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OCTOBER, 1895.)
ORIGIN OF THE KHAROSHTHI ALPHABET.
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The accompanying Comparative Table7 illustrates the details of the derivation, as I anderstand it. Cols. I. and II, have been reproduced by photozincography from Prof. Eatings' Tabuio Scripturae Aramaicæ, Argentorati, 1892, and give the tweuty Aramaic signs, whiclı, as I believe, have been utilised by the Hindus, Theth and din being rejected by them. In Col. I. the fat signs belong to the Teima inscription (Euting, Col. 9) with the exception of No. 1, I. b and No. 9, I. b-c, which come from the Stele Vaticana (Euting, Col. 12). The thin signs which have been taken from the Saqqiral: inscription (Euting, Col. 11) with the exception of No. 4, I, a ; No. 9, I. a; No. 10, I, b, and No. 20, 1. a, which are from the Assyrian Weights and the Babylonian Seals and Gems (Euting, Cols. 6, 8), as well as of No. 17, I. a-h, which are from the Serapeum inscription (Euting, Col. 12) and of No. 10, I. &, which Prof. Euting has kindly added on once more looking over the Babylonian Aramaic inscriptions.
The signs of Col. II. have all been taken from Prof. Euting's Cols. 14-17, and represent the chief types on the Aramaic Papyri, which M. J. Halévy 10 and others believe to be the prototypes of the Kharôshthi. They have been given in my Table chiefly in order to shew that they are not suited for the derivation. Column III. gives the oldest forms of the borrowed Kharoshthi letters according to Table I. of my Grundriss der Indischen Paläographie, and Col. IV. with the signs, which I consider to be derivatives invented by the Hindus, comes from the same source.
Before I proceed to give my remarks on the details of the derivation, I will re-state the general principles which have to be kept in mind for this and all other similar researches.
(1) The oldest actually occurring signs of the alphabet to be derived in this case the Kbarðshthî) have to be compared with the supposed prototypes in this case actually occurring Aramaic signs) of the same period (in this case of ciro. 500-400 B. C.).
(2) Only such irregular equations of signs are admissible as can be supported by analogies from other cases, where nations are known to have borrowed foreign alphabets. Thus it is not permissible to identify the Kharôsuthí sign for ja with the Aramaic ga on account of a rather remote resemblance between what the modern researches have shewn to be a secondary form of the Kharðshthi palatal piedia and the guttural media of the Arameans.
(3) The comparison must shew that there are fixed principles of derivation.
The latter are given chiefly by the unmistakable tendencies underlying the formation of the Kharoshthi signs :
(1) A very decided predilection for forms, consisting of long vertical or slanting lines with appendages added do the upper portion;
(2) An antipathy against such with appendages at the foot of the verticals, which in no case allows a letter to consist of a vertical with an appendage at the foot alone;
(3) An aversion against heads of letters, consisting of more than two lines rising upwards though otherwise a great latitude is allowed, as the ends of verticals, horizontal strokes and curves may appear at the top.
These lendencies required two Aramaic letters, Lamed (No. 11, I. and III.) and Shin (No. 19, I. and III.) to be turned topsy-turvy, and caused in the Shin the development of
Arranged by Dr. W. Cartellieri and etched by Megars, Angerer and Göschl of Vienna.
According to Dr. Taylor these two characters are also reflected in the Kharüehths. But the sign opposite Theth in his Table, The Alphabet, Vol. II. p. 286, is a late vra, and Ain, cannot be 0,49 he doubtingly suggests. M. Halévy identifies Theth with the letter, which used to be read thu, but is in reality tha and a derivative from ta, see below.
In this as well as in other respects I have to acknowledge Prof. Euting's kind assistance, who sacrificed # good deal of time in order to verify the Semitio signs, wbich I had selected for comparison, in the Plates of the Corp. Inscr. Sem, and carefully went with me through my Table during a personal interview in Strassburg.
1. Journ. Asiatique, 1885, p. 251ff.
