Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c25.s12.t1.2
Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c25.s12.t1.2
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c25.s12.t1.2
The sound *ḻ* is produced when the tip of the tongue is raised and rubs the palate (*Tol. Eḻu.* 95). The sound -*ṭ*- (phonetically -*ḍ*-) alternates with *ḻ* in the Early Tamil-Brāhmī inscriptions.² The sound *ḻ* in Old Telugu becomes *ḍ* in later times.³ These linguistic correspondences find remarkable corroboration in the formation of Tamil-Brāhmī *ḻ* from Brāhmī *ḍ*, specifically from the Asokan form of *ḍ* (Chart 3:I.¹). Phonetically, *ḍ* appears to be quite close to the sound *ḻ*; (cf. Asokan *ēḍakē*⁴ with Ta. *ēḻakam* 'sheep').