Bryan wrote:
> Yes the two "m's" are the same. It's anusvaara (nasalization of a previous
> vowel) and the
> placement of the dot is sometimes variable.
Well, it is not quite so simple as that. If a transcription font includes
under and over dotted "m", then it is possible that a distiction is made
between anusvaara and anunaasika. These two are often conflated, but the
difference is that the anunaasika (chandra-bindu) indicates nasalization of
the syllable vowel, while anusvaara represents the class nasal, not
nasalization of the vowel. This is important in Prakrits other than Pali.
Wikipedia has articles on both these which give more details.
Best wishes,
Stephen