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INDIAN BRANCH
351
on the other hand, new compounds were invented, such as tch, js, ts, ys. The Khotanese character seems to have comprised the following vowel-sounds: long and short a, i and u; ā, e, perhaps rh (ri), o, ai, ei, au, and some apparent diphthongs beginning with u.
On the whole, the ductus of the Central Asian Cursive Gupta is similar to that of the Kharoshthi script (see the preceding Chapter), and it is therefore not impossible that the latter may have had some influence on its development. According to Dr. Hærnle, the Khotanese script
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Fig. 159-Specimens of the Central Asian Cursive Gupta was strongly influenced by a Semitic alphabet, "Modern archæological discoveries have shown abundantly that Semitic influences were at work very early in Eastern Turkestan." Some of the MSS. extant contain the cursive Gupta alphabet, syllabary and numerals, and one manuscript contains 1,108 lines of writing. BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. F. R. Hærnle, Three Further Collections of Ancient Manuscripts from Central Asia, "JOURN. OF THE Roy. ASIAT. SOCIETY, BENGAL BRANCH, 1897.
M. A. Stein, Ancient Khotan, Vol. II, London, 1907: Serindia, Vol. IV, London, 1921; Innermost Asia, London, 1928.
E. Leumann, Zur nordarischen Sprache und Literatur, Strassburg, 1912: Das nordarische (sakische) Lehrgedicht des Buddhismus (edited by M. Leumann). Leipsic, 1933-36.
F. W. Thomas and S. Konow, Troo Medieval Documents from Tun Huang, Oslo, 1929.
