[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Archaeology, epigraphy and coins](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy) › [Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D.](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003) › c25.s3.22 # Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c25.s3.22 Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c25.s3.22 - **Language:** English ### [c25.s3.22](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c25.s3.22) In the early times in the history of writing, the Brāhmī script which was current in India had a group of letters consisting of nine vowels (\*a\*, \*ā\*, \*i\*, \*ī\*, \*u\*, \*ū\*, \*ē\*, \*ai\* and \*ō\*) and fourteen consonants (\*k\*, \*ṅ\*, \*c\*, \*ñ\*, \*ṭ\*, \*ṇ\*, \*t\*, \*n\*, \*p\*, \*m\*, \*y\*, \*r\*, \*l\* and \*v\*) common to all the areas irrespective of the language for which they were used. The additional letters such as the 15 aspirated letters and 4 letters (\*s\*, \*ś\* \*sh\* and \*h\*) in the case of the Northern alphabets, and 4 letters (\*ḻ\*, \*ḷ\*, \*ṟ\* and \*ṉ\*) in the case of the Dravidian alphabets have been specially devised to serve the respective languages that used those alphabets.⁴ - [Previous: c25.s3.21](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c25.s3.21) - [Next: c25.s3.23](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c25.s3.23) - [Up: c25.s3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c25.s3) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c25.s3.22](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c25.s3.22) · Pramāṇa