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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA remained intact, the writing is generally well preserved and may be read with confidence nearly throughout. The average size of such letters as n, p, b, m is about ⅞″.
The characters according to Dr. Fleet (Gupta Inscr. p. 57) present an earlier form of the
decidedly southern alphabet in the inscription of Skandagupta on the same rock. And this
agrees with the opinion of Prof. Bühler who, in his Ind. Palæographie, p. 42, has described
the alphabet here used as one of the precursors of the southern alphabets. Some of the more
characteristic features in which this alphabet agrees with the later southern alphabets, according
to Prof. Bühler, are the curves at the lower end of the vertical strokes of initial a and â and
of the consonants k, ñ and r, the round form of ḍ,[1] the manner in which the upper part of
the vertical line of l is turned towards the left, and the form of medial ṛi which sometimes
it is difficult to distinguish from the subscript r. Of initial vowels the inscription contains only
a, â, i, and ê, (e.g. in Aśôkasya, l. 8 â garbhât=, l. 9, idaṁ, l.1, and êkârṇava-, l. 5) ; of
the ordinary Sanskṛit consonants all exception ṅ and jh, but chh, ñ, ṭh and ph occur only
as subscript letters (e.g. in –ôchchhraya-, l. 1, râjñô, l. 3, saushṭhava-, l. 13, and sphuṭa-, l. 14).
We have besides the so-called southern ḷ, in –pâḷîkatvât=, l. 1, -ppranâḷî-, l. 2, pranâḷîbhir=,
l. 9 (but not in pranâḍyâ in the same line), and vyâḷa-, l. 10. The signs for d, ḍ and ḍh
are throughout clearly distinguished as may be seen from e.g. idaṁ, taḍâkaṁ and dṛiḍha-,
in line 1. Of final consonants only t occurs, in =âsît, l. 7. Subscript consonants, including
y, are written by the ordinary full forms of the letters, excepting perhaps the l of Pahlavêna,
l. 19, which has a somewhat cursive form. The superscript r stands well above the top-line
of the consonants, and in syllables like rbhâ, rtti, rshê, etc., is the bearer of those vowel-signs which are ordinarily attached to the top of a letter. Medial â, ê, ai and ô are mostly
denoted by quite horizontal lines which are generally attached to the top of the consonant
sign ; (see e.g. taḍâkaṁ, l. 1, parjjanyêna, l. 5, uyaṁjanair=, l. 15, and ghôra-, l. 7 ; but compare
also e.g. ṭâ in taṭâṭṭâlak-, l. 6, dhâ in dhâraṇâ-, l. 13, dê in śaraṇadêna, l. 10, mô in
-âyâmôchchhraya-, l. 1, and other instances in which the vowel-signs are not attached to the
top). As regards â, the chief exceptions to this are formed by jâ─ compare e.g. [va]jâtên=,
l. 2[2]─, and by mâ where (except in ºm=Ânartta-, l. 18) â is denoted by a hook-shaped line
at the right top of m (as in mâlya-, l. 15). For i, î and ṛi compare e.g. niḥsandhi- and
-pâḷîkatvât=, l. 1, sṛishṭa-vṛishṭinâ, l. 5, and -âvishkṛita-, l. 11. Except in ru, medial u is
denoted by a subscript curved line which is turned to the right when the consonant sign
(as in g, t, ś) is open at the bottom or (as in k and d) ends in a single down-stroke, while
otherwise it is turned to the left ; compare e.g. gu in gulma-,l. 7, tu in sêtuº,l. 3, ku in
Kukur-, l. 11, with su in Sudarśanaṁ, l. 1, pu in putrasya, l. 4, mu[3] in =abhimukhº,l. 10,
etc. For the corresponding forms of û compare bhû in bhûtâyâm=, l. 5, dû in ºdûrayâ, l. 12,
with sthû in sthûlaºand ḍû in vaiḍûrya-, l. 14, etc. For ru and rû see e.g. taru- and -ânurûpa-,
l. 6. As in the case of u and û, there are three forms of medial au, one of which appears in
the pau[4] of pautra, l. 4 and paura-, ll. 16 and 18, another in the yau of Yaudhêyânâṁ, l. 12,
and sau of saushṭhava-, l. 13, and the third in the nau of dhanaughêna, l. 16, and the mau of
Mauryasya, twice in line 8. The signs of the jihvâmûlîya and upadhmânîya do not occur ;
but the characters, in line 4, include numerical symbols for 70 and 2. A sign of punctuation,
consisting in a single slanting line, is employed only at the end of the inscription.
[1] In Table III. Col. vi. of Prof. Bühler’ work, where the alphabet of our inscription is given, the sign of ḍa
(No. 18) is imperfectly drawn ; it resembles the da rather than the ḍa of the inscription. The sings No. 16 (which
also is mutilated) and No. 25 in the same column, which unaccountably are transcribed by ṭa and nû, are really ṭâ
and nau, and Prof. Bühler’s remarks on them, on p. 42 of his text, are therefore incorrect.
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