Page:The Origin of the Bengali Script.djvu/141

Rh 21. Pa:—

(a) We find a transitional form in the Māndā inscription in which the acute angle has reappeared and in which the curve in the left limb has a short inward curve. ''Cf. Śrīmad-Gopāla'' (L. 3).

(b) This inward curve in the outwardly curving left limb is still more pronounced in the Kamauli grant.

(c) The same form is used in the Torpondighi grant.

(d) The Dacca image inscription shows the use of the modern Bengali form for the first time in 1122 A.D. (i.e., year 3 of the Lakṣmaṇasaṁvatsara). ''Cf. Pratiṣṭhitetiḥ'' (L. 2).

(e) The modern form is used in all cases in the Bodh-Gayā image inscription of Aśokacalla.

(f) The Gadādhara temple inscription of Gayā shows the use of the older form. The influence of the western variety may also be looked for in this case.

(g) The Cambridge Manuscripts show the use of the transitional form of the Torpondighi grant.

22. Pha:—

(a) The Kamauli grant shows a peculiar form which has nothing in common with the modern Bengali one, which latter is angular and was fully developed in the 11th century A. D.

(b) The transitional cursive form is used in the Torpondighi grant. ''Cf. phaṇi'' (Lt. J).

(c) The form used in the Bodh-Gayā inscription of Aśokacalla is very slovenly incised, but it is the modern Bengali form. ''Cf. phala'' (L. 5).