Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c21.s12.5

c21.s12.5

(3) The following rules of orthography for the notation of medial vowels were formulated and rigorously applied to the reading and interpretation of the texts.
> (a) *Earlier period*
>> (i) A consonantal symbol unaccompanied by a medial vowel sign represents the basic consonant only.
>> (ii) The medial *-a* and *-ā* vowels are indicated by the same sign and can be distinguished only from the linguistic context.
>> (iii) The special *-ā* medial sign of the Bhattiprolu script is not found in the cave inscriptions.
> (b) *Later period*
>> (i) A consonantal symbol is treated either as basic or with the 'inherent' medial *-a* depending on the linguistic context.
>> (ii) The *puḷḷi* does not occur in the cave inscriptions.²
>> (iii) The top horizontal stroke attached to a consonant represents the medial *-ā* only.