Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c26.s11: 6.11 Medial vowel notations in cave inscriptions
Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c26.s11
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6.11 Medial vowel notations in cave inscriptions
c26.s11.1
The earliest and most abundant occurrence of the TB-I notation is found in the cave inscriptions, especially from the southern region, the ancient Pāṇṭiya country (see Map I). The first 35 inscriptions in the Corpus, assigned to ca. 2nd century B.C. from palaeographic evidence, are exclusively in the TB-I style (with a few exceptions where the medial *-a* marker is absent due to scribal omission or weathering of the stone). All the 11 sites where these inscriptions are found are in the southern region (see Map I, detail). The TB-I notation becomes extinct after the 1st century B.C.
c26.s11.2
The TB-II notation appears in cave inscriptions from about the 1st century B.C. Both TB-I and TB-II notations occur in contemporary inscriptions at the same site or even within the same inscriptions (e.g., Nos. **38-45** from Alagarmalai). The TB-II notation becomes the dominant style in the cave records (with only occasional occurrences of TB-I spellings) during ca. 1-4 centuries A.D.
c26.s11.3
The TB-III (*puḷḷi*) system appears for the first time in ca. 2nd century A.D. at Anaimalai. The *puḷḷi* occurs rarely in the beginning, but gradually increases in numbers till it virtually becomes (with only a couple of exceptions) the exclusive notation in the Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu Period (ca. 5-6 centuries A.D.). The chronological sequence of medial vowel notations in the Early Tamil inscriptions in the Corpus is illustrated in the bar-chart (Fig. 6.⁴). The frequency and chronological distribution of the notations are shown in Table 6.².
c26.s11.4
² See I. Mahadevan 1990: pp. 39-41.