Editing Brahmi script (section)

==Middle Brahmi or "Kushana Brahmi" (1st–3rd centuries CE)==
Middle Brahmi or "[[Kushana]] Brahmi" was in use from the 1st–3rd centuries CE. It is more rounded than its predecessor, and introduces some significant variations in shapes. Several characters (r̩ and l̩), classified as vowels, were added during the "Middle Brahmi" period between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE, in order to accommodate the transcription of [[Sanskrit]]:<ref>{{cite book |title=Brahmi Unicode |pages=4–6 |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2003/03249r-brahmi-proposal.pdf |access-date=2019-08-18 |archive-date=2021-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203164930/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2003/03249r-brahmi-proposal.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[[:File:Brahmi script vowels according to James Prinsep March 1838.jpg|James Prinsep table of vowels]]</ref>

===Independent vowels===
[[File:Middle Brahmi vowel diacritics.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Middle Brahmi vowel diacritics]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Letter
!IAST and<br />Sanskrit IPA
!Letter
!IAST and<br />Sanskrit IPA
|-
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka a.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|a}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/ə/}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka aa.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ā}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/aː/}}
|-
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka i.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|i}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/i/}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |
|{{IAST|ī}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/iː/}}
|-
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka u.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|u}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/u/}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |
|{{IAST|ū}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/uː/}}
|-
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka e.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|e}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/eː/}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka o.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|o}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/oː/}}
|-
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |
|{{IAST|ai}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/əi/}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka au.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|au}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/əu/}}
|-
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |{{script|Brah|𑀋}}
|{{IAST|ṛ}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/r̩/}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |{{script|Brah|𑀌}}
|{{IAST|ṝ}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/r̩ː/}}
|-
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |{{script|Brah|𑀍}}
|{{IAST|l̩}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/l̩/}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |{{script|Brah|𑀎}}
|{{IAST|ḹ}}&nbsp;{{IPA|/l̩ː/}}
|}

===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:95%"
!
! colspan="8" |[[Stop consonant|Stop]]
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
! colspan="4" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|-
![[Voice (phonetics)|Voicing]] →
| colspan="4" |Voiceless
| colspan="8" style="background:beige;" |Voiced
| colspan="2" |Voiceless
| colspan="2" style="background:beige;" |Voiced
|-
![[Aspiration (phonetics)|Aspiration]] →
| colspan="2" |No
| colspan="2" style="background:beige;" |Yes
| colspan="2" |No
| colspan="2" style="background:beige;" |Yes
| colspan="4" |No
| colspan="4" style="background:beige;" |Yes
|-
![[Velar consonants|Velar]]
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka k.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ka}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/k/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka kh.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|kha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/kʰ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka g.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ga}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/g/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka gh.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|gha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɡʱ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka ng.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ṅa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ŋ/}}}}
| colspan="4" |
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka h.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɦ/}}}}
|-
![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka c.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ca}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/c/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka ch.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|cha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/cʰ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka j.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ja}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɟ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka jh.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|jha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɟʱ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka ny.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ña}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɲ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka y.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ya}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/j/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka sh.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|śa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɕ/}}}}
| colspan="2" rowspan="4" |
|-
![[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka tt.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ṭa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ʈ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka tth.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ṭha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ʈʰ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka dd.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ḍa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɖ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka ddh.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ḍha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɖʱ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka nn.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ṇa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ɳ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka r.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ra}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/r/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka ss.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ṣa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/ʂ/}}}}
|-
![[Dental consonant|Dental]]
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka t.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ta}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/t̪/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka th.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|tha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/t̪ʰ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka d.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|da}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/d̪/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka dh.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|dha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/d̪ʱ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka n.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|na}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/n/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka l.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|la}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/l/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka s.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|sa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/s/}}}}
|-
![[Labial consonant|Labial]]
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka p.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|pa}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/p/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta gujarat ph.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|pha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/pʰ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka b.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ba}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/b/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka bh.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|bha}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/bʱ/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka m.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|ma}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/m/}}}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;" |[[File:Gupta ashoka v.svg|24px]]
|{{IAST|va}}&nbsp;{{nowrap|{{IPA|/w, ʋ/}}}}
| colspan="2" |
|}

===Examples===
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="4">
File:Coinage of Chastana with obverse Brahmi legend.jpg|Early/Middle Brahmi legend on the coinage of [[Chastana]]:  RAJNO MAHAKSHATRAPASA GHSAMOTIKAPUTRASA CHASHTANASA "Of the Rajah, the Great Satrap, son of Ghsamotika, Chashtana". 1st–2nd century CE.<ref>{{cite book |title=Seaby's Coin and Medal Bulletin: July 1980 |date=1980 |publisher=Seaby Publications Ltd. |page=219 |url=https://archive.org/details/seabyscoinmedalb1980base_r0l5/page/218}}</ref>
File:Shastana inscription.jpg|Inscribed [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] statue of [[Western Satraps]] King [[Chastana]], with inscription "Shastana" in Middle Brahmi script of the Kushan period ([[File:Gupta ashoka ss.svg|10px]]<sub>[[File:Gupta ashoka sta.jpg|13px]]</sub>[[File:Gupta ashoka n.svg|10px]] ''Ṣa-sta-na'').<ref name="JBO">"The three letters give us a complete name, which I read as Ṣastana (vide facsimile and cast). Dr. Vogel read it as Mastana but that is incorrect for Ma was always written with a circular or triangular knob below with two slanting lines joining the knob" in {{cite book |title=Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society |date=1920 |publisher=The Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yKZEAQAAMAAJ |language=en |access-date=2019-08-20 |archive-date=2020-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227171742/https://books.google.com/books?id=yKZEAQAAMAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref><br />Here, ''sta'' [[File:Gupta ashoka sta.jpg|13px]] is the [[conjunct consonant]] of ''sa'' [[File:Gupta ashoka s.svg|10px]] and ''ta'' [[File:Gupta ashoka t.svg|10px]], vertically combined. Circa 100 CE.
File:Mahakhatapa.jpg|The rulers of the [[Western Satraps]] were called ''Mahākhatapa'' ("Great Satrap") in their Brahmi script inscriptions, as here in a dedicatory inscription by Prime Minister Ayama in the name of his ruler [[Nahapana]], [[Manmodi Caves]], {{circa|100 CE}}.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Burgess|first1=Jas|title=Archaeological Survey Of Western India|date=1883|page=103|url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.35775}}</ref>
File:Nasik Cave inscription No 10.jpg|[[Nasik Caves|Nasik Cave]] inscription No.10. of [[Nahapana]], Cave No.10.
</gallery>