खंभं पतिठपनति

रञो सिरिविरपुरिसदतस ६ वा प ६ दिव १०¹

c8.38

¹ Success! The Mahātalavarī Aḍavi Catisiri, the daughter of king Vāsiṭhīputa Siri Cātamūla of the Ikṣvāku family, performer of *Aśvamedha* sacrifice, donor of many crores of gold coins, hundred thousand cows, hundred thousand plough lengths of land, and of unhampered determination in everything, the sister of king Siri Vīrapurisadata, the wife of Mahāsenāpati Mahātalavara and Mahādaṇḍanāyaka Khaṁdavisākhaṁṇaka of the Dhanaka family, having due regard for both her families and to secure welfare and happiness for herself in both the worlds has erected this pillar at the Mahācaitya of the supremely enlightened Lord (Buddha) who is absorbed by the best elements (*i.e.*, by nirvāṇa). In the sixth (regnal) year of king Siri Vīrapurisadata, the sixth fortnight of the rainy season, the tenth day.

c8.39

Closely allied to the Jaggayyapeta script is that of the Prākṛt grants of the early Pallava monarchs and the writing of these charters is a development of the earlier ornamental type of the Ikṣvākus. The text of the charters in Prākṛt itself indicates their early date as also the palaeography of the letters. The writing on the charters is in a highly cursive form of the elongate letters of the Ikṣvāku inscriptions (Bühler *Ind. Ant.* XXXIII, p. 44). The passage below (Fig. 74) is from the first plate of the Hirahadagalli plates of Śivaskandavarman (*Epigraph. Ind.* I, p. 2). The perfect line in Sanskrit at the end shows that the scribe was not unacquainted with the classical language, but it was more in accordance with the usage of the day that the charter should be issued in Prākṛt, as all royal edicts, grants and charters appear in Prākṛt in the early centuries before and after the Christian era. A point to be noted in the alphabet of this charter is the peculiar way in which the *anusvāra* and the serifs are indicated by a small cross, rather than by a dot or dash (Ibid, p. 2). There is often a confusion created by the similarity of letters like *ṭa*, *ḍa* and *ḍa* or *ta* and *ṇa*, or *ta* and *bha* (Ibid, p. 2). The form of *e* with longer vertical stroke to the right is a precursor of the same letter in later script in the Krishna valley. The medial *e* and *o* in the case of *ka* give a different form to the letter, the small horizontal stroke slightly curved at the ends running diagonally to the vertical stroke in the former (i.e. *ke*).

c8.40

FIG. 74.

c8.41

कांचोपुरा अग्गिटथोमवाजपेयस्समेधयाजि धम्ममहा सिद्धम् ।। राजाधिराजो भारद्वायो पल्लवाणं सिवखंदवमो अम्हंविसये सवत्थ राजकुमारसेनापति

c8.42

Somewhat earlier than the Hirahaḍagalli plates are the Mayidavolu plates (Ibid VI, p. 84) of the same monarch (Fig. 75). Issued by Śivaskandavarman when he was yuva-mahārāja or heir-apparent, it is distinctly older than the Hirahaḍagalli plates where the epithet used is *dharmamahārājādhirāja* or righteous monarch. Though strictly the Mayiḍavolu plates ought to be given first they are given next to the Hīrahaḍagalli ones, as the letters of the latter, while agreeing generally with those of the former, however present some special forms not met with elsewhere in the whole range of the Indian alphabet. In the Mayidavolu and the Koṇḍamudi grants the letters have similar abnormalities and hence they should go together. The grant is in Prākṛt as is usual in the early grants. It is to be noted that the special form of *ke*, found in the Hirahaḍagalli grant, has its origin in this grant. Among the special letters of this grant are *sa* and *ma* whether by themselves or a subscripts, as in *mmo*; *na*, *ja* and *e* (Ibid, p. 86). While *ma* and *sa* are totally different from any known letters, *na* creates a confusion by its close resemblance to *ḍa* in which form it is never known *ja* is peculiar sometimes, but it is easily traceable to the same abnormal letter in the Bhaṭṭiprolu alphabet, as also the letter *ha*. *E* is quite different from the same letter in other inscriptions of the same date. It differs from the same letter in the Hīrahaḍagalli alphabet.

c8.43

¹ Success! From the city of Kāñcī of Śivaskandavarma of the Bhāradvāja clan and Pallava family, performer of the sacrifice *Agniṣṭoma*, *Vājapeya* and *Aśvamedha*, righteous overlord of great kings... In our territory everywhere royal princes, generals . . . . .

c8.44

though its form suggests strong resemblance to the later Tamil-Grantha letters in the Pallava script of the 7th century of which it is undoubtedly the precursor.

c8.46

चीपुरातो युवमहाराजो भारदायसगोत्तो पलवानं

c8.47

सिवखदवम्मो धंञकडे वापतं आनपयति¹

c8.48

¹ From the city of Kāñcī Yuvamahārāja (His Royal Highness) Śivaskandavarma, of the clan of the Bhāradvajas and of the Pallava family, commands his agent at Dhaññakaṭa.

c8.49

The script of the Mayidavolu plates is also repeated in the plates of the Bṛhatphalāyana king Jayavarman (Ibid, VI, p. 315) found in the village of Koṇḍamudi in the Krishna district. This grant is important for the script as well as the mention of a royal dynasty, the Bṛhatphalāynas, not known from any other records. The language is Prākṛt. The last line is another notable example of the use of Sanskrit in a Prākṛt inscription for reasons remarked above (see above p. 166). The letters peculiar to the Mayidavolu grant are found here also. *Sa*, *ma*, *ja*, *na* and *e* are alike in both (Ibid, p. 315). *Jā* is however peculiar, in this. But while there is a confusion between *ḍa*, *da* and *na* and *ṇa* in the Mayidavolu grant by the similarity of their form there is a separate sign here for *da* which distinguishes it from *na* which in all other respects is as confusing as *na* of the Mayidavolu grant. The passage given below (Fig. 76) is from the first two plates of the grant.

c8.50

FIG. 76.

c8.51

विजयखधावारा
१ नगरा कूडूरातो
महेश्वरपायपरिग्रहीतो
बृहत्फलायनसगोतो
९ राजा सिरिजयवमो
अनपयति कुडूरे¹

c8.52

¹ From the victorious camp in the city of Kuḍūra king Śrī Jayavarma of the Bṛhatphalāyana clan and worshipper of the feet of Maheśvara commands—In Kuḍūra.

c8.53

The Western Indian script of the time is best represented in the early inscriptions of the Traikūṭakas and the Maitrakas. The plates of the Traikūṭaka king Dharasena, of the middle of the 5th century A.D., show the earlier Brāhmī type of letters not developed fully into the stage represented by those of the later Maitrakas or the earliest records of the Western Cāḷukyas of Bādāmi. The letters belong to the Southern variety and may be compared with the archaic ones of the Pallava records in Prākṛt of slightly earlier date. The angularities and breaks involved in the engraving of letters on copper plates are clear in this as in the early Pallava Prākṛt records. The serif of the letters is a thick short elongate dot. *Sa* is peculiar and one of its arms darts up after forming a sharp narrow angle to right. The lower end of verticals of letters, like *a*, *ā*, *ka* and *ra*, form an angle by slightly shooting up to left.

c8.54

*Tha* is more or less like a spiral, *ya* a right-angle with vertical to right and an arc to the left end of the base line, a central slanting line ending with thick serif level with horizontal dividing the right angle. *Ma* is a triangle with the sides prolonged beyond the apex and with serifs. *La* starts to left as a query mark without dot, runs horizontally to right and up again vertically and does not curl, as in other scripts. *Va* is just a triangle with serif on top. *Sa* is peculiarly like *ya* of the script, except that the slanting middle line is doubled. The medial *ā*, *e*, *o* are small slanting top strokes. The square and triangle often determine the shape of letters of the script. The script of Dahrasena (*Epigraph. Ind.* X, p. 53) from which the following extract is taken (Fig. 77) is special, but the later developments in Traikūṭaka inscriptions show more regular forms.

c8.55

[Figure: FIG. 77. *G.S.del.*]

c8.56

खस्ति विजयस्कन्धावाराम्म्रकावासकात्त्रैकूटकानां मातापितृपादानुध्द्यातो भग
वत्पादकर्मकरोश्वमेधाहर्त्ता श्रीममहाराजदह्रसेनः सर्व्वानेवास्मत्सन्तकानन्त
र्मंण्डलीविषयवासिनस्समाज्ञापयति यथा कापुरवास्तव्यब्राह्मणणण्णस्वामिन¹

c8.57

¹ Hail! From the victorious camp of Āmrakavāsaka Śrī Mahārāja Dahrasena of the Traikūṭaka family, contemplative of the feet of his parents, performer of his duty to God, performer of the Aśvamedha sacrifice, commands all those resident in the Antarmaṇḍalī area that to the Brāhmaṇa Naṇṇusvāmi residing in Kāpura....

c8.58

The script of the Kuṣāṇa period in North India is the parent of the later northern type represented by the letters of the Allahābād *praśasti* of Samudragupta (Fleet *C. Inscr. Ind.* *III*, p. 1). The script of the Gupta period is characterised by three varieties, the Northern, Central and the Southern. The Allahābād *praśasti* is in the Northern class of letters which are in direct descent from the Kuṣāṇ alphabet. The Central Indian variety of Gupta alphabet is best represented by the Eran inscription of Samudragupta (Ibid, p. 18) and the Udayagiri cave inscription of Candragupta II (Ibid, p. 21), the former containing letters both of the box-headed and nail-headed type and the latter a fine series of the box-headed variety so typical of all the Vākāṭaka inscriptions. The Southern variety of Gupta script, which is a clear development from the inscriptions of the Kṣatrapas, is best illustrated by the Sāñchi inscription of Candragupta II and Skandagupta's Junāgaḍh inscription (Ibid, p. 56). In addition there are other minor varieties, of which the most important is the one to be seen in the Bilsad inscription of Kumāragupta (Ibid, p. 42) where the deep thick serifs, square letters and in long straight top strokes form a striking feature.

c8.59

The following passage in illustration of the first variety (Fig. 78) is from **Samudragupta's** Allāhābād *praśasti* in the fine poetry of Hariṣena, the court poet. The letter *ma* used here is of the Indo-Scythic type. Samudragupta's Southern contact is echoed by letters of the Southern variety, like *da* and *la*. The form of the vowel *o* in some places, as in *gośata* in line 3 below, is peculiar.

c8.61

सुचरितशतालङ्कृतानेकगुणोत्सिक्तिभिश्चरणतलप्रमृष्टान्यनरपतिकीर्त्तेः
साध्वसाधूदयप्रलयहेतुपुरुषस्याचिन्त्यस्य भक्त्यवनतिमात्रग्राह्यमृदुहृद
यस्या नुकम्पावतोनेकगोशतसहस्रप्रदायिनः कृपणदीनानाथातुरजनो
द्धरणमन्त्रदीक्षाभ्युपगतमनसः समिद्धस्य विग्रहवतो लोकानुग्रहस्य
धनदवरुणेन्द्रान्तकसमस्य स्वभुजबलाविजितानेकरपतिविभवप्रत्य
र्प्पणनित्यव्यापृतार्युक्तपुरुषस्य निशितविदग्धमतिगान्धर्व्वललितै
व्रीडितत्रिदशपतिगुरुतुम्बुरुनारदादेर्विद्वज्जनोपजीव्यानेक
काव्यक्रियाभिः प्रतिष्ठितकविराजशब्दस्य सुचरिस्तोतव्यानेका
द्भुतोदारचरितस्य लोकसमयक्रियानुविधानमात्रमानुषस्य¹

c8.62

¹ Who, by the overflow of the multitude of his numerous virtues embellished by hundreds of good deeds, rubbed out the fame of other rulers by the soles of his feet ; who was incomprehensible like the ununderstandable *puruṣa* (Viṣṇu) as the cause of the rise and fall respectively of good and bad; who was compassionate and had a tender heart that could be won over by devotion and obeisance; who was a donor of many hundreds of thousands of cows; whose mind was resolved to the sacred word and practice of the uplift of miserable, lowly, helpless and suffering humanity; who was a lustrous or glorious personification of kindness to all beings; who was equal to Kubera, Varuṇa, Indra and Yama, whose officers were ever engaged in restoring the wealth of many things conquered by the might of his arms; who put to shame the preceptor of the lord of the gods (Bṛhaspati), Tumburu, Nārada and others by his sharp, brilliant intellect, musical skill and artistic accomplishments; who established his title 'king among poets' by many poetical compositions that were the means of subsistence of scholars; whose many wonderful and noble deeds are worthy of praise for any length of time; who was a mortal only in so far as it required the performance of duties expected of man by accepted conventions.

c8.63

The Eran inscription of Samudragupta (Ibid, p. 20) is a fine example of the use of box-headed and nail-headed type of letters. The letters are of the Central Indian variety with Southern characteristics. It is only a fragment and the small extract (Fig. 79) shows the nail-headed variety in the first line and the box-headed variety in the next two.

c8.64

FIG. 79.

c8.65

बभूव धनदान्तकतुष्टिकोपतुल्यः
यस्य रिपवश्चरणोर्ज्जितानि
प्नान्तरेष्वपि विचिन्त्य परित्रसन्ति¹

c8.66

¹ There was....equal to Dhanada (lit. bestower of wealth) and Antaka (lit. destroyer) respectively when pleased and enraged. Those enemies are terrified when they recollect even in their dreams......his victories in battles."

c8.67

The Bilsaḍ pillar inscription of Kumāragupta (Ibid, p. 43) is in the Northern variety of characters with beautiful letters square and triangular in shape, thick and long serifs and prolonged top strokes. The line given (Fig. 80) shows these characteristics very clearly.

c8.68

FIG. 80.

c8.69

भगवतस्त्रैलोक्यतेजस्संभारसंतताद्भुतमूर्तेर्ब्रह्मण्यदेवस्य²

c8.70

² Lord Brahmaṇyadeva of wondrous form covered with the accumulated lustre of the three worlds.

c8.71

The nail-headed type is best illustrated in the script of the Majhgawām plates (Ibid, p. 107) of Mahārāja Hastin of 510–11 A.D. (Fig. 81). The nail-head is triangular with the apex of the triangle downwards.

c8.72

FIG. 81.

c8.73

नमो महादेवाय।। स्वस्त्येकनबत्युत्तरेब्दशते गुप्तनृपराज्यभुक्तौ श्रीम॑ति प्रवर्द्धमान महाचैत्रसम्वत्सरे माघमासबहुलपक्षतृतीयायामस्य सम्वत्सर मासदिवसपूर्व्वां यां नृपतिपरिव्राजककुलोत्पन्नेन महाराजदेवाढ्यप्रनप्त्रा महाराजश्रीप्रभंजननप्त्रा महा¹

c8.74

¹ Salutation to Mahādeva! Hail! After a hundred years increased by ninety-one during the sovereignty of the Gupta kings, in the prosperous Māhīcaitra year, in the third day of the dark fortnight of the month Māgha, on this day as specified by the year, month and day (Māhārāja Hastin) born of the royal family of Parivrājaka Māhārājas, great grandson of Mahārāja Devāḍhya, grandson of Māhārāja Śrī Prabhañjana . . . . .

c8.75

The alphabet in the inscriptions of Toramāna and Yaśodharman shows a beautiful development from the earlier northern and Gupta variety and in them is seen the origin of the beautiful Nāgarī script. The Brāhmī letters change into a type which, being intermediate between the earlier Gupta and 7th century Nāgarī, approximates more to the latter, and it is easily seen that it is the parent of the lovely writing in the Banskhera and Madhuvan plates of Harṣavarddhana. *Ka* develops a thicker and angular lower end, which later tends slowly to shoot up to the left to meet the crossed stroke in the centre. *Ca* develops a projecting beak to the left, as also *da*. *Ya* still continues its earlier shape, and the loop to the left does not join the central stroke, nor does the latter separate itself from the lower line to form the letter, as we know it, in inscriptions of the next and subsequent centuries. *Ra* definitely thickens at the lower end. In conjunct consonants, *ra* appears sometimes above the line of the top stroke and occasionally in line with the body itself, as in conjunction with *ya*, and *rya* is just a stroke with the subscript *ya* below. *La* is tending towards its future shape. The passage chosen (Fig. 82) is from the Mandasor inscription of Yaśodharman (Ibid p. 146) who overcame the great Mihirakula.

c8.77

FIG. 82. *C.S. del.*

c8.78

आलौहित्येापकण्ठात्तलवनगहनोपत्यकादामहेन्द्रादागङ्गाश्लिष्टसानोस्तुहिन

शिखरिणः पश्चिमादापयोधेः सामन्तैर्यस्य बाहूद्रविणहृतमदैः पादयो

रानमद्भिborder[चूडारत्नांशुराजिव्यतिकरशबला भूमिभागाः क्रियन्ते ॥ स्थाणोरन्यत्र

येन प्र

णतिकृपणतां प्रापितं नोत्तमाङ्गं यस्याश्लिष्टो भुजाभ्यां वहति हिमगिरिदुर्गं

शब्दाभिमानं नीचैस्तेनापि यस्य प्रणतिभुजबलावर्जनाक्लिष्टमूर्ध्ना चूडापुष्पो

पहारैर्मिहिरकुलनृपेणार्च्चितं पादयुग्मं ॥ (गा)मेवोन्मातुमूर्द्धं विगणयितुमिव¹

c8.79

¹ From the neighbourhood of the river Lauhitya to the Mahendra mountain dense with palm-groves, from the snow-peaked Himālaya mountain with its slopes embraced by Gaṅgā to the Western Ocean, feudatories, with their pride humbled by the might of his arm, render the ground variegated by the interplay of the rays of their crest-jewels as they bow at his feet. Whose pair of feet is adorned with offerings of flowers from the crest by even that king Mihirakula, with the head experiencing pain in the act of the low salute that brought down his might of arm, Mihirakula whose head had never been subjected to the humility of obeisance except to Sthāṇu (Śiva), and by the embrace of whose arms the snow mountain bears the epithet Durga, i.e., well fortified and hence inaccessible. As if to measure heaven above or to count..........

c8.80

The development of the Nāgarī script in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. is interesting It is at this stage that the letters are most decorative. The script of the Lakkhāmaṇḍal praśasti (*Epigraph. Ind.* I, p. 10) and the Bodh-Gayā inscription of Mahānāman (Fleet, *C. Inscr. Ind.* III, p. 274) present certain features which suggest affinities to the earlier script. The script in Harṣavarddhana's copper plate grants, though however of the same period, is a little different from the usual variety of the time, the flourishes being very pronounced for the superscripts. It resembles the script of the Jhālrāpāṭan inscription (*Ind. Ant.* V, p. 180), the Banaras inscription of Pantha (*Epigraph. Ind.* IX, p. 60), and the Deogarh rock inscription of Svāmibhaṭa (Ibid XVIII, p. 125). The letters are very ornamental and are the most artistic in Indian calligraphy. The beauty of the letters composing the body of the inscription is surpassed only by the sign manual of the emperor in letters so beautifully and ornamentally incised that Bühler remarks, if King Harṣa really used these characters in signing all legal documents, he must have been a most accomplished penman, and the cares of Government and the conquest of India must have left him a great deal of leisure (Ibid IV p. 209). Harṣavarddhana was an eminent poet and litterateur, an able administrator, conqueror and a devotee of his faith. King Bhoja of Dhārā is an instance of a royal polymath. Penmanship in such cases was quite a simple affair. The florid lines of these letters have real companions in the South Indian Pallava Nāgarī inscriptions of similar beauty in Mahabalipuram and in the Kailāsanātha temple at Kāñcīpuram. The letters have pronounced wedges, generally to the right top of the vertical, which slants to right. A tail is developed at the right end, which forms a short angle. This variety has been termed the acute-angled script, and the term *kuṭila* has been discarded, though really the letters are *kuṭila*, i.e., crooked, but beautifully so. The curved cross-stroke of the letters *ka* does not yet join the lower tip of the vertical to the left as in later letters. Occasionally *na* with its loop to left, attached to the top instead of to the vertical, appears like *ga* and causes confusion. The subscript *ya* is definitely curved and not like as it appears in the Mandasor inscription of Yaśodharman. The superscripts *ā*, *i*, *ī*, *e*, *ai*, *o* and *au* also run in flourishes like streamers, and are not feather-shaped, as in the Mandasor inscription and resemble those in the Jhālrāpāṭan *praśasti*. The *upadhmānīya* is a semi-circle open above and with curled ends. The superscribed wedge-shaped '*r*' never rises above the top line, obviously to leave it free for the medial signs *ā*, *ī*, etc. The passage selected (Fig. 83) is from the Banskhera plates of Harṣavarddhana (Ibid IV, p. 208). The inscription is couched in elegant Sanskrit prose.

c8.81

FIG. 83.

c8.82

ओ स्वस्ति महानौहस्त्यश्वजयस्कन्धावाराच्छ्रीवर्धमानकोटया महाराजश्रीनर-
वर्द्धनस्तस्य पुत्रस्तत्पादानुध्यात
श्शीवजि्रिणीदेव्यामुत्पन्नः परमादित्यभक्तो महाराजश्रीराज्यवर्द्धनस्तस्य
पुत्रस्तत्पादानुध्यातश्श्रीमद
प्सरोदेव्यामुत्पन्नःपरमादित्यभक्तो महाराजश्रीमदादित्यवर्द्धनस्तस्य
पुत्रस्तप्तादानुध्यातश्श्रीम
हासेनगुप्तादेव्यामुत्पन्नश्चतुस्समुद्रातिक्क्रान्तकीर्त्तिःप्रतापानुरागोपनतान्यराजो
वर्णाश्रम
व्यवस्थापनप्रवृत्तचक्क्र एकचक्क्ररथ इव प्रजानामर्त्तिहरःपरमादित्यभक्तःपरम
भट्टारक
महाराजाधिराजश्री प्रभाकरवर्द्धनस्तस्य पुत्रस्तत्पादानुध्यातरिसतयशःप्रतान
विच्छुरित
सकलभुवनमण्डलःपरिगृहीतधनदवरुणेन्द्रप्रभृतिलोकपालतेजास्सतत्प्रपाज्जिता
नेकद्रविणभूमिप्रदानसंप्रीणितार्थिहृदयोतिशयितपूर्वराजचरितो देव्याममल
यशोमत्य श्रीयशोमत्यामुत्पन्नःपरमसौगतस्सुगत इव परहितैकरतःपरमभट्टारक¹

c8.83

¹ Om! Hail! From Vardhamānakoti the victorious camp consisting of the great navy and elephant forces and cavalry—(There was) Mahārāja Sri Naravarddhana; his son that contemplated on his feet was Mahārāja Sri Rājyavardhana, born of Queen Vajriṇīdevī and a great devotee of the Sun god; his son that contemplated on his feet was Ādityavardhana, born of Queen Apsarodevī and a great devotee of the Sun god; his son that contemplated on his feet was Paramabaṭṭāraka (the great Lord) Mahārājādhirāja Sri Prabhakaravarddhana, born of Queen Mahāsenaguptadevi and a great devotee of the Sun god, whose fame crossed the four oceans, who subdued the other princes by his power and benevolence, whose wheel (of power) moved to well establish *varṇa* and *āśrama*, who removed the misery of his subjects like the rider of the chariot with a single wheel, *i.e.*, Sun god; his son that contemplated on his feet was Paramabhaṭṭāraka (Mahārājādhirāja Sri Rājyavardhana) born of the Queen Yaśomati of spotless fame and a great follower of Buddha being himself like Buddha completely given to doing good to others, who covered the entire globe with the canopy of his white fame, who assumed the lustre of Kubera, Varuṇa, Indra and other Lokapālas (lords of the quarters) who satisfied the minds of supplicants by many gifts of money and land acquired by righteous means, and who outshone in charecter all previous monarchs

c8.84

The early development of Nagari in Eastern India is best illustrated by the script of the plates of Śaśāṅka (ibid VI, p. 143). They are of the same time as those of Harṣavarddhana.

c8.85

The script though of the acute angled nail-headed type, like that of the plates of Harṣavardhana, has yet certain peculiarities that mark it out from the other. The curved cross stroke of *ka* joins the vertical from the left wherever it occurs independently and not in a conjunct consonant. The left limb of *sa* is open and not joined, as in the Banskhera plate. *Da*, *na*, *śa*, *pa*, *ma* and many other letters differ. The tail to the right end is not pronounced in this script. Superscript *ra* is above the top line and the medial strokes are simpler. Subscript *ya* is of the earlier type. The *upadhmānīya* is an oval, divided by a central stroke. The script is also illustrative of the Nāgarī of the time in the Kaliṅga country. The passage chosen (Fig. 84) is from the first plate of the inscription.

c8.86

[Figure: FIG. 84. *C.S. del.*]

c8.87

ओं स्वस्ति चतुरूदधिसलिलवीचिमेखलानिलीनायां सद्वीपा
गरपत्तनवत्या वसुन्धराया गौप्ताब्दे वर्षशतत्रये वर्त्तमाने
महाराजाधिराजश्रीशशाङ्कराज्ये शासति गगनतल
विनिस्सृत भगीरथावतारिताया हिमवद्गिरेरुपरि ¹
पतनानेकशिलासंहातविभिन्नवहिःपातालात्तज्जलौघे
सुरसरित इव विविधतरुवरकुसुमसव्वछन्नोभयतट^।

c8.88

¹ Om! Hail! On this (gem-laden) earth, resting on the girdle of waves of the water of the four oceans and having islands, mountains and towns, during the year 300 of the Gupta era, when Māhārājādhirāja Saśāṅka was ruling (from the bank of the Salimar river), with both its banks covered with a variety of flowers of excellent trees, like the celestial river (Gaṅgā) that issued from heaven being brought down by Bhagīratha, its water streams falling on the top of the mountain Himālaya being divided into many streams by dashing and breaking against many rocks....

c8.89

Further development of the Nāgarī script in the Gangetic region is to be seen in the charters of the Pratīhāra kings of the 8th and 9th centuries A.D. The letters approach the still later types and shed their affinities to the earlier Brāhmī, which can be seen clearly in the script of Yaśodharman's inscriptions and even in the Nāgarī of the 7th century A.D. *Ā* develops a full vertical stroke to right, instead of the small lower stroke to the right. The curved cross stroke of *ka* joins the vertical to the left. The left limb of *kha* slants twice and forms a shape that continues in all later types. The body of *ja* beneath the serif curves twice like ‘S’, and the top end is continued slanting down to right. A small tail is added to *da* at its lower end to right. A loop is formed to the left of *ma* which continues in all later forms of the letter. A blade-like strip is added over half way from the bottom to left to the curved vertical of *ra*. The left limb of *śa* separates and curves at the top, and the central stroke is absent. The left limb of *ṣa* is a little more open than in the earlier type. The tail to the bottom of letters is more pronounced in this script, and the serif is a horizontal stroke and not a wedge. The letters are compressed. The superscipts *ā*, *ī*, *i*, *o*, etc., are simpler. The sign for *e* specially is so simple that it is almost missed. The passage chosen (Fig. 85) is from the grant of the Pratīhāra king Mahendrapāla of Mahodaya (*Ind. Ant.* XV., p. 105).

c8.90

FIG. 85.

c8.91

ओं स्वस्तिश्रीमहोदयसमावासितानेकनौ......स्त्यश्वरथपत्तिसम्पन्नस्कन्धावारात्परम वैष्णव महाराजश्रीदेवशक्तिदेवस्तस्य पुत्रस्तत्पादानु\
तः श्रीदुयिकादेव्यामुत्पन्नः\
परममाहेश्वरो महराजश्रीवत्सराजदेवस्तस्य पुस्तस्तत्पादा, . . . सुन्दरीदेव्यामुत्पन्नःपरम्भंगवती . . क्तो महाराजश्रीनागभठदेवस्तस्य पुत्रस्तत्पादानुव्यात श्रीमदीसठादेव्यामुत्पन्न परमादित्य भक्तो महाराजश्रीरामभद्रदेवस्तस्य पुत्रस्तत्पादानुध्यातः श्रीमदप्पदेव्यामुत्प\
न्नः परम्भंगवतीभक्तो महाराजश्रीभोजदेवस्तस्य पुत्रस्तत्पादानुध्यातःश्री चन्द्रभट्टारिकादेव्यामुत्पन्नः परम्भंगवतीभक्तो महाराजश्री महेन्द्रपालदेवः ।। श्रावस्ती¹

c8.92

¹ Om! Hail! From the camp teeming with many ships elephants horses, chariots and infantry stationed there—(there was) the great devotee of Visnu, Mahārāja Śrī King Śaktdeva; his son that contemplated on his feet and born of the queen Śrī Duyikādevi was the great devotee of Mahesvara King Vatsarājadeva; his son that contemplated on his feet and born of queen Śrī Sundarīdevi was the great devotee of Bhagavati (Devi) King Nāgabhaṭa; his son that contemplated on his feet and born of the queen Śrīmad Isaṭādevi was the great devotee of the Sun god Mahārāja Śrī King Rāmabhadradeva; his son contemplated on his feet and born of the queen Śrīmad Appādevi was the great devotee of Bhagavati, Māhāraja-Śrī King Bhojadeva; his son contemplated on his feet born of the queen Sri Candrabhaṭṭārikādevi was the great devotee of Bhagavati Maharaja-Sri King Mahendrapāla—Śrāvasti....

c8.93

Still further development of this variety of Nāgarī is seen in the inscriptions of the Gāhaḍavalas of Kānyakubja. In this script the letters have become definitely more modern-looking. The horizontal stroke covers the entire top of the letter. The letter is compressed or attenuated and straight. The vowel *i* is different from the earlier one. The left limb of *kha* has a small triangular terminal loop. *Gha* is no more composed of three strokes, but the central line dwindles, giving a shape like that of the letter in other Nāgarī varieties of slightly earlier, contemporary and later dates. *Ṅa* is composed of three vertical strokes with the top horizontal, as in all later forms of the letter. The middle horizontal limb, with terminal loop and with terminal triangle, distinguishes *na* and *bha* respectively, as in all later varieties. The tail of *ha* to left is lengthened. The medial signs *ā*, *e*, *o* are usually represented by vertical stroke to right, left and on both sides respectively of the letter. Some times *o* is represented by the superscript *e* and vertical stroke to right and *au* by the side strokes and superscript. The signs for *i*, and *ī* are gracefully curved at the top end. The present selection (Fig. 86) is from the copper plate of Candrādityadeva (*Epigraph. Ind.* XIV., p. 197), dedicating a village to the shrine of Śrī Candramādhava at Candravatī and is couched in fine language describing the ephemeral nature of fortune and power and the necessity of righteous conduct.

c8.95

अस्तु वो विदितैव तावदियमनित्यता जगतः कतिपयदिवसावलोकरमणीया मधुमासकुसुमसंपादिव सम्पत्। सततगत्त्वरं गिरिकटकवाहिनीपुलिनवालुकाकूटमिव देहिनामा युरापातमधुराः कटुकपाकिनो दुर्जरास्तिलखला इव विषयभोगाः सदसदालोकनपराङ्मुखानि वेश्याविलसितानीव दुरुपचाराणीन्द्रियाणि। तदिदमस्माभिरपि सकलसास्त्राविसंवादिनीभिः प्रामाणिकीभिः स्मृतिभि : व्विमृस्यषट्पंचाशदधिकसतैकदेससंवत्सरे वैसाखसिताक्षतःतृतीयायां सनिदिने अद्याक्षततृतीयायुगादिपर्व्वणि जनितसुरसरिद्वरणाघमर्षणे श्रीमदादिकेशवघट्टे स्नात्वा विधिवन्मन्त्रदेवमुनिमनुज' भूतपितृगणांस्तर्प्पयित्वा तिमिरपटलपाटनपटुमहसमुष्णरोचिषमुपस्थाय क्षितिजलदहनपवनगगनयजमानतुहिनकिरणारुणवपुषमोषधिपतिशकलशेखरं समम्यर्च्य भगवतो वासुदेवस्य पूजां विधायप्रचुरपायसेन हविषा हविर्भुजं हुत्वा पितृपिण्डयज्ञं निर्व्वर्त्य उपरलिखितग्रामाः साजलस्थलगरिगहनगर्तोषर

c8.96

The development of the Nāgarī script in the 11th century in Western India can be seen in the script of the grants of the Paramāra kings of the time. The Banswara plates of Bhoja of Dhārā (Ibid XI, p. 181) show letters that still retain wedges but considerably flattened and well on the way to a horizontal serif line. This top line, unlike earlier letters, covers the entire top. The letters however change and assume a different shape in later Paramāra inscriprions where the script resembles somewhat the ornamental variety of Candella given in the tables. Here sometimes *ka* in *ku*, *kṛ*, etc., has a terminal loop to left for its cross stroke. The left limb of *kha* is a curved elongate triangle, as also that of *ga*. *Ja* is composed of an S-shaped left limb and an undulating vertical right limb, joined at the top by a flat, tened wedge serif. *Ṇa* is composed of three verticals, the central one short and issuing from the upturned apex of the flattened wedge serif. *Pha* has a double curved stroke added to right, which forms a loop towards the top and slants down. *Ra* has a triangular central projection added to the vertical to left. The limbs of *Śa* are separated at the top and the left one curves in to the top and has a curved triangle at its lower end. The medial, *ā*, *e*, etc., are as in the script of the Gāhaḍavālas. The passage chosen (Fig. 87) is from the charter of Bhoja whose eminence as a polymath, poet, grammarian, rhetorician, architect, yogācārya, engineer, administrator, general and patron of letters is very well known.

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