Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c25.s12.t3.4
Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c25.s12.t3.4
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c25.s12.t3.4
The Tamil-Brāhmī letter *ṟ* is formed from *ṭ* (Chart 3:III.¹) to which a short vertical line is added at the bottom (ibid. III.²) to support the angular attachment added to the left or right of the vertical (ibid. III. 3 & 4). The choice of *ṭ* to derive the Tamil-Brāhmī *ṟ* is significant as it indicates that the sound *ṟ* was still an alveolar stop (nearer to *ṭ* than to *r*) in the language of the cave inscriptions.⁷