Hello Martin,

One quirk I noticed in the manuscripts of the Śaunakīya Caturādhyāyikā is that some of them would make inconsistent use of the Pr̥ṣṭhamātrās, some of them would use them consistently, while some never used them. I could not figure out why some scribes would use them inconsistently.

Madhav Deshpande

On Sun, Oct 22, 2017 at 8:15 PM, Martin Gansten via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

Apologies for what is perhaps a very basic question:

I have always unreflectingly accepted the common distinction between northern ('Calcutta-style') and southern ('Bombay-style') Devanagari. Recently, though, I noticed that some manuscripts mix the two -- for instance, using a 'northern' ṇa but a 'southern' a, or even alternating between the two kinds of ṇa (in the same copyist's hand). Is there any special significance to this -- for example, particular regions and/or historical periods in which the two styles were less distinct? Or should it just be seen as a personal quirk of the scribe (perhaps an itinerant one)?

Thanks in advance for any light on this,
Martin Gansten

_______________________________________________
INDOLOGY mailing list
INDOLOGY@list.indology.info
indology-owner@list.indology.info (messages to the list's managing committee)
http://listinfo.indology.info (where you can change your list options or unsubscribe)