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Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c21.s14: 2.14 Results of recent research on the orthography of Tamil-Brāhmī inscriptions

Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c21.s14

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2.14 Results of recent research on the orthography of Tamil-Brāhmī inscriptions

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I became deeply interested in exploring the orthographic systems in Tamil-Brāhmī and their interrelation with those of the Brāhmī and Bhattiprolu scripts. As mentioned above, I formulated a tentative model in the *Corpus 1966*. After I became aware of the presence of the *puḷḷi* in the Tamil-Brāhmī inscriptions, and taking into account constructive criticisms by scholars, I modified the model in the paper presented at the Sixth International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies held at Kuala Lumpur in 1987.⁶ The results of these studies on the orthographic systems in the Tamil-Brāhmī script have been further updated in Chapter 6 in this volume.⁷

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⁶ I. Mahadevan 1990: pp. 35-47.

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⁷ See sections 6.5. to 6.11.

2.14.1 Revised model of medial vowel notations

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In brief, the studies show that the orthographic conventions governing the notation of medial vowels in Tamil-Brāhmī are different from those followed in the Brāhmī script. There were in fact three successive (though partly overlapping) stages (designated TB-I to III) in the evolution of medial vowel notations in the Tamil-Brāhmī inscriptions. These may conveniently be illustrated by the Tamil word for 'son', which would assume the apparent forms of *mākāṉa*, *makaṉa* and *makaṉ* respectively in the three stages. It also appears that there were originally only two parallel systems of medial vowel notations (TB-I and II) in Tamil-Brāhmī, TB-I being earlier judging from palaeographic evidence. TB-I evolved into the Bhattiprolu system with its distinctive *-ā* medial sign, while TB-II gave rise to TB-III with its equally distinctive *puḷḷi*. The *puḷḷi* alone has survived in the modern Tamil script.

2.14.2 Other orthographic 'peculiarities' in the cave inscriptions

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The conventions relating to the notation of medial vowels referred to as TB-I to III are not the only 'peculiarities' in the orthography of the Tamil-Brāhmī inscriptions. There are other unusual usages which were inadequately explained or treated as 'scribal errors' or not noticed at all by the earlier investigators. The following is a list of the special usages found mostly in the earlier inscriptions.

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(i) Use of *ī* in the place of *i*.

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(ii) Use of *ū* in the place of *u*.¹

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¹ I. Mahadevan 1985a: pp. 22-27.

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(iii) Avoidance of doubling of consonants.

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(iv) 'Analytical' writing (i.e., separation of non-initial segments and suffixes commencing with vowels).

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(v) 'Pause' (i.e., break between the consonant and the following vowel in the same syllable).

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The special usages are too numerous and too systematic to be dismissed as mere scribal errors. It is significant that many of these special usages have also been discovered in recent years in pottery inscriptions and in legends on coins, seals, etc. The evidence justifies the search for rational explanations for the observed deviations from the Brāhmī norms. Chapter 6 in the present volume includes the results of recent research, much of it previously unpublished.²

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² See sections 6.14 to 6.19.