Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c25.s10.26

c25.s10.26

***ai:*** The curious asymmetry in the occurrence of the vowel *ai* in Asokan Brāhmī¹ is also reflected in Tamil-Brāhmī. In both cases, the initial vowel is absent, but the medial vowel occurs from the earliest times.² The initial vowel *ai* is attested for the first time in the Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscription at Tirunatharkunru (Chart 4: *ai: 116*). The form of this letter looking like a 'trident' is quite different from the earliest form in Brāhmī.³ However, the trident-form of *ai* occurs in a Southern Brāhmī Prakrit inscription⁴ at an earlier date than in the Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu script.