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Vol-1, XXIX
THE INDIAN SCRIPTS
fundamental difference in the main body of the letters. Brāhmī maintained its unity through out the subcontinent. This unity was the result not of any political integration as in the time of Asoka, but of those socio-religious forces which were let loose after the invasion of the Kusānas and which gathered round different nuclei in different regions by the end of this period to develop into local cultures. From the view point of palaeography this led to regional scripts, the beginnning of which is traceable from the fifth cent. A.D. onwards.
The changes traceable during the period of the Kārdamaka Kșatrapas are : 1. For the first time in the region of Gujarat-Saurashtra special attention is paid
to the head-marks. The Junagadh inscription of Rudradāman shows the line head-mark, while a few others have a solid triangular head-mark.
2. Some new shapes of letters are introduced. Among them, may be mentioned the
form of kha which gives greater prominence to its triangular base. Ya with its left arm curled is seen only here. The tailed ma, hooked ha and hooked type of the subscript ya is employed optionally in this region. The form of ta with its rounded appendage and the round backed da with its mouth open to the right.
3. The third remarkable change is seen in the ornamental forms of the letters.
The curves and notches in the verticals and horizontals and the flourishes in
the medial vowels are noteworthy. The proto regional scripts :
The writing styles tended to become localized and affiliated to the various cultural regions in the subcontinent. The regional styles might have differentiated still further but there were two important factors which were instrumental in establishing a link between them and also in governing a uniform pattern in their development : 1. The use of a common language Sanskrit which helped the easy movement of literates and scribes from one region to another and the quick of writing. 2. The growth of larger kingdoms which by their very nature had to adopt a uniform style of writing within their jurisdiction. With the growth of regional states, the regional scripts also emerged fully. They grew out of the differences noticed in the period ending roughly in the eighth cent. A.D.
The main divisions of the proto regional scripts : 1. Scripts of North India : These scripts show a uniform of development both
