Elements of South-Indian Palæography, from the Fourth to the Seventeenth Century A.D. c5.s2.t5.4

c5.s2.t5.4

The origin of this Tamiḷ alphabet is apparent at first sight; it is a brahmanical adaptation of the Grantha letters corresponding to the old Vaṭṭeḻuttu, from which, however, the last four signs (ḷ, ḻ, ṟ and ṉ) have been retained, the Grantha not possessing equivalents. The form of *m* is also rather Vaṭṭeḻuttu than Grantha. Çaṅkarācārya is said to have preached with much success in the Coḷa kingdom; that it was the seat of a great brahmanical mission in the tenth century is shown by the inscriptions. This alphabet, accordingly, represents the later brahmanical Tamiḷ culture as opposed to the older culture of the Jains of Tanjore and Madura, and the Buddhists of Tanjore; but the earliest stage of the history of this alphabet is very obscure before the 11th century.