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No. 24 ] BAMHANI PLATES OF PANDAVA KING BHARATABALA ; YEAR
2 133 script of the latter record bears a striking resemblance to that of the present one. This is obviously to be accounted for by the comparative proximity between the two : they belong more or less to one and the same period and their fin.spots are not far removed from each other.! Prabhavatigupta's charter is earlier than these two by about a century. Its character, though otherwise similar, appears on what slanting as compared with that of the other two inscriptions, which is upright.
It must, lowever, be observed that the character of the present inscription, in spite of the similarities noticed, differs greatly from that of the other two in one respect. To wit, it pertains, as luas been stuted above, to the Southern class of alphabets, whilo the script represented by the Majhga war plates belongs to the Northern class and that used in the Poona plates is found to be a mixture of both. In fact, in analysis of the script of the last-mentioned record luas shown that it is rather clifficult to ascertain whether the northern or the southern characters prelominute' there. A comparative study, on the other hand, has revealed the character of the presenti record to be pro-eminently southern, as will presently bo demonstrated.
As already remarked, the top of each letter in the script under discussion generally consists of a triangle or a nail-head. There are, however, certain exceptions to this rule. Among the initial vowels, of which the present inscription affords instances of a (1. 37), à (11. 1, 38, 45), i (11.3, 16, 17, 33), u (1. 3t), é (11. 25, 29) and au (1. 16), three, namely, i, c, and au, are not provided with a nail-head. Of the consonants, the following five are likewise without a nail-head: kh, ], ", 6 and l. Possibly ni und ñ are also like that. The former may be seen used as the first member of a conjunct letter, ikri (1. 4), and the latter as the second in another, jña (1.5). In the case of 9, !, th, ah, v and s the triangle at the top has, as necessitated by the upper curve of the letters, become almost an oblong, whereas with m it is definitely it square or a box-head, a general characteristic of another variety of aiphubuts, mainly found in the Vakūtaka inscriptions, which has on that account received the designation box-headed'.
The moxt conspicuous of the test letters, stamping the character of the present inscription us pre-eminently southern, are the initial a, ā, ē and au as well as k, m, r and l. It may be pointed out that the Pooni plates, in common with the present charter, have the southern a, k and r. Examples of initial au are extremely rare, but a comparison between its northern and southern forms has been rendered possible by the fact that they are found respoctively in the Majhya waria plates (1. 8) and in the present record (1. 16). The form found in the latter appears to be essentially the same as is met with in the Mangaļūr grant of the Pallava Sinhavarman. A slight notch in the top stroke of the letter j, and the manner of expressing medial i by a circle and i by a circle with a dot in its centre, as noticed in the present inscription, are further southern peculiarities.
1 The Nāgaudh and Rowa States, wherein the two places, namely Majhguwar and Bamhan, are respoctively includod, are adjoining cach other.
. Abore, Vol. XV, p. 40.
It may be pointed out that initial T, which is formed by a vertical stroko with a dot on either side about its middle, does have a nail-head, as may be seen in one of the brief records at the cuve of Durgakho. Seo 4. 8.1. Reports, Vol. XI, p. 127, Pl. XXXVIII, inscr. A ; Vol. XXI, p. 129, Pl. XXXII, inscr. No. 2. The sigu in question is read as i by Cunningham, whereas in reality it represents , as is evidenced by several other inscrip. tions, both carly and late, northern as well as southern, where essentially the same form of the letter is met with. Compare, for instance, C. I. I., Vol. III, L'I. IIIB, text I. 61; Pl. XXX-A, text 1. 6; above, Vol. VIII, PI. facing 1.387, toxt 1. 28; Antiquities of (hamba Slate, Part 1, Pl. XV, text I. ; above, Vol. VI. PL. facing p. 317, toxt I. 18: Vol. V, PL. facing p. 8, text I. 9; Pl. facing p. 51, toxt L 31 ; oto. The same occurs also in the Bower manuscript which is assignablo to about the fifth century. See Bübler's Indische Palaeographie. Table VI, I. 4.
Ind. Ant., Vol. V, PL. facing p. 155, text L. 24.
