Page:The Origin of the Bengali Script.djvu/70

44 semi-circle, while the other side becomes elongated and touches both extremities of the arc. This arc and its base line becomes the right limb, of this letter in the 7th century A.D. The left limb is formed by an increase in the length of the upper hook or curve, which was an open square in Maukharī inscriptions. There is a wedge, instead of a dot or a short straight line at the lower extremity of the left limb.

(3) In the case of ga, we find the open square form of the western variety, with its long right limb, again transformed into a curve, with a wedge at the lower extremity of its left limb.

(4) In gha, the curvature of the base line, was already observable in the Eastern variety of the early Gupta alphabet. In the sixth century, we see that in the inscription of Yaśodharman, the base line has become a curve on the left side and a slanting line to the right, forming an acute angle with the right vertical. In the Aphsaḍ inscription, we find that, this letter has become something like the tripartite ya of the Kuṣāṇa and Gupta periods, the only differentia being the wedges on the top of its three limbs and the presence of an acute angle instead of a right angle, at its right lower extremity.

(5) In ṅa we find, the lower right angle is becoming, in some cases, an acute angle and the vertical straight line is transformed into a curve.

(6) In ca, the two curves, of the Gupta period, are transformed into a triangle, with a wedge on its apex and a slight elongation of the base line or lower lino towards the left.

(7) There is little or no change in the case of cha and the ligature cha shows that, the older form of ca is still being used in certain cases.