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Остовев, 1906.1 THE ORIGIN OF THE DEVANAGARI ALPHABET.
philosophy, or to the brain which is called sudhásindhu, the ocean of nectar, or to a vessel of nectar, which Siva is believed to hold in his hands. Similarly, the letter ha seems to represent the trunk of the body of Siva. For the Vátulagama, another Tantric manuscript, says (p. 57) thus:
नेकनीयान्यन्त्रमूर्ति पर
fffgdgren
हकारं देहमित्युक्तं द्वयो तुङ्गी भुजौ तथा । वह्निपादद्वयं विद्यात् मन्त्रमूर्तिरुदाहृता ||
279
One has to know that the transcendental god Siva alone is identical with the form of the mantra (hrim), which is attributed to him. Nâda, the nasal sound of the mantra (i. e., the symbol of Nâdânta), is his crown. The letter h is the trunk of h.s body. (The symbols of) fire forms both the two great arms and the two legs. Thus the letters of the mantra form the picture of god Siva.' (See Plate IX.)
In order to conform with the four letters of the mantra (him), the Vútulágama employs only four distinct symbols to represent not only the four letters themselves, but also a simple outline of the form of god Siva: but the Varivasyarahasya huddles together some twelve symbols as constituting both the mantra (hrim) and the form of the goddess Sakti:
लेखायास्स्वरूपं तु व्योमाग्निर्वामलोचनम् .बिन्द्वर्धचन्द्ररोधिन्यो नादनादान्तशक्तयः । व्यापिकासमनोम्मन्य इति द्वादश संहतिः । ferdi arai g anfezafę seaà 11—
P. 10, Varivasyarahasya.
The sky, fire, the left eye, a dot, the half moon, a triangle, (the symbols of) Nâda, Nâdânta, Sakti, Vyapika, Samanâ and Unmani, these twelve constitute the form of Hrillekha, the drawing of the heart. The nine symbols from Bindu to Unmanî are collectively called by the name Nâda.' (See Plate V.)
The symbols or letters referred to in the above verse are clearly h (the sky), r (fire), and i (the left eye), inasmuch as they are the actual letters of the mantra (hrim). While, according to both the Vatuldgama and the Varivasydrahasya, the mantra takes the form of him, it is, according to the Siddhanta-sardvali, pronounced as hlam. Regarding the forms of the letters of the mantra, we are told in the commentary of the Vatuldgama to confine our attention to the Devanagari Alphabet :
Fager.fe mudaftfreaky gvai, vasafemfaffardag grad. —
P. 57, Vatulagama.
The formation of the picture of god Siva by the letters of the mantra attributed to him can ouly be done in the characters of the Devanagari Alphabet. In no other alphabets is it possible to form the same.'
Had the commentator, however, been strict enough in his expressions, he would have, like Bhaskarananda, as we shall see, said that the formation of the picture could only be accomplished in the traditional forms of the Devanagari. The traditional forms of the letters are almost exactly identical with the forms of those of the Asoka Alphabet. Following the light thus thrown on the forms of the hieroglyphice enumerated in the Siddhanta. sárávali, they can be drawn as in Plates V. and VI.
