Page:The Origin of the Bengali Script.djvu/129

Rh 16. Aḥ shows the old form even in modern Bengali. It has the form of 8 in the Dacca inscription, pratiṣthitetiḥ (L.2) and in the Cambridge Manuscripts.

II. Consonants.:—

1. Ka:—

(a) In the Kamauli grant we find the older form of ka in which the acute angle at the bottom has not reappeared.

(b) The reappearance of the acute angle is to be observed in:—

(i) The Māndā inscription.

(ii) The Torpondighi grant.

(iii) The Dacca image inscription.

(iv) The Bodh-Gayā inscription of Aśokacalla.

(v) The Gadādhara temple inscription at Gayā.

But in these records the left limb or back of the letter remains cursive. The angularity of this part, which shows that the development is final is to be found in the Cambridge Manuscripts.

2 The development of Kha was almost complete in the 11th century A.D. In this century we see that in the majority of cases, with the appearance of the acute angle at the bottom the development is complete:—

(1) In the Kamauli grant.