Talk:Grantha Script
Grantha script One of the important factors respon¬sible for the development of any language is its script. According to the experts in the field of paleography, the origins of writing with a definite script might be traced to the period 4000 B. C. The Kannaḍa and the Telugu char¬acters might have evolved around the 5th century A. D. from a South Indian edition of the Brāhmī script.
1 +r+ ZWJ + aj/alai !+<! /')=>§/I f$i fpl §W|iW§/ |f
or
jb *♦**“ + ZW3 + uj / e» f m C+i / -> $ /
1,33 + r + ZWJ + enj*ir+S!$, + r+ &i => *}f^
3. m +■ F +• ZWNJ + saj + F + + r + ai =>
The Tamil characters were already in use even by the 2nd century A. D. Since this script contained only the first and the last letters in each of the five vargas (like ka-varga, ca-varga, viz., ka and ṅ or ca and ñ) and did not have the letters like śa, ṣa, sa or ha, Sanskrit works could not be copied in this script. To remedy this defect, the Grantha script seems to have been evolved. There is evidence of the use of this script in the earliest copper plate inscriptions of the Pallavas belonging to the 5th or the 6th century A. D. Hence the name ‘Pallava Grantha script’ also. Though this script was used mostly for Sanskrit writings, it seems to have gained greater currency in general use also, around the 14th century. The Malayālam script is a metamor¬phosis of the Grantha script. It has been used sometimes as a script for the Tulu language also. Two varieties of the Grantha script are found: the Brāhmaṇic or the square variety and the Jaina or the round variety. The script has 35 letters, of which five are vowels.