Tamil-Brahmi

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Tamil-Brahmi
Mangulam inscription (south India).jpg
Mangulam Tamil-Brahmi inscription at Dakshin Chithra, Chennai. It was discovered by Robert Sewell in 1882, and deciphered by Subrahmanya Aiyer in 1924. [1]
Script type
Time period
c. 3rd century BCE—c. 1st century CE
DirectionLeft-to-right  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Languages Old Tamil
Related scripts
Parent systems
Child systems
 Vatteluttu, Pallava [2]
Sister systems
 Bhattiprolu, Gupta, Tocharian
The theorised Semitic origins of the Brahmi script are not universally agreed upon.
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Tamil-Brahmi, also known as Tamili or Damili, [3] was a variant of the Brahmi script in southern India. It was used to write inscriptions in Old Tamil. [4] The Tamil-Brahmi script has been paleographically and stratigraphically dated between the third century BCE and the first century CE, and it constitutes the earliest known writing system evidenced in many parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Sri Lanka. Tamil Brahmi inscriptions have been found on cave entrances, stone beds, potsherds, jar burials, coins, [5] seals, and rings. [4] [6] [7]

Contents

Tamil Brahmi resembles but differs in several minor ways from the Brahmi inscriptions found elsewhere on the Indian subcontinent such as the Edicts of Ashoka found in Andhra Pradesh. [8] It adds diacritics to several letters for sounds not found in Prakrit, producing ṉ ṟ ṛ ḷ. Secondly, in many of the inscriptions the inherent vowel has been discarded: A consonant written without diacritics represents the consonant alone, whereas the Ashokan diacritic for long ā is used for both ā and short a in Tamil-Brahmi. This is unique to Tamil-Brahmi and Bhattiprolu among the early Indian scripts. Tamil-Brahmi does not, however, share the odd forms of letters such as gh in Bhattiprolu. This appears to be an adaptation to Dravidian phonotactics, where words commonly end in consonants, as opposed to Prakrit, where this never occurs. According to Mahadevan, in the earliest stages of the script the inherent vowel was either abandoned, as above, or the bare consonant was ambiguous as to whether it implied a short a or not. Later stages of Tamil Brahmi returned to the inherent vowel that was the norm in ancient India. [8]

According to Kamil Zvelebil, Tamil-Brahmi script was the parent script that ultimately evolved into the later Vatteluttu and Tamil scripts. [2]

Origins

Tamili/Tamil brahmi script spelling out Mother ('Amma' in tamil) - here the letter 'ma' (third letter here) is shown to show how the letter 'maa' (fourth letter here) has been achieved ('ma'+'a'). The word 'Amma' has only the first, second and the last letters - 'A' + 'm' + 'ma' - a + m+ maa Tamil brahmi.png
Tamili/Tamil brahmi script spelling out Mother ('Amma' in tamil) – here the letter 'ma' (third letter here) is shown to show how the letter 'maa' (fourth letter here) has been achieved ('ma'+'a'). The word 'Amma' has only the first, second and the last letters – 'A' + 'm' + 'mā' – அ + ம்+ மா
A 2nd-century BCE Tamil Brahmi inscription from Arittapatti, Madurai India. The southern state of Tamil Nadu has emerged as a major source of Brahmi inscriptions dated between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE. 2nd century BCE Tamil Brahmi inscription Arittapatti Madurai India.jpg
A 2nd-century BCE Tamil Brahmi inscription from Arittapatti, Madurai India. The southern state of Tamil Nadu has emerged as a major source of Brahmi inscriptions dated between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE.

Early Tamil scripts

An early mention of a script for writing the Tamil language is found in the Jaina work Samavayanga Sutta and Pannavana Sutta where a script called Damili is mentioned as the seventeenth of eighteen Lipi (scripts) in use in India. [10] Similarly, the tenth chapter of the Lalitavistara, named Lipisala samdarshana parivarta, lists Dravida-lipi and Dakshinya-lipi as two of sixty four scripts that Siddhartha (later the Gautam Buddha) learnt as a child from his gurus in Vedic schools, a list that is found in both Indian Buddhist texts and its ancient Chinese translations. [11] [12] These relationship of early Tamil scripts to these lipi mentioned in Jaina and Buddhist literature relationship is unclear. The pre-1974 work of Mahadevan had established 76 rock inscriptions in Tamil Brahmi from about 21 sites in Tamil Nadu, which states Kamil Zvelebil "establish obvious correlations" with what has been found in early Tamil bardic poems. [13] Nagaswamy treats Tamil-Brahmi script to be synonymous with the Damili script in his publications. [2]

Artifacts such as inscribed potsherds, coins or others are found in Tamil Nadu archaeological sites have graffiti and inscriptions. [14] The potsherds recovered from Kodumanal, for example, have markings that on the basis of stratigraphical analysis appear to be from the 4th century BCE. [14] According to K. Rajan, the "large number of graffiti marks and subsequent Tamil Brahmi script" unearthed in Tamil Nadu and Kerala suggest that this region had a "linguistic cohesiveness well before 5th–4th century BCE". [14] According to Falk these supposed inscriptions are not Brahmi letters, but misinterpreted non-linguistic Megalithic graffiti symbols, which were used in South India during the pre-literate era. [15]


Stone bed with inscription in Sittanavasal, Tamil Brahmi Inscriptions Stone bed with inscription in sittanavasal.JPG
Stone bed with inscription in Sittanavasal, Tamil Brahmi Inscriptions

Research on the origin of Tamil-Brahmi

Before the 1990s

The origins and chronology of Tamil Brahmi are unclear. Several hypotheses have been proposed, with the views of epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan being generally accepted. [16] According to Mahadevan, the Brahmi script from North India arrived via the southern inscriptions of Ashoka, and evolved into the Tamil Brahmi. [17] This theory presupposes that the Brahmi script itself was either originated within the imperial courts of Mauryan kingdom or evolved from a more ancient foreign script and it was dispersed to South India and Sri Lanka after the 3rd century BCE. The alternate theory proposed by Nagaswamy is that there was an indigenous common source (proto-Vatteluttu) script from which both northern and southern Brahmi script emerged, which he respectively terms as Brahmi and Damili scripts. [17] Richard Salomon favors the Mahadevan theory. [16]

According to Kamil Zvelebil's chronology proposal of 1973, the earliest Tamil Brahmi inscriptions such as the Netunceliyan rock inscriptions at the Mangulam site were derived from Ashokan Brahmi that was introduced to the Tamil region around 250 BCE. [18] It was adapted for the Tamil language by 220 BCE and led to the standardization of the Tamil language and literary norms of Maturai between 200 and 50 BCE. [18] These developments transformed the oral bardic Tamil literary culture to the written Sangam literature in the centuries that followed. The use of Tamil Brahmi continued through the 6th century CE, states Zvelebil. [18]

Jambai Tamil Brahmi inscription Jambai Tamil Brahmi.jpg
Jambai Tamil Brahmi inscription

Conflicting theories about origin since 1990s

Since the 1990s, pre-Ashokan dates have been proposed based on excavations and discoveries of graphite covered ancient remains in Sri Lanka. [19] These include those found in Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, some of which have been dated to the 4th century BCE. [20] [21] The findings of Coningham et al based on the carbon dating of excavated potsherds led to the proposal that the Sri Lankan Brahmi developed before Ashokan era, at least by the 5th to 4th century BCE, from where it came to Tamil region evolving into the Tamil Brahmi, and thereafter spread across South Asia due to trade networks. [22] Sri Lankan nationalists have used this and other fragments of Black-and-Red Ware and Red Ware with Brahmi characters to state that Brahmi was invented on the island and from there it migrated north into the Indian subcontinent. [22] This theory has been criticized by Harry Falk – a scholar of Brahmi and other ancient Indian scripts. First, states Falk, the Coningham team has admitted later that they did not use the carbon dating correction necessary for the Southern hemisphere and used the calibration curves for north Pakistan. [22] Second, the Sri Lankan teams also erred when they deployed a "mathematical trick" whereby they conflated the contested date of lower strata that lacked inscribed shreds with the upper strata where the shreds with Brahmi script were found. [22] According to Falk, a critical study of the feature differences between Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) Brahmi, Tamil Brahmi and Ashokan Brahmi suggest that "all the differences can only be explained once the Ashokan script is taken as primary and the two others as derivations". It is not scholarship that is behind the claims that Ceylonese Brahmi is more ancient and gave rise to Tamil Brahmi and Ashokan Brahmi, rather it is "regional chauvinism", states Falk. [22]

The graffiti and Brahmi found at sites in Sri Lanka are related, but not considered to be examples of Tamil-Brahmi. [20] [23] Archaeological teams sponsored by the government of Tamil Nadu have also been actively unearthing sites and reporting their results in local media that they have found shreds and items with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions. [24] Between 2011 and 2013, for example, Rajan and Yatheeskumar published their findings from excavations at Porunthal and Kodumanal in Tamil Nadu, where numerous graffiti and inscription fragments on archaeological pieces have been unearthed. The radiocarbon dates of paddy grains and charcoal samples found along with potsherds with inscriptions provided a radiometric date of about 520–490 BCE, which state Rajan and Yatheeskumar implies that the inscriptions too are from the same period. [25] Based on Carbon-14 dating by an American laboratory, Rajan suggests Tamil Brahmi had been invented by 490 BCE, and states, "it is almost clear now that Ashoka did not developed (sic) the Brahmi script. The origin or evolution of a script is a social process and it could not be associated with a particular individual or dynasty." [26] According to Harry Falk, Rajan's claims are "particularly ill-informed". Some of the earliest supposed inscriptions are not Brahmi letters at all, but merely misinterpreted Megalithic graffiti symbols, which were used in South India for several centuries during the pre-literate era. The stirrups reportedly found with the shreds are suspicious. Falk considers these reports as "regional chauvinism" just like the Sri Lankan claims of their island being the origin of a Brahmi script from which the Tamil-Brahmi developed. [26] Linguist David Shulman concurs that there are reasons to be skeptical of pre-Ashokan dates for Tamil-Brahmi, but recommends that one should keep an open mind. [27]

The script

Nehanurpatti Tamil Brahmi inscription Nehanurpatti Tamil Brahmi inscription.JPG
Nehanurpatti Tamil Brahmi inscription

Tamil-Brahmi had notable peculiarities when compared to the Standard Brahmi. [28] It had four different characters to represent Dravidian language phonemes not represented in the standard northern-based Brahmi used to write Prakrit languages. The closest resemblance to Tamil-Brahmi is to its neighboring Sinhala-Brahmi. Both seem to use similar letters to indicate phonemes that are unique to Dravidian languages although Sinhala-Brahmi was used to write an Indo-Aryan Prakrit used in the island of Sri Lanka possibly from ongoing maritime relationship with Gujarat and other parts of India. [29]

The Tamil Brahmi script found in ancient Tamil inscriptions is not consistent. It appears to have existed in three different versions between the 2nd century BCE and 3rd century CE. [30] The third version, assumed to be the basis for early Tolkāppiyam , evolved into the modern Tamil script. [30]

The Bhattiprolu script is related to the Tamil-Brahmi, and is found in nine early inscriptions on stupa relic caskets discovered at Bhattiprolu (Andhra Pradesh). [28] According to Richard Salomon, the Bhattiprolu script reflects innovations in a Dravidian language context, rather than Indo-Aryan languages. Both the Bhattiprolu and Tamil Brahmi share common modifications to represent Dravidian languages. The Bhattiprolu was likely a provincial offshoot of early southern Brahmi script, states Salomon. [31]

According to Iravatham Mahathevan there are three stages in the development of the script. The early stage is dated from the 3rd or 2nd century BCE to 1st century BCE. The later stage is dated from the 1st to 2nd century CE. The third stage is dated from the 2nd century CE to the 3rd or 4th century CE. [32] According to Gift Siromony, the types of Tamil Brahmi writings do not follow a very clear chronology and can lead to confusion in dating. [33] According to K. Rajan, the Ashokan Brahmi corresponds with the Stage II of Tamil Brahmi per Mahadevan’s classification. Hence according to him, Stage I may have to be reassessed from the proposed time line. [14] From the 5th century CE onwards Tamil is written in Vatteluttu in the Chera and Pandya country and Grantha or Tamil script in the Chola and Pallava country. Tamil Brahmi inscriptions in cave beds and coins have provided historians with identifying some kings and chiefs mentioned in the Sangam Tamil corpus as well as related Ashokan pillar inscriptions. [34]

Usage

Mamandur rock cut caves Tamil Brahmi Mamandur rock cut caves 6.JPG
Mamandur rock cut caves Tamil Brahmi

The Tamil Brahmi script inscriptions are predominantly found with ancient Tamil Jaina and Buddhist sites, states Zvelebil. [17] According to Ranjan, all the Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions found in rock caves of Tamil Nadu are related to Jainism. [35] The Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions are also found in secular context such as coins, potsherds and others. [36] According to Zvelebil, its origins likely were with the Jains and the Buddhists, but it was soon understood and used by kings, chiefs, potters and other common people from a variety of backgrounds. This is evidenced by the use of a fused Tamil and Prakrit languages in the secular inscriptions. [37]

Cave inscriptions in Tamil Brahmi Inscriptions Brahmi cave.JPG
Cave inscriptions in Tamil Brahmi

According to Rajan, certain graffiti marks may imply that the script was used for funerary and other purposes. [14] The language used in most of the religious inscriptions show Prakrit elements and influence. [38] [39] Cave and rock bed Tamil Brahmi inscriptions, as well as those found near Madurai, are typically donatory and dedicated resting places and resources for monks. Other major usages of Tamil Brahmi inscriptions are similar to those found in Andhra Pradesh, such as in coins and those that mention merchants and traders of gold, sugar, iron, salt and textiles. [40] Some Tamil Brahmi inscriptions mention the names of ancient kings, heroes, and places. This has served as an important and a more reliable means to date Tamil literature and history from about the 3rd century BCE and thereafter. [41]

A significant archaeological source of Tamil Brahmi inscriptions has been the region between Palghat gap and Coimbatore along the Kaveri river and to its delta. [42] The excavations here revealed nearly two hundred inscribed potsherds along with items relating to iron-smelting and jewelry manufacturing. These inscribed potsherds contain a mix of ancient Indian languages – mostly in early Tamil in Tamil Brahmi, and some in Prakrit languages in Brahmi. [42] These are dated to about 300 to 200 BCE by archaeo-magnetic analysis. [42] They suggest an economic vibrancy, trade and cultural exchange between ancient Tamil region and other parts of India. A similar mix of Tamil Brahmi and Brahmi script is found in shards, potsherds and rock inscriptions all along the coast of the Bay of Bengal, from Salihundam in northeast Andhra Pradesh to ancient near-coast settlements of Tamil Nadu such as those near Vaddamanu, Amaravati, Arikamedu, Kanchipuram, Vallam, Alagankulam and Korkai. [43]

Discoveries at Kodumanal near Coimbatore have unearthed potsherds with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions dated 300 to 200 BCE. These include names mostly in Tamil language (Kannan Atan, Pannan), as well as some in Sanskrit (Varuni, Visaki). [44] According to Mahadevan, this admixture of a few loan words of north Indian languages written in northern Brahmi with those in Tamil Brahmi is neither abnormal nor exception in the epigraphical evidence discovered in Tamil Nadu. This trend continued in centuries that followed where Tamils inscribed Sanskrit words in the Grantha script. [45] According to Vimala Begley, the recent sherds graffiti discoveries in archaeological sites along the coast of Tamil Nadu such as Arikamedu are a mix of Tamil Brahmi, northern Brahmi and Ceylon-Brahmi scripts, and they inscribe both Tamil and Prakrit languages of India. This likely suggests that ancient Tamil Nadu served as one of the important trade staging regions for the Indian subcontinent and beyond. [46]

Decipherment

A. C. Burnell (1874), attempted the earliest work on South Indian paleography, but it was due to the efforts of K. V. Subrahmanya Aiyar (1924), H. Krishna Sastri and K. K. Pillay that it was understood to be written in an early form of Tamil, not Prakrit. [34] The early attempts assumed more Prakrit loan words than what was actually used, hence the decipherment was not entirely successful. Iravatham Mahadevan identified the writings as mostly consisting of Tamil words in the late 1960s and published them in seminars and proceedings. [34] This was further expanded by T. V. Mahalingam (1967), R. Nagaswamy (1972), R. Panneerselvam (1972) and M. S. Venkataswamy (1981). [32]

Significant Tamil Brahmi findings

South Asia

Middle East

Southeast and East Asia

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Rajan, K (2008), "Situating the Beginning of Early Historic Times in Tamil Nadu: Some Issues and Reflections", Social Scientist, 36 (1/2): 51
  2. 1 2 3 Kamil Zvelebil (1992). Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature. BRILL. pp. 123–124. ISBN   90-04-09365-6.
  3. ↑ Jain, Sagarmal (1998). "Jain Literature [From earliest time to c. 10th A.D.]". Aspects of Jainology: Volume VI.
  4. 1 2 Richard Salomon (1998) Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages, Oxford University Press, pages 35–36 with footnote 103
  5. ↑ Rajan, K (2008), "Situating the Beginning of Early Historic Times in Tamil Nadu: Some Issues and Reflections", Social Scientist, 36 (1/2): 52
  6. 1 2 Iravatham Mahadevan (2003). Early Tamil Epigraphy. Harvard University Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies. pp. 91–94. ISBN   978-0-674-01227-1.;
    Iravatham Mahadevan (1970). Tamil-Brahmi Inscriptions. State Department of Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu. pp. 1–12.
  7. ↑ Zvelebil 1974, pp. 9 with footnote 12, 11–12.
  8. 1 2 Richard Salomon (1998) Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages, Oxford University Press, pages 31–36
  9. ↑ Bertold Spuler (1975). Handbook of Oriental Studies. BRILL Academic. p. 44. ISBN   90-04-04190-7.
  10. ↑ Salomon 1998, p. 9 footnote 9.
  11. ↑ Salomon 1998, pp. 8–10 with footnotes.
  12. ↑ Georg Bühler (1898). On the Origin of the Indian Brahma Alphabet. K.J. Trübner. pp.  6, 14–15, 23, 29., Quote: "(...) a passage of the Lalitavistara which describes the first visit of prince Siddhartha, the future Buddha, to the writing school..." (page 6); "In the account of prince Siddhartha's first visit to the writing school, extracted by Professor Terrien de la Couperie from the Chinese translation of the Lalitavistara of 308 AD, there occurs besides the mention of the sixty-four alphabets, known also from the printed Sanskrit text, the utterance of the master Visvamitra,...."
  13. ↑ Zvelebil 1974, p. 9 with footnote 12.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Rajan, K (2008), "Situating the Beginning of Early Historic Times in Tamil Nadu: Some Issues and Reflections", Social Scientist, 36 (1/2): 40–42
  15. ↑ Falk, H. (2014), p.46, with footnote 2
  16. 1 2 Salomon 1998 , p. 37
  17. 1 2 3 Zvelebil 2002 , pp. 94–95
  18. 1 2 3 Kamil Zvelebil (1973). The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India. BRILL Academic. pp. 42–43. ISBN   90-04-03591-5.
  19. ↑ Salomon 1998, pp. 12–14.
  20. 1 2 Coningham, Robin; Prishanta Gunawardhana; Gamini Adikari; Ian Simpson. "Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka) Project, Phase I: ASW2". Arts and Humanities Research Council. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  21. ↑ Coningham, R.A.E; Allchin, F.R.; Batt, C.M. (1996), "Passage to India? Anuradhapura and the early use of Brahmi Script", Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 6: 73–97, doi:10.1017/s0959774300001608, S2CID   161465267
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 "Owners' graffiti on pottery from Tissamaharama". Zeitschrift für Archäologie Außereuropäischer Kulturen. 6. Reichert Verlag: 45–47, context: 45–94. 2014.
  23. ↑ Tripathi, Sila (2011), "Ancient maritime trade on the eastern Indian littoral", Current Science, 100 (7): 1084
  24. ↑ Palani excavation triggers fresh debate, T.S. Subramanian, The Hindu (29 August 2011)
  25. ↑ Rajan, K.; Yatheeskumar, V.P. (2013). "New evidences on scientific dates for Brāhmī Script as revealed from Porunthal and Kodumanal Excavations" (PDF). Pragdhara. 21–22: 280–295. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  26. 1 2 "Owners' graffiti on pottery from Tissamaharama". Zeitschrift für Archäologie Außereuropäischer Kulturen. 6. Reichert Verlag: 46 footnote 2, context: 45–94. 2014.
  27. ↑ Shulman, D. Tamil: A biography, pp. 20–22
  28. 1 2 Salomon 1998 , p. 35
  29. ↑ Rajan, K (2008), "Situating the Beginning of Early Historic Times in Tamil Nadu: Some Issues and Reflections", Social Scientist, 36 (1/2): 40–43, 49–52
  30. 1 2 Sanford B. Steever (2015). The Dravidian Languages. Routledge. p. 78. ISBN   978-1-136-91164-4.
  31. ↑ Salomon 1998 , p. 36
  32. 1 2 Mahadevan, Iravatham (1994). "Recent discoveries of Jaina cave inscriptions in Tamilnadu". Rishabh Dev Foundation. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  33. ↑ Siromony, Gift (January 1982). "The origin of the Tamil script". Tamil Studies. 8 (23). International Institute of Tamil Historical Studies.
  34. 1 2 3 Zvelebil 1974 , p. 44
  35. ↑ Rajan, K (2008), "Situating the Beginning of Early Historic Times in Tamil Nadu: Some Issues and Reflections", Social Scientist, 36 (1/2): 49
  36. ↑ Rajan, K (2008), "Situating the Beginning of Early Historic Times in Tamil Nadu: Some Issues and Reflections", Social Scientist, 36 (1/2): 49–52
  37. ↑ Zvelebil 2002 , pp. 94–95
  38. ↑ Zvelebil 1974 , p. 47
  39. ↑ Zvelebil 2002 , p. 95
  40. ↑ Julian Reade (2013). Indian Ocean In Antiquity. Routledge. pp. 355–359. ISBN   978-1-136-15531-4.
  41. ↑ Zvelebil 2002, pp. 124–126 with footnotes.
  42. 1 2 3 Olivelle 2006, pp. 118–119.
  43. ↑ Olivelle 2006, pp. 118–121 with footnote 15.
  44. ↑ Olivelle 2006, pp. 123.
  45. ↑ Mahadevan, Iravatham (1995). "From Orality to Literacy: The Case of the Tamil Society". Studies in History. 11 (2). SAGE Publications: 173–188. doi:10.1177/025764309501100201. S2CID   162289944.
  46. ↑ Vimala Begley (1993). "New investigations at the port of Arikamedu". Journal of Roman Archaeology. 6. Cambridge University Press: 93–108. doi:10.1017/S104775940001148X. S2CID   162998667.
  47. ↑ Mahadevan 2003 , p. 48
  48. ↑ Thiagarajah, Siva (2010). "The people and cultures of prehistoric Sri Lanka – Part Three". The Sri Lanka Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  49. ↑ Bopearachchi, Osmund (2008). Tamil traders in Sri Lanka and Sinhala traders in Tamil Nadu. p. 18-21
  50. ↑ Subramanian, T. S. (14 March 2011). "Tamil-Brahmi script found at Pattanam in Kerala". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
  51. ↑ "More studies needed at Pattanam". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 24 May 2013.
  52. ↑ Edakal cave yields one more Tamil-Brahmi inscription. The Hindu (2012-02-09). Retrieved on 2013-07-28.
  53. ↑ Subramanian, T.S. (20 May 2013). "Tamil Brahmi script dating to 500 BC found near Erode at Kodumanal near Chennimalai". The newindianexpress. Chennai, India.
  54. ↑ Kishore, Kavita (15 October 2011). "Porunthal excavations prove existence of Indian scripts in 5th century BC: expert". THE HINDU. Chennai, India.
  55. ↑ Subramanian, T. S. (14 February 2013). "Tamil-Brahmi script discovered on Tirupparankundram hill". THEHINDU. Chennai, India.
  56. ↑ "Fifth 'hero' stone with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions found". Newindianexpress.
  57. ↑ Thenur gold treasure found four years ago is 2300 years' old, recent study reveals
  58. ↑ Newly Discovered Brahmi Inscription Deciphered, The Hindu
  59. ↑ "Potsherd with Tamil-Brahmi script found in Oman". The Hindu . 17 November 2021.
  60. ↑ John Guy (2001). Angela Schottenhammer (ed.). The Emporium of the World: Maritime Quanzhou, 1000–1400. BRILL. pp. 283 with footnote 2. ISBN   90-04-11773-3.
  61. ↑ Richard Salomon (1998) Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages, Oxford University Press, page 160
  62. 1 2 Lakshimikanth 2008 , p. 8
  63. ↑ John Guy (2014). Introducing Early Southeast Asia. Yale University Press. pp. 11–12. ISBN   978-0-300-20437-7.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  64. ↑ Pierre-Yves Manguin; A. Mani; Geoff Wade (2011). Early Interactions Between South and Southeast Asia: Reflections on Cross-cultural Exchange. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 248–249. ISBN   978-981-4311-16-8.
  65. ↑ Pierre-Yves Manguin; A. Mani; Geoff Wade (2011). Early Interactions Between South and Southeast Asia: Reflections on Cross-cultural Exchange. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 89–94 with figures 4.10 to 4.19. ISBN   978-981-4311-16-8.
  66. ↑ Pierre-Yves Manguin; A. Mani; Geoff Wade (2011). Early Interactions Between South and Southeast Asia: Reflections on Cross-cultural Exchange. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 95–98. ISBN   978-981-4311-16-8.
  67. ↑ John Norman Miksic; Goh Geok Yian (2016). Ancient Southeast Asia. Taylor & Francis. pp. 177–178. ISBN   978-1-317-27904-4.
  68. ↑ John N. Miksic (2013). Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea. National University of Singapore Press. pp. 49–50. ISBN   978-9971-69-574-3.

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Since the Iron Age in India, the native languages of the Indian subcontinent are divided into various language families, of which the Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian are the most widely spoken. There are also many languages belonging to unrelated language families such as Munda and Tibeto-Burman, spoken by smaller groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamilakam</span> Geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people

Tamilakam was the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Lakshadweep and southern parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Traditional accounts and the Tolkāppiyam referred to these territories as a single cultural area, where Tamil was the natural language and permeated the culture of all its inhabitants. The ancient Tamil country was divided into kingdoms. The best known among them were the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyans and Pallavas. During the Sangam period, Tamil culture began to spread outside Tamilakam. Ancient Tamil settlements were also established in Sri Lanka and the Maldives (Giravarus), prior to the migration of Prakrit speakers.

Vatteluttu or Vattezhuthu was an alphasyllabic writing system of south India and Sri Lanka used for writing the Tamil and Malayalam languages. This script is the sister of the Pallava script which once development in Southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Early Indian epigraphy</span> History of South Asian writing systems

The earliest undisputed deciphered epigraphy found in the Indian subcontinent are the Edicts of Ashoka of the 3rd century BCE, in the Brahmi script.

Indian copper plate inscriptions are legal records engraved on copper plates. The practice was widespread and long-running in the Indian subcontinent; it may date back to as early as the 3rd millennium BCE, however the vast majority of recovered plates were produced in the 1st millennium CE. The plates were legal documents which registered and recorded an act of endowment, i.e. a grant or donation, typically of land or concessions. The plate contained bureaucratic information on land tenure and taxation essential to the operation of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iravatham Mahadevan</span> Indian epigraphist (1930–2018)

Iravatham Mahadevan was an Indian epigraphist and civil servant, known for his decipherment of Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions and for his expertise on the epigraphy of the Indus Valley civilisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sources of ancient Tamil history</span> Literary, archaeological, epigraphic and numismatic sources of ancient Tamil history

There are literary, archaeological, epigraphic and numismatic sources of ancient Tamil history. The foremost among these sources is the Sangam literature, generally dated to 5th century BCE to 3rd century CE. The poems in Sangam literature contain vivid descriptions of the different aspects of life and society in Tamilakam during this age; scholars agree that, for the most part, these are reliable accounts. Greek and Roman literature, around the dawn of the Christian era, give details of the maritime trade between Tamilakam and the Roman empire, including the names and locations of many ports on both coasts of the Tamil country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhattiprolu script</span> Variant of the Brahmi script

The Bhattiprolu script is a variant of the Brahmi script which has been found in old inscriptions at Bhattiprolu, a small village in the erstwhile Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located in the fertile Krishna River delta and the estuary region where the river meets the Bay of Bengal.

Kandarodai is a small hamlet and archaeological site of Chunnakam town, a suburb in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka. The notable ancient Buddhist monastery referred to as Kadurugoda Vihara is situated in Kandarodai.

Tissamaharama inscription No. 53 refers to a fragment of black and red ware flat dish inscribed in Brahmi script excavated at the earliest layer in southern town of Tissamaharama in Sri Lanka. It is dated to approximately 200 BC by German scholars who undertook the excavation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Tamil</span> Form of Tamil used from 300 BCE to 700 CE

Old Tamil is the period of the Tamil language spanning from the third century BCE to the seventh century CE. Prior to Old Tamil, the period of Tamil linguistic development is termed as Proto-Tamil. After the Old Tamil period, Tamil becomes Middle Tamil. The earliest records in Old Tamil are inscriptions from between the 3rd and 1st century BCE in caves and on pottery. These inscriptions are written in a variant of the Brahmi script called Tamil-Brahmi. The earliest long text in Old Tamil is the Tolkāppiyam, an early work on Tamil grammar and poetics, whose oldest layers could be as old as the mid-2nd century BCE. Old Tamil preserved many features of Proto-Dravidian, the reconstructed common ancestor of the Dravidian languages, including inventory of consonants, the syllable structure, and various grammatical features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anaikoddai seal</span>

The Anaikoddai seal is a soapstone seal that was found in Anaikoddai, Sri Lanka during archeological excavations of a megalithic burial site by a team of researchers from the University of Jaffna. The seal was originally part of a signet ring and contains one of the oldest Brahmi inscriptions mixed with megalithic graffiti symbols found on the island. It was dated paleographically to the early third century BC.

Megalithic markings, Megalithic graffiti marks, Megalithic symbols or Non-Brahmi symbols are terms used to describe markings found on mostly potsherds found in Central India, South India and Sri Lanka during the Megalithic Iron Age period. They are usually found in burial sites but are also found habitation sites as well. They are tentatively dated from 1000 BCE to 300 CE marking the transition of the proto-historic period into the historic period of South Asia. A number of scholars have tried to decipher the symbols since 1878, and currently there is no consensus as to whether they constitute un-deciphered writing or graffiti or symbols without any syllabic or alphabetic meaning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mangulam</span> Village in Tamil Nadu

Mangulam or Mankulam is a village in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Madurai. The inscriptions discovered in the region are the earliest Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions.

<i>Lipi</i> (script) Ancient Indian script

Lipi means 'writing, letters, alphabet', and contextually refers to scripts, the art or manner of writing, or in modified form such as lipī to painting, decorating or anointing a surface to express something.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamil inscriptions</span> List of Tamil archaeological artefacts and epigraphs

This is a list of archaeological artefacts and epigraphs which have Tamil inscriptions. Of the approximately 100,000 inscriptions found by the Archaeological Survey of India in India, about 60,000 were in Tamil Nadu

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