Palaeographical Remarks On Horiuzi Palmleaf MSS

SR No.: 269209
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: G Buhler
Publisher: G Buhler
Total Pages: 20
Language: English
Classification: Article
File Size: 3 MB

Page 12

APPENDIX
REMARKS ON THE HORIUZI PALM-LEAF MSS.
81
compound one (i, 54). The former agrees fully with Ne. MS. 1049 and Ne. I. No. 13 (LI. 14, 18, etc.), while the second comes close to the inde pendent na of Sa. and Sa., and to one variety of the subscribed na in Ne. I. 15 (vi, 23). It seems to me that the subscribed na of H. P. and its allies is merely a contracted or compressed form of the independent na. As regards the origin of the latter and of the cognate letters of Gu. Ind. (iv, 1. 31) in Gka., in Ne. I. No. 15, with which Ne. I. 2 and 412 agree, and of Gu. Ku. (iv. a, 31), found also in Ne. I. 1 and 3, it is necessary to begin with the corresponding Maurya letter. For the usual na of the Asoka inscriptions I, the Girnar rock gives in one place (ed. ix, 1.8, imina) 1, with the substitution of two small curves for the top bar. From the latter arises the looped form , so common in the Western inscriptions (Burgess, Ind. Alph, 18, 19, 22-27, 28, 32), which in its turn produces that of Gu. Ku. and of Ne. I. Nos. 1, 3, by the separation of the right-hand curve from the top and its being attached to the right end of the horizontal bar below. The forms of Gu. Ind. and of the majority of the Ne. I. show the same change in the position of the lefthand hook, and besides, omit the loop on the left. The letter, found in Gha., H. P., Ne. I. No. 13, and Ne. MSS., finally is a modification of the last-mentioned form, characterised by the conversion of the right-hand curve into an angular figure with the wedge, and in the last three cases by the addition of a small stroke protruding below beyond the body of the letter.
ta, which fully agrees with Ne. MS. 1049, is characterised by the conversion of the right-hand curved stroke, found in Gu. and in most of the older as well as later alphabets, into a vertical stroke and the shortness of the stout left limb, which is attached very high. An examination of the Ne. I. shows that the form of H. P. occurs occasionally in all of them, even in No. 1 (e.g. karita , iii, 1. 18, and gaditaik, iii, 1. 20). In Ne. I. No. 3 it is used in the majority of cases, while it occurs less frequently in the later ones. The form of U. B. resembles exactly a modern Devanågar ta turned round.
tha, with its notched left side, the vertical stroke on the right, protruding beyond the body of the letter, and the flat top, has a very modern appearance. Nearest to it comes Sa., with which Ne. I. Nos. 4, 6-7, 10 closely agree, the only difference being the want of the tail. Gu. and Ne. I. No. I show an ellipse with a bar across the middle, a modifi
cation of the ancient circle with the dot in the centre! Ne. I. Nos. 2-3 have the same sign as Gu., but with a flat top. Ne. I. Nos. 11, 13-15, Ne. MSS., and Gha. show further modifications, in which a vertical is substituted for the right side of the ellipse. The form of Sa. is based on the same principle.
da offers nothing peculiar except the little stroke at the right end of the curve, which appears in all the alphabets of our table except in Gu. In the Ne. I. it appears first in No. 4.
dha differs from the Gu. and older forms merely by the narrowing towards the lower end and by the prolongation of the vertical stroke. The Gu. form occurs in Ne. I. Nos. 1, 5, 6; one precisely similar, but with a notch in the left side, in Nos. 7, 9, 10, 11, and once in No. 12; the Gha. form in Nos. 12, 14, 15; and the exact H. P. form in No. 13.
na differs from the Gu, and older forms by the filling in of the interior of the loop and by the straightening of the right-hand down-stroke. In many cases (e.g. 1, 50) the na of H. P. resembles the modern Devanagari with the left-hand limb placed rather high. The majority of the alphabets of table vi show the old looped form, but Gha., Ne. I. Nos. 14-15 (see vi, 50), and Ne. MS. 1049 agree exactly with the two varieties in H. P. The form of the Indokhera plate (iv. b, 36) proves that the loop was not exclusively used in the fourth century.
pa is characterised by the curve on the left and the length of the vertical stroke on the right which protrudes beyond the body of the letter. In Gu. and the more ancient alphabets, with the sole exception of the Maurya, the letter is angular and usually square, with an open top. Sometimes, however, the stroke between the two verticals slopes downwards towards the right and thus forms at its junction with the down-stroke an acute angle. A further modification, visible in Gka., consists in the introduction of a curve on the left, while the acute angle on the right remains. This proceeding necessitates a break, marked by a little notch, in the bottom line. Among the Ne. I. we find the form of Gu. in Nos. 1-2, 4, 5, 8, 12; that of Gka, with the notch in Nos. 3.4 (once), 6, 7, 9, 11; and the H. P. form once in No. 12, constant in No. 13, and nearly constant in Nos. 14-15. Ne. MS. 1049, Sa., Sa., and U. B. (viii, 70) agree more or less exactly with H. P.
This form survives later in the group stha, where the tha is, however, turned sideways, and has given rise to the curious Devanagari stha, which looks like 5+ ka.
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