Vatteluttu alphabet

Vattezhutthu
Type
Languages Tamil
Time period
 BCE 3200–present
Parent systems
Child systems
 Saurashtra
Sister systems
 Malayalam, Grantha, Kolezhuthu, Malayanma
[a] The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon.

The Vaṭṭeḻuttu alphabet, also spelled Vattezhutthu (literally "rounded script", Tamil: வட்டெழுத்து, vaṭṭeḻuttu, Tamil pronunciation: [ʋəʈːeɻʉt̪ːʉ]; Malayalam: വട്ടെഴുത്ത് vaṭṭeḻuttŭ) is an abugida writing system originating from the ancient Tamil people of South India. Developed from Tamil-Brahmi, Vatteluttu is one of the three main alphabet systems developed by Tamil people to write the Proto-Tamil language, alongside the ancient Grantha or Pallava alphabet and the Tamil script. The syllabic alphabet is attested from the 6th century CE to the 14th century in present-day Tamil Nadu and Kerala states of India. It was later supplanted by modern Tamil script and Malayalam script. Vaṭṭeḻuttu replaced Tamil-Brahmi for writing Tamil after the 2nd century CE. This rounded form of writing was also used in Kerala to write in Tamil as well as in proto-Malayalam and Malayalam language. Currently, Malayalam uses the Malayalam script. Inhabitants of Kuccaveli, located north of Trincomalee, used the Vaṭṭeḻuttu script between the 5th and 8th centuries, attested to on rock inscriptions found there.[1] Inscriptional records in Tamil date from 300 BCE to 1800.[2] Grantha was an alphabet in which extra letters were created specifically for Sanskrit words. It was also a modified form of Tamil script to write Sanskrit granthas or books. In Tamil, many of the letters which are found in Sanskrit do not exist.

Samples

Tamil inscriptions in Vatteluttu script in Brahadeeswarar temple, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. It was built c. 1000 CE during the Chola empire era.

The following image shows the divergent evolution of the Tamil script and the Vatteluttu script. The Vatteluttu script is shown on the left, and the Tamil script is shown on the right.

Divergent evolution of Tamil script and Vatteluttu script. (The earlier is near the centre and that later is towards the sides.) Tamil Brahmi is in the central column, Vatteluttu is on the left and Tamil script is on the right.

Here are the characters used in Vatteluttu:

Vatteluttu script sample

See also

Bibliography

  • Sivaramamurti, C, Indian Epigraphy and South Indian Scripts. Bulletin of the Madras Government Museum. Chennai 1999

References

  1. ↑ Manogaran. The Untold Story of Ancient Tamils in Sri Lanka. p. 31.
  2. ↑ Agesthialingom, S. & S.V. Shanmugam (1970). The Language of Tamil Inscriptions. Annamalainagar, India: Annamalai University.
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