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kharosthi abc (123 history)
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by
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dustin
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DUSTIN                            2023-09-12 11:07
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SO FAR IN THIS SERIES, Κ HAS SEEN THAT THE MODERN SHAPES OF THE HINDU-ARABIC DIGITS 1-9 CAN BE TRACED BACK TO OLD INDIA (BRAHMI SCRIPT). FROM THERE, THE NUMERALS WERE HANDED OVER TO ARABIA AND LATER EUROPE.  
  
IT'S NOT AT ALL EASY TO TRACE THE DIGITS FURTHER BACK IN TIME. THERE ARE MANY THEORIES WHERE THE BRAHMI SCRIPT HAD THE SHAPES FROM, AND Κ HAS ESPECIALLY LEARNED ABOUT TWO OF THE MOST COMMON THEORIES:  
  
(1) EACH DIGIT WAS ONCE A COLLECTION OF AS MANY STROKES, FROM WHICH THE SHAPES HAVE BEEN BUILT.  
FOR THE DIGITS 1, 2 AND 3, THIS THEORY COUNTS AS CONFIRMED AND PROVEN. IN THE BRAHMI SCRIPT, EACH OF THESE NUMBERS WAS WRITTEN WITH AS MANY HORIZONAL, PARALLEL STROKES, AND Κ HAS SEEN IN A COMPREHENSIBLE WAY HOW THE MODERN SHAPES DEVELOPPED FROM THERE. SO THESE DIGITS ARE OUT OF THE DISCUSSIONS.  
FOR THE DIGITS 4, 5 AND 6, Κ HAS ALSO SEEN PLAUSIBLE WAYS TO MAKE THE THEORY WORK, WHILE FOR 7, 8 AND 9 IT DIDN'T SEEM TO MAKE MUCH SENSE.  
  
(2) THE SECOND THEORY IS THAT THE BRAHMI NUMERALS WERE TAKEN FROM A FOREIGN ALPHABET, LIKELY THE KHAROSTHI ALPHABET WHICH WAS KIND OF POPULAR IN INDIA AT THAT TIME. WE'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED THIS THEORY EARLIER, BUT NOW THAT WE'VE SEEN THE HISTORIC FACTS ABOUT ALL DIGITS, LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THAT THEORY.  
  
IN THIS MAP THERE'S A LIST OF..  
| ...THE ORIGINAL BRAHMI SHAPES OF EACH DIGIT FROM 4-9  
| ...THE OLD INDIAN (SANSKRIT) WORDS FOR EACH OF THESE NUMBERS  
| ...AND THE CORRESPONDING KHAROSTHI LETTERS.  
  
ONE-BY-ONE ANALYSIS:  
  
4 (CHATUR OR CHATVAARI)  
AS WE'VE ALREADY SEEN, THE BRAHMI SHAPE FOR THIS NUMBER WAS A CROSS WHICH MIGHT HAVE SYMBOLIZED THE FOUR DIRECTIONS. THE CROSS QUICKLY GOT AN EXTRA CURVE AT THE TOP, MARKED BY THE HEAVY ΟΟΟ. WE SEE THAT THE KHAROSTHI LETTER FOR "CH" (SPOKEN AS IN "CHILD") HAD A VERY SIMILAR SHAPE, SO THIS IS A CLEAR SUPPORT FOR THE THEORY!  
  
5 (PANCHA)  
ANOTHER CLEAR PLUS: THE BRAHMI SHAPE OF THE DIGIT AND THE KHAROSTHI "P" LETTER ARE IDENTIC!  
  
6 (SHAT)  
THE BRAHMI SHAPE LOOKS A BIT DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE'VE SEEN EARLIER, BUT THE MAIN FEATURE - THE BIG SQUIGGLE WHICH IS STILL PRESENT TODAY - IS THE SAME. THIS TIME, HOWEVER, THE CORRESPONDING KHAROSTHI "SH" LETTER LOOKS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. ON THE OTHER HAND, THERE IS ALSO A VERY SIMILAR KHAROSTHI LETTER, THE "G", ALTHOUGH THIS LETTER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE WORD "SHAT". SO - NOT SURE WHETHER THIS COUNTS AS A SUPPORT FOR THE THEORY OR NOT.  
  
7 (SAPTA)  
NOT TOO BAD - THE KHAROSTHI "S" LETTER DEFINITELY HAS SOME SIMILARITIES (ALTHOUGH THE "A" LETTER LOOKS EVEN MORE SIMILAR).  
  
8 (ASHTA)  
THE KHAROSTHI "A" LETTER DOESN'T FIT AT ALL - THAT ONE WOULD BE A MUCH BETTER PREDECESSOR FOR "SAPTA" - BUT AGAIN, ANOTHER KHAROSTHI LETTER, THE "R" LETTER, IS AN ALMOST PERFECT MATCH!  
  
9 (NAVA)  
THE KHAROSTHI "N" LETTER IS A MIRRORED VERSION OF THE SHAPE, SO THIS IS NOT A BAD MATCH EITHER. THE KHAROSTHI "S" LETTER WOULD WORK EVEN BETTER, SO WE MIGHT CONSIDER TO ROTATE THE CORRELATIONS IN THE FOLLOWING WAY:  
7 - SAPTA - KHAROSTHI "A" LETTER  
8 - ASHTA - KHAROSTHI "R" LETTER  
9 - NAVA - KHAROSTHI "S" LETTER  
THIS WAY THE SHAPES WOULD MATCH VERY WELL, ALTHOUGH THE LETTER-NUMBER-CORRELATIONS WOULD MAKE LESS SENSE.  
  
CONCLUSION: ALL IN ALL, THIS THEORY IS FOUND TO BE TOO GOOD TO BE DISMISSED, BUT TOO BAD TO COUNT AS PROVEN. IN ANY CASE, IT'S VERY MUCH POSSIBLE THAT SOME OF THE MODERN HINDU-ARAB DIGITS WERE ONCE LETTERS IN AN ANCIENT INDIAN ALPHABET!  
  
SO FAR IN THIS SERIES, Κ HAS SEEN THAT THE MODERN SHAPES OF THE HINDU-ARABIC DIGITS 1-9 CAN BE TRACED BACK TO OLD INDIA (BRAHMI SCRIPT). FROM THERE, THE NUMERALS WERE HANDED OVER TO ARABIA AND LATER EUROPE.  
  
IT'S NOT AT ALL EASY TO TRACE THE DIGITS FURTHER BACK IN TIME. THERE ARE MANY THEORIES WHERE THE BRAHMI SCRIPT HAD THE SHAPES FROM, AND Κ HAS ESPECIALLY LEARNED ABOUT TWO OF THE MOST COMMON THEORIES:  
  
(1) EACH DIGIT WAS ONCE A COLLECTION OF AS MANY STROKES, FROM WHICH THE SHAPES HAVE BEEN BUILT.  
FOR THE DIGITS 1, 2 AND 3, THIS THEORY COUNTS AS CONFIRMED AND PROVEN. IN THE BRAHMI SCRIPT, EACH OF THESE NUMBERS WAS WRITTEN WITH AS MANY HORIZONAL, PARALLEL STROKES, AND Κ HAS SEEN IN A COMPREHENSIBLE WAY HOW THE MODERN SHAPES DEVELOPPED FROM THERE. SO THESE DIGITS ARE OUT OF THE DISCUSSIONS.  
FOR THE DIGITS 4, 5 AND 6, Κ HAS ALSO SEEN PLAUSIBLE WAYS TO MAKE THE THEORY WORK, WHILE FOR 7, 8 AND 9 IT DIDN'T SEEM TO MAKE MUCH SENSE.  
  
(2) THE SECOND THEORY IS THAT THE BRAHMI NUMERALS WERE TAKEN FROM A FOREIGN ALPHABET, LIKELY THE KHAROSTHI ALPHABET WHICH WAS KIND OF POPULAR IN INDIA AT THAT TIME. WE'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED THIS THEORY EARLIER, BUT NOW THAT WE'VE SEEN THE HISTORIC FACTS ABOUT ALL DIGITS, LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THAT THEORY.  
  
IN THIS MAP THERE'S A LIST OF..  
| ...THE ORIGINAL BRAHMI SHAPES OF EACH DIGIT FROM 4-9  
| ...THE OLD INDIAN (SANSKRIT) WORDS FOR EACH OF THESE NUMBERS  
| ...AND THE CORRESPONDING KHAROSTHI LETTERS.  
  
ONE-BY-ONE ANALYSIS:  
  
4 (CHATUR OR CHATVAARI)  
AS WE'VE ALREADY SEEN, THE BRAHMI SHAPE FOR THIS NUMBER WAS A CROSS WHICH MIGHT HAVE SYMBOLIZED THE FOUR DIRECTIONS. THE CROSS QUICKLY GOT AN EXTRA CURVE AT THE TOP, MARKED BY THE HEAVY ΟΟΟ. WE SEE THAT THE KHAROSTHI LETTER FOR "CH" (SPOKEN AS IN "CHILD") HAD A VERY SIMILAR SHAPE, SO THIS IS A CLEAR SUPPORT FOR THE THEORY!  
  
5 (PANCHA)  
ANOTHER CLEAR PLUS: THE BRAHMI SHAPE OF THE DIGIT AND THE KHAROSTHI "P" LETTER ARE IDENTIC!  
  
6 (SHAT)  
THE BRAHMI SHAPE LOOKS A BIT DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE'VE SEEN EARLIER, BUT THE MAIN FEATURE - THE BIG SQUIGGLE WHICH IS STILL PRESENT TODAY - IS THE SAME. THIS TIME, HOWEVER, THE CORRESPONDING KHAROSTHI "SH" LETTER LOOKS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. ON THE OTHER HAND, THERE IS ALSO A VERY SIMILAR KHAROSTHI LETTER, THE "G", ALTHOUGH THIS LETTER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE WORD "SHAT". SO - NOT SURE WHETHER THIS COUNTS AS A SUPPORT FOR THE THEORY OR NOT.  
  
7 (SAPTA)  
NOT TOO BAD - THE KHAROSTHI "S" LETTER DEFINITELY HAS SOME SIMILARITIES (ALTHOUGH THE "A" LETTER LOOKS EVEN MORE SIMILAR).  
  
8 (ASHTA)  
THE KHAROSTHI "A" LETTER DOESN'T FIT AT ALL - THAT ONE WOULD BE A MUCH BETTER PREDECESSOR FOR "SAPTA" - BUT AGAIN, ANOTHER KHAROSTHI LETTER, THE "R" LETTER, IS AN ALMOST PERFECT MATCH!  
  
9 (NAVA)  
THE KHAROSTHI "N" LETTER IS A MIRRORED VERSION OF THE SHAPE, SO THIS IS NOT A BAD MATCH EITHER. THE KHAROSTHI "S" LETTER WOULD WORK EVEN BETTER, SO WE MIGHT CONSIDER TO ROTATE THE CORRELATIONS IN THE FOLLOWING WAY:  
7 - SAPTA - KHAROSTHI "A" LETTER  
8 - ASHTA - KHAROSTHI "R" LETTER  
9 - NAVA - KHAROSTHI "S" LETTER  
THIS WAY THE SHAPES WOULD MATCH VERY WELL, ALTHOUGH THE LETTER-NUMBER-CORRELATIONS WOULD MAKE LESS SENSE.  
  
CONCLUSION: ALL IN ALL, THIS THEORY IS FOUND TO BE TOO GOOD TO BE DISMISSED, BUT TOO BAD TO COUNT AS PROVEN. IN ANY CASE, IT'S VERY MUCH POSSIBLE THAT SOME OF THE MODERN HINDU-ARAB DIGITS WERE ONCE LETTERS IN AN ANCIENT INDIAN ALPHABET!  
  
THERE'S NOTHING TO ADD, SO THE SERIES ISN'T FINISHED YET...! ;)

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ROB GILBERT                       2023-09-13 15:17
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A REALLY ENLIGHTENING SERIES, dustin! THANKS A LOT! :) VERY ENTERTAINING AND INTERESTING!

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DUSTIN                            2023-09-13 17:26
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NICE TO READ THAT, rob gilbert! AND THERE'S STILL ONE MORE CAVE TO GO BECAUSE LITERALLY, THERE'S "NOTHING" TO ADD :D

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DUSTIN                            2023-09-13 22:10
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darkstoorm, LOOKS LIKE I COULDN'T TROLL YOU FOR LONG THIS TIME :D

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DARKSTOORM                        2023-09-13 22:33
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HA, NOT THIS TIME! :D

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DARKSTOORM                        2023-09-18 14:59
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DEMO VISIBLE, YOU HAVE TO BE PRETTY QUICK! :D

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NESDORI                           2023-09-19 20:42
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darkstoorm, IF YOU CREATE THE NON-AMOEBA ENCLOSURE ON THE TOP LEFT CORNER YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE THAT QUICK. I GUESS THAT'S WHAT dustin DID :)

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DUSTIN                            2023-09-19 20:47
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EXACTLY :D