Tamil-Brahmi

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The Tamil Brahmi script, unlike standard Asokan Brahmi, distinguished between pure consonants and consonants with an inherent vowel marker
The Tamil Brahmi script, unlike standard Asokan Brahmi, distinguished between pure consonants and consonants with an inherent vowel marker

Tamil-Brahmi was an early script used to write Tamil characters. It is also known as the Tamili script.

Contents

[edit] Origin

Iravatham Mahadevan, an authority on the Tamil-Brahmi script states that the Brahmi script reached the Tamil country due the southern spread of Jainism and Buddhism, and was adapted to suit the Tamil phonetic system.[1]

Early Tamil Brahmi, unlike Asokan Brahmi, had a system to distinguish between pure consonants and consonants with an inherent vowel. In addition, early Tamil-Brahmi used slightly different vowel markers, and had extra characters to represent letters not found in Sanskrit.

The best known examples of the Tamil-Brahmi scripts are the Asokan inscription found in South India and the earliest surviving inscriptions in Tamil found at Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil-Brahmi eventually evolved into the Vatteluttu script.

[edit] Adichanallur excavations

It has been tentatively suggested by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) archaeologists that graffiti etched into a potsherd tentatively dated to the 5th century BC is an example of a "very rudimentary" form of Tamil writing.[2]

The recent archeological findings at Adichanallur, Tamil Nadu by ASI have indicated that the Tamil-Brahmi inscription may have dated from as far back as 7th-8th century BC[3], earlier than the Sangam period, but a final verdict on the age of the stone age burial awaits radiocarbon dating. The assertion that it is in Tamil-Brahmi will be scrutinized by the scholars.

[edit] Tamil Brahmi findings

  • A broken storage jar with inscriptions in Tamil Brahmi script in Egypt.[4]
  • An urn at the Iron Age burial site at Adichanallur.[1]
  • Tamil-Brahmi inscription on pottery found in Thailand.[5]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b T.S., Subramanian. "`Rudimentary Tamil-Brahmi script' unearthed at Adichanallur", The Hindu, February 17, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-12-06. (English) 
  2. ^ 'Rudimentary Tamil-Brahmi script' unearthed at Adichanallur. The Hindu, Feb 17, 2005
  3. ^ Skeletons, script found at ancient burial site in Tamil Nadu
  4. ^ "Tamil Brahmi script in Egypt", The Hindu, November 21, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-06. (English) 
  5. ^ "Tamil-Brahmi inscription on pottery found in Thailand", The Hindu, July 16, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-12-06. (English) 
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