An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c25.s4.29

v1.c25.s4.29

But if only idea was needed for the creation of the Brāhmī script there is no need for a cumbersome exercise to derive the forms of only 11 out of 46 letters from n. Semitic and early Phoenician scripts. The Indian *varṇa-mālā* was in existence well before Pāṇini, and even before Yāska. To create a script on the basis of the *varṇa-mālā* with the help of simple geometrical signs—angle, triangle, hook, dash and dot—was not a difficult task. For this the 'idea' or 'inscription', if any is needed, cannot be fixed with certainty.