Page:The Origin of the Bengali Script.djvu/75

Rh (20) A still more cursive form is apparent in pa and the acute angle has become more pronounced. The right limb shows further downward elongation.

(21) In the Aphsaḍ column of Dr. Bühler's plates, pha has been omitted but it occurs among the ligatures e.g. Col. XIX, 45. It occurs many times and we have it thrice in the 25th line of the Aphsaḍ inscription:—Sphaṭika, sphara and sphurat.

(22) From this time onward we shall have to discard ba, from the alphabet, as in Northern inscriptions, va took the place of ba and its occurrence is occasional.

(23) In the Western variety of the early Gupta alphabet, the left hook of bha has changed into a solid wedge, and this wedge has developed into a hollow one, at the same time, separating the right limb of the letter from the upper part. So for all practical purposes, the distinction between ha and bha had ceased. (24) In ma the acute angle, observable in the western variety alphabet of the early Gupta period, develops still more strongly and causes a downward elongation of the right limb.

(25) We find two varieties of ya in the Aphsaḍ inscription. In the first place, we have the bipartite form, with a clear acute angle at its lower extremity and in the second place, a later form, in which the acute angle is less prominent, but the downward elongated of the right limb has already assumed a settled from.

(26) In ra, we find for the first time, a pointed wedge or arrow-head, at the lower extremity, which is found earlier in inscriptions of the western variety e.g. the Lakkhamandala Praśasti and the Bodh-Gayā inscription