Tamil-Brahmi

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. 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. 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. Nagaswamy treats Tamil-Brahmi script to be synonymous with the Damili script in his publications. Artifacts such as inscribed potsherds, coins or others are found in Tamil Nadu archaeological sites have graffiti and inscriptions. 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. , 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. Richard Salomon favors the Mahadevan theory. 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. 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. These include those found in Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, some of which have been dated to the 4th century BCE. 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 the 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. The graffiti and Brahmi found at sites in Sri Lanka are related, but not considered to be examples of Tamil-Brahmi. 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. 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. 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 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." 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. ==The script==

Tamil-Brahmi had notable peculiarities when compared to the Standard Brahmi. 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. 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. The third version, assumed to be the basis for early Tolkāppiyam, evolved into the modern Tamil script. 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. 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. ==Usage==

The Tamil Brahmi script inscriptions are predominantly found with ancient Tamil Jaina and Buddhist sites, states Zvelebil. The Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions are also found in secular context such as coins, potsherds and others. 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. According to Rajan, certain graffiti marks may imply that the script was used for funerary and other purposes. 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. 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. 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. 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. These are dated to about 300 to 200 BCE by archaeo-magnetic analysis. 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. 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). 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. 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. == 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. ==Significant Tamil Brahmi finds==

South Asia • Potsherds with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions found in Poonagari, Jaffna, 2nd century BCE. • Black and red ware potsherd in Ucchapanai, Kandarodai, Jaffna, 300 BCE • Locally produced coins with Tamil Brahmi legends were found in the southern town of Tissamaharama. • a pot rim at Pattanam, central Kerala. • Edakal cave, Ambukuthi hill, Kerala. • Kodumanal, Chennimalai near Erode • Porunthal site is located 12 km South West of Palani • Tirupparankundram hill, Madurai • Fifth ‘hero’ stone found with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions at Porpanakkottai • Thenur, Madurai. Script is written on a gold bar, 300 BCE. • a laterite in Karadukka in Kasaragod district, Kerala. Middle East • Tamil-Brahmi script dating to 50 CE found at Oman country. Experts explains that the script "nantai kiran" has two components: an honorific suffix for elderly names and a personal name, with over 20 Tamil Sangam age poets including "kiran" in their names. • Fragments with inscriptions in Tamil Brahmi script have been found – along with other records in Indic languages and scripts – in Quseir-al-Qadim, (Leukos Limen) Egypt, all dated to about the 1st or 2nd century CE. These evidence a trade relationship between Indian traders and Egyptian counterparts. Two earlier Tamil Brahmi inscription discoveries at the same site, 1st century CE. The inscribed text is paanai oRi "pot suspended in a rope net". Southeast and East Asia • Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions in the Tamil language, along with Sanskrit in northern Brahmi script, have been found in archaeological sites of southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia. For example, a Goldsmith's touchstone found in Wat Klong Thom (Krabi, Thailand) is among the earliest known Tamil inscription in Tamil Brahmi. It is from the 3rd century CE. This evidence along with other inscriptions found in this region suggests that Tamil goldsmiths were likely settled and working in this region of the southeast Asia in the early centuries of the common era. • Pottery and other items with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions have been discovered in the Philippines, for example Baybayin, and in Phu Khao Thong, Thailand and Khuan Luk Pat. They are dated to about the 2nd century CE-14th century CE. They are damaged and incomplete but likely refer to some monk (Tamil: turavon). These suggest a trading, religious and cultural exchange between the Tamil region and southeast Asia. The Tamil Brahmi inscriptions and items unearthed since the 1980s in this region suggest that the cultural and economic exchange included mixed themes with shades of Buddhism and Hinduism. • The Tamil Brahmi and the northern (Ashokan) Brahmi inscriptions found in Siamo-Malay peninsula and Vietnam are the earliest known evidence of writing in southeast Asia. ==See also==

• • • • • • • • • • {{Citation|last=Singh|first=Upinder|title=A history of ancient and early medieval India : from the Stone Age to the 12th century • • • • ==External links==