Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c22.s3.t5.3

c22.s3.t5.3

Most of the inscriptions of Asoka are in the Eastern Dialect which was the Mauryan court language. However, such distinctive features of the Eastern Dialect as the substitution of *r* with *l* and the use of the nominative singular ending *-ē* are not found in the loanwords. It is now generally accepted that the Tamil caves were occupied by the Jaina monks and have no Buddhist vestiges.³ Thus, the available evidence indicates that the loanwords in the cave inscriptions are not derived from the language of the Asokan inscriptions, though they share some features common to most dialects.