Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c26.s22.t2.1

c26.s22.t2.1

There are no voiced consonants in the graphemic inventory of the Tamil-Brāhmī script,² even though they are present in the Brāhmī script and known to the local scribes as proved by the exceptional occurrence of *dhammam*/*dhamam* in two of the earliest inscriptions (Nos. *1* & *2*). The presence of voiced consonants in contemporary Prakrit inscriptions on pottery from ancient Tamil sites like Arikamedu also shows familiarity with the full range of the Brāhmī script.³ And yet Tamil words in the Tamil-Brāhmī inscriptions are written without exception employing only the voiceless consonants of the Brāhmī script in initial as well as medial (intervocalic and postnasal) positions as illustrated below:⁴