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50
INDIAN ANTIQUARY, VOL. XXXIII, 1904; APPENDIX.
$ 23.
The characters of Ambuvarman's inscription of A. D. 635 (plate IV, col. XVII) and of the nearly contemporaneous Aphead Prasasti of Adityasena (plate IV, cols. XVIII, XIX) show the further progress of the acute-angled alphabet during the 7th century. It must, however, be noted that Amsavarman's inscriptions and other Nepalese documents of the same time have the round sa and thus are allied with the eastern Gupta character, while the Aphsad Prasasti and its allies from India proper are connected with the western variety of the old northern alphabet. FLEET calls this second variety, on account of the more marked twist of the lower ends of the strokes, "the Kațila variety of the Magadba alphabet of the 7th century." I feel disinclined to adopt the term "Kutila," which was first used by PRINSEP, I and since has been employed by many other writers, because it is based on an erroneous rendering of the expression. kutila aksara in the Deval Prasasti.. I would remove it from the paleographic terminology. KIELHORN likewise avoids it in his paleographic remarks on various inscriptions of this period.
During the 8th-10th centuries, the development of the acnte-angled or Siddhamātrka alphabet progresses more and more in the direction of its successor, the Nägari alphabet, which latter in its old North-Indian form is distinguished merely by the substitution of straight top-strokes for the wedges on the verticals. Documents with a mixture of wedges and straight top-strokes are also found ; and occasionally it becomes difficult to decide how a particular inscription is to be classed.
To this third and last variety of the acute-angled alphabet belong the characters of the Multāi copper plates (plate IV, col. XX) of A. D. 708-709,7 of the Digh vā-Dubauli plate, probably of A. D. 761 (plate IV, col. XXI), of the Gwalior inscription of A. D. 876 (plate V, col. II), and of the Gbosrāva inscription of the 9th cr 10th centary (plate V, col. VI), as well as, among the MSS., those of the Cambridge MS. No. 1049 (plate VI, col. VII), dated in the year 252,10 probably of Am, suvarman's era of A. D. 594,11 or in A. D. 846. An intermediate position between the acute-angled and the Nagari alphabets, is occupied by the letters of the Pehoa Praśasti of about A. D. 900 (plate V, col. III), of the Deval Prasasti of A. D. 992 or 993 (plate V, col. VIII) and of the copper-plates of the Paramāra king Väkpati II. of A. D. 974 (plate V, col. X).12 They, no doubt, show the wedges; but these are so broad that they produce the same effect as the long straight top-strokes, and that, e. g., the open tops of A, A, gha, pa, &c., are closed, just as in the Nāgari inscriptions. Specimens of the mixture of wedges and straight top-strokes, mentioned above, are found in the Radhanpur and Vaņi-Dindori copper-plates of the Rāştrakūta king [61] Govinda III. of A. D. 807-808 (plate V, co!. IV), and the Harga inscription of the Cāhamāna Vigraha II. of A, D, 973 (plate V, col. IX).14
1 Compare also the facsimiles in IA. 9, 16311., Nos. 4-10, 12; BENDALL, Journey in Nepal. 72. Nos. 1. 8: and HOERNLR'B remarks in J.ASB. 60, 85. * Gupta Inscriptions (CII. 3), 201, 284; EL. 3, 328, note 1.
J.ASB. 6, 778, pl. 41. * EI. 1, 76. In confirmation of my explanation of the phrase kutilānyakşarāni viduşā. "by him who knows orooked letters," $. e., lettera difficult to read, I would point to Vikramãikaourts, 18, 42, where we have the statement that queen Suryamati did not allow herself to be cheated kayanthai kutila-lpibhil," by writers using crooked alphabets."
. Compare his remarks on inscriptions of this olass, JA. 17, 908 ; 19, 55; 20, 123 ; 21, 150; EI, 1, 179; 2, 117, 160.
• Compare for this and the preceding varieties, the facsimiles at IA. 2, 2:8; 8, 180; 9, 174 ff., Nos. 31. 13. 14. 16, 10, 81; 17, 310 ; 19, 58; BXNDALL,Journey in Nepa', pl. 10, 11, 13; EL. 1, 179; 4, 29; C.ASR. 17, pl. 9; and the autotypes of coins in C.CMI. pl. 3, Nos, 7-14; pl. 6, No 21; and pl. 7.
According to FET, IA. 18, 231, "transitional type from which the North Indian Nagari alphabet was soon after developed." • According to FLEET, IA. 15, 106,"North-Indian Kāgari."
• Compare IA. 17, 808. 10 BENDALL, Cat. Cambr. Buddh. MSS. fro:n Nepal, XLI. f. ; Anec. Oxon., Ary. Serien, 3, 71 . 11 S. LEVI, JA. 1894, 11, 65 ff.
1 EL 1,70; IA, 6, 48. 11 IA. 6, 59; 11, 188; compare also facsimiles in El. 3, 103, and IA. 14, 200. 14 Compare also frosimile, LA, 16, 174.
