Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c25.s13.12

c25.s13.12

*-ai*: The form of the medial *-ai* sign (Chart 6: *-ai: 2*) remains stable till almost the end of the Late Period. At Arachalur, we come across two changes, one in which one of the strokes becomes cursive (Chart 6: *-ai: 85*) and the other in which both strokes are joined in a horizontally laid S-like stroke (ibid. *87*). In Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu at Pulankurichi, the medial *-ai* sign is a horizontal stroke with a small hook attached to its left end (Chart 8). At the next stage, the two strokes of the medial *-ai* sign are joined in a single curve with a loop in the middle (Chart 6: *-ai: 115*) or at the left end (ibid. *119*). In an exceptional case, the primitive form of the medial *-ai* sign survives in an Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscription at Sittannavasal-B (ibid. *102*), though other inscriptions in the same cave show the evolved forms characteristic of the period (ibid. *101* with two slightly different forms).