The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of the Bombay Presidency from the Earliest Historical Times to the Musalman Conquest c8.s11.124

c8.s11.124

⁹ During this period of the alphabet, and for a long time afterwards, it is often impossible, in Kanarese names of persons and places, to distinguish between the dental d and the lingual ḍ, and to decide whether the vowels e and o, and sometimes i, are long or short, unless some idea can be formed as to the etymology or identification of them. In such cases, it is my practice, with names that remain doubtful, to use the dental d and the short vowels, because the distinguishing marks can be subsequently added so easily, if required.—This should be taken as a general note, which will avoid constant annotation and repetition. It applies also to a few ordinary words, not names, which cannot be found in dictionaries, or cannot be connected with words that are to be found in them.—The same difficulty occurs in another detail also. There is never any confusion between the simple t and ḍ (whether represented by its own sign, or by ḍ). But, when they occur in composition with the ṇ, it is often impossible to decide whether the compound means nt or nḍ; except, of course, in well-known words, such as the Sanskrit maṇḍala, and the Kanarese gâmuṇḍa.