Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c25.s6.t2.2

c25.s6.t2.2

Influence of Southern Brāhmī is seen for the first time in the Tamil-Brāhmī inscriptions of the Late Period (ca. 2nd-4th centuries A.D.) in the northern and western districts adjoining the Andhra-Karnataka regions. This influence is marginal also in the sense that the few Southern Brāhmī forms seen in these inscriptions do not enter the mainstream of evolution of Tamil-Brāhmī into Vaṭṭeḻuttu. The Southern Brāhmī forms occurring in the Late Tamil-Brāhmī inscriptions are noticed in the following discussion on palaeographic evolution of Tamil-Brāhmī and illustrated in the accompanying charts.