Page:The Origin of the Bengali Script.djvu/80

52 3 in ja the upper horizontal bar disappearing entirely and being substituted by a wedge. The middle horizontal bar is a curve and longer in size in one case (mahībhuji L. 7) and shorter in another (ujjvalasya L. 1);

4 two forms of na:

(a) the older looped form occurring in all cases except two,

(b) the transitional form, between the Gupta shape and the Nāgarī or Bengali form, which we find in ahani (L. 9) and most probably also in khānitā (L. 6);

5 in ṇa, the base line almost disappearing in many cases, as in puṣkarṇī and Viṣṇu (L. 5) drammāṇām and sahasreṇa (L. 6), the base line finally perceptible in putreṇa (L. 2);

6 in ha, the acute angle, at the lower extremity, more sharply defined. The characters of the Khālimpur grant of Dharmmapāla appear next, and in it we find some notable changes.

I. Vowels.

1. In a, we find a broad top-stroke, for the first time, which makes, the resemblance of the letter, to the initial Bengali a complete. Cf. ajani (L. 45).

2. In ā, we find, the length of the vowel is denoted, even in the case of the initial, by a full length vertical straight line, instead of a curve, attached to the lower extremity of the right limb. In the case of the medial, this form is to be found, in all cases, in the Bodh-Gayā inscription also. For the initial form, ''cf. asīd'' in L. 5.

3. In the case of i, we see that the usual form is a wedge at the top with two circular dots below. Cf. the form in iva (L. 4) and iti (L. 7).