Traditional Indian writing -- on manuscripts or inscriptions on stone or metal plates -- would usually have an auspicious symbol at the very beginning: on top of the page, or in the top left margin, before the start of the text. The most important of these are: Om (ॐ, ௐ, ༀ) , Siddham (𑗁, ঀ) and Svasti (࿕, ࿗, ࿖, ࿘) - Of these, the Om symbol is perhaps the oldest and in earlier times was not encoded as it is today. The earliest forms might have been a spiral, conch-like curve, a crescent-sun-fire icon, or a Brahmi Om. Ahmad Hasan Dani lists the various early form in his *Indian Paleography* (p118) ![[A H Dani - Forms of Om.png]] - The siddham and swastika symbols are quite likely descendents or derivatives of the Om symbol. - J. J. Boeles, “The Migration of the Magic Syllable OM”, India Antiqua (Leiden, 1947), pp. 40—56. ([scribd](https://www.scribd.com/document/130283707/Boeles-Migration-Magic-Syllable-OM)) - South East Asian traditions still encode Om as an inverted question mark with a curly upward tail - The symbol for Om has changed over time and differs with geography. The current Devanagari "Om" is closer to its rendering in the [Siddham](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddha%E1%B9%83_script) (or Siddhamatrka) script than the Devanagari. Siddham is closer to the Chinese and East Asian forms of writing and used there; and has inspired Bengali, Assamese and Odia scripts. - The siddham symbol (𑗁) represents siddham or siddhir astu ("let there be perfection" or "let there be success") and has often been mistaken for the Om symbol, including by Al Biruni. - Usage dates to the early years of the Common Era (ref [Richard Salomon](https://asian.washington.edu/research/publications/indian-epigraphy-guide-study-inscriptions-indo-aryan-languages)) - Nalinikanta Bhattasali and [D C Sircar](https://archive.org/details/epigraphyindianepigraphydcsircar_807_K) argue that Al Biruni and many Western scholars were mistaken because while the symbol stood for siddham, it was sometimes pronounced "om siddham" - It survives in contemporary Bengali script as "anji" (ঀ) and Tamil script as "pillaiyar suzhi" (௳ with an underline). Neither represents a syllable, but are used for invocation and initiating a student into writing the script. - The siddham symbol is found in many Sanskrit Buddhist texts from the Turkestan (Tarim Basin), Gilgit and Bamiyan. - Also in Tibetan texts as yig mgo mdun ma (༄) - Also perhaps the Brahmi crescent punctuation mark (𑁌) - The swastika is the symbol for svasti; denotes well-being. It can be both right facing or left facing. - Harit Krishna Deb explains the Swastika symbol as being constructed by two Brahmi O's (𑀑) at right angles to each other, and the m as the final letter of Om. (per [Gustav Roth](https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Deyadharma/r5ItAAAAMAAJ?hl=en), quoting Hultzch) - The Thai greeting "Sawasdee Ka" is derived from svasti and was invented by nationalist students of Chulalongkorn university in 1943. (per [Amitav Ghosh](https://twitter.com/GhoshAmitav/status/271548906465271808?s=20)) - There are other mangala symbols including srivatsa, trishula, triratna, dharmachakra - Srivastava, A. (1979). The Śrīvatsa Symbol in Indian Art. _East and West,_ _29_(1/4), 37-60. Retrieved July 29, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/29756505 - eight auspicious symbols in Jainism: srivatsa, svastika, nandyavarta, vardhamanaka, bhadrasana, kalasha, darpana, mina-yugma - in Buddhist texts: srivatsa, svastika, nandyavarta, cakra, padma and triratna - in Brahmanical literature: vardhamana chatra, dhvaja, chamara, praharana, nandyavarta, lostha, srivatsa, svastika, pushpa, darpana, parashu, ankusha, bhadrasana, mala, kalasha, pustaka, mina-mithuna - In Tibetan Buddhism, kalachakra motif has ten-syllables under Om (crescent-sun-fire icon); - There might have been a practical reason for the origin of these symbols: to test a writing surface and instrument before commencing the writing. These could also be block punctuation marks (although the early texts mostly lacked word, sentence or paragraph divisions). - I have seen my parents and their siblings put an "Om" on top of the letters they would write. I also recall them putting "safe" on top of the inland letter, to relieve the suspense. - Safarali H. Shomakhmadov has [an interesting paper](https://manuscripta-orientalia.kunstkamera.ru/archive/2012_02_18) on the mangala symbols in Manuscripta Orientalia, a journal published in Russia. - #books Books on Indian epigraphy and paleography - [Sircar](https://archive.org/details/epigraphyindianepigraphydcsircar_807_K) - [Dani, A. H.](https://archive.org/details/indianpalaeographyahmadhasandaniuniversityofpeshawar/page/n11/mode/2up) (1963). Indian Palaeography. United Kingdom: Clarendon Press. - [Salomon](https://asian.washington.edu/research/publications/indian-epigraphy-guide-study-inscriptions-indo-aryan-languages) are standard references. - [Deyadharma](https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Deyadharma/r5ItAAAAMAAJ), an edited volume commemorating Sircar has some relevant papers. - The study of Indian manuscripts is very interesting. ## Colophon Status: [[Brewing]]