Page:The Origin of the Bengali Script.djvu/69

Rh (2) In the case of ā we find the differentium in a second curve, also shaped like a comma, which is attached to the lower extremity of the right limb. Cf. the form in āsīd (in L. 1).

(3) In the case of the short i, we find the lower circle or dot of Gupta alphabet of the Western variety, which in Maukharī inscriptions becomes a short vertical curved line, developed at this period into a long curve, which, in two different cases, is shown to be of different lengths.

(4) In the case of u, we find the horizontal line at the lower extremity transformed into a curve and elongated. This form continues without alteration till the end of the 10th century A.D., when the first change in its form is found in the Bhagalpur grant of Nārāyaṇapāla.

(5) The rare o, becomes an elongated comma laid flat on its back. In the absence of the earlier forms of this letter of the 4th and 5th centuries A.D. comments are impossible. The only known forms are those found in the inscriptions of the Mahārājas of Uchakalpa and those of Yaśodharman, which belong to the Southern variety of the Gupta alphabet.

II. Consonants.

(1) For the first time in Eastern India, the first consonant, ka always has a loop on its left. The looped form, it should be noticed here, has also been found in the Gañjām plates of the time of Śaśāṅkarāja along with the bipartite form of ya. It continued in this form until the loop becomes a semi-circle, in the 11th century A.D.

(2) In kha, the triangle at the base of the letter, which is observable for the last time, in the cave-inscriptions of the Maukharīs, becomes transformed into a straight line and a curve. The sides of the triangle become a