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Śramaņa, Vol 56, No. 1-6/January-June 2005
Creating forms of the swastika, thunderbolt (vajra), canopy (chatra), or diamond by leaving blank spaces in the writing was part of the Jaina calligraphy. The manuscripts were decorated with border ornamentation, including cartouches or scrolls.
During the paper period two types of calligraphic writing emerged. Bold or large letters (sthūla akşara) were used for holy books, and smaller letters (sükşma akşara) for non-canonical and other texts. The holy look of the Kalpasūtra-Kālakācāryakathā was always written in bold letters, perhaps for convenience of recitation during the Paryūşana festival. These two styles seem to have begun with the introduction of commentary into the main text of the manuscript. In earlier times the commentary was written separately. Thus, when the text includes the commentary the main text was always written in bold letters and the commentary in smaller letters.
Indian writing had also been characterised by scriptura continua (without word separation). Lack of space is believed to be a main reason for this. It also seems to have been done deliberately, in conformity with the ancient oral tradition in which knowledge was always transferred from teacher to disciple, thus preserving the sanctity of the scripture from misinterpretation: this is still practised in some religious institutions. The manuscript tradition in India, as elsewhere, started primarily to preserve the knowledge. Only experts in the subject used manuscripts for reading or reference and for imparting knowledge. In ancient times teachers used to recite the text then give explanation to the students. Sanskrit, the mother of all the Indian languages, must have also contributed to the use of scriptura continua as word coalescence is a feature of this language. The practice of word separation began only in the writing of the twentieth century. (In Western writing, in the first and second centuries. word separation began with a dot. In the following centuries this was abandoned and the script became continuous. However, word separation became a normal feature of Western writing from the twelfth century). 10 Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only
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