COMBINED LETTERS USING IN THE EARLY BRAHMI INSCRIPTIONS

Abstract

The history of adaptation to script use in Sri Lanka dates back to the fifth century BC. The Sri Lankans often used the stone as a medium for writing. Most of those inscriptions are written in Brahmi and developed scripts of the Brahmi alphabet. It took a period of 10th centuries for the transformation of Brahmi letters into Sinhala letters. During this period there are also inscriptions in various languages like Sinhala, Tamil, Chinese, Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, and Pali. The earliest script recorded in the Sri Lankan inscriptions has been identified as the Early-Brahmi script. It was written in the period from the third Century BC to the middle of the first Century BC. Most of these can be seen within the cave drip ledges (Kataraya). These caves were created for monks to live in due to the religious revival that occurred with the arrival of Arahant Mahinda Thero. By carefully studying these inscriptions, it is possible to identify the different styles adopted in the writing. This research was conducted with the primary objective of uncovering information about the various scripts used in the writing of pre-Brahmi inscriptions. The research aims to uncover information about combined letters, or letters written as if one letter is superimposed on another, which has not been previously studied in depth by scholars. Secondary sources were utilized to collect data for this study. The inscriptions in Sri Lanka date from the third century BC to the fifteenth century AD. These inscriptions are dispersed throughout Sri Lanka. The majority of them are written in pre-Brahmi script. Special attention is given to each Brahmi script. Consequently, scholarly research has identified interlaced Brahmi scripts that have not been previously highlighted. This research paper will discuss these findings in detail.