South Indian Scripts in Sanskrit Manuscripts and Prints - Grunendalh

Reinhold Griinendahl
South Indian Scripts

in Sanskrit Manuscripts
and Prints
Grantha Tamil - Malayalam -
Telugu - Kannada - Nandinagari
2001
Har rassowitz Vcrlag • Wiesbaden
Gedruckt mit IJnterstiitzung der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft.
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Printing and binding: Hubert & Co., Gottingen
Printed in Germany
ISBN 3-447-04504-3
Contents
Preface .
Terms and Symbols
Introduction .....
Grantha Tamil
Basic Characters & Ligatures . 1
Prepausal Consonants .
Additional Graphs .l7

Conjunct Forms of Sonorants .r7
Consonant Clusters & Conjuncts .
Tamil .43
Abbreviations & Contractions .52
Numerals ..
Graphic Classification .59
Grantha Malayalam
Basic Characters & Ligatures .77
Prepausal Consonants .92
Additional Graphs .92
Conjunct Forms of Sonorants .93
Numerals ..
Consonant Clusters & Conjuncts ..

Telugu
Basic Characters & Ligatures . I2J

Additional Graphs . T g
Conjunct Forms . r^g
Numerals .
Abbreviations & Contractions . r^g
Consonant Clusters & Conjuncts . Iz^
Kannada
Basic Characters & Ligatures . xg^
Additional Graphs . ^8
Conjunct Forms . r^g
Numerals . xg0
Abbreviations & Contractions . 180
Consonant Clusters & Conjuncts . i8x
Appendix: Distinctive Features of Nandinagari . 201
Checklist of Conjunct Components . 211
The Southern Brhaspati Cycle (i20j-i()86 A.D.) . 217
Bibliography . 219
Outline Tables
Preface
The present guide is a by-product of my edition of the Sivadharmasastra as

well as of my handling of the South Indian manuscript and print collections
of the Niedersachsische Staats- und Universitatsbibliothek, Gottingen. It is
intended to provide a basis for the self-reliant study of documents written in
South Indian scripts. Apart from manuscripts and inscriptions (the latter
with the qualifications explained below), this comprises printed editions of
Sanskrit texts published in large numbers up to the 1930’s. From about that
time onward, Sanskrit printing in South Indian scripts was gradually mar¬
ginalized by Devanagari type.
In the course of this development the former achievements of Southern
printing gradually fell into oblivion, much to the detriment of Sanskrit
studies, I believe. The major catalogues of Sanskrit printed books1 testify to
the wealth of this tradition, and there is reason to assume that its volume is
considerably larger than recorded in those catalogues. Apart from facilitat¬
ing access to the Southern text tradition in general, prints in South Indian
scripts have brought to light a fair number of Sanskrit texts never published
in Devanagari or any other North Indian script. However, it remains
exceptionally difficult to trace their bibliographical data, let alone the prints
themselves, especially in libraries outside South India.
To give an example from first-hand experience: Towards the end of my
editorial work on the Visnudharma I came across various references that led
me to assume that the authors of the books in question had used a South
Indian edition of the Visnudharma that was hitherto unknown, at least to
me. However, in the bibliographic reference tools available to me at that
time this assumption did not materialize. When I visited the Adyar Library,
Cennai (Madras), a storehouse of South Indian manuscripts and prints, in
1993, I simply checked the card catalogue, and there it was, a Telugu edi¬
tion of the Visnudharma that had escaped R.C. Hazra’s notice as well as
mine!
Those who do not have the good fortune of having easy access to the
admirable collections of South Indian prints in Adyar and other places may
be referred to the catalogue of printed Sanskrit books deposited in the
1 Sec, e.g., Catalogue of the Library of the India Office, Voi. II, Part I, Sanscrit Boohs, [ed. by]
Prana Natha and Chaudhuri, Jitendra Kimala, 4 vols., 1938-1957.
Vlll PREFACE
library of the Oriental Research Institute, Mysore,2 a kind of bibliographic

self-help kit in all such matters, and a very useful complement to the India
Office Library catalogue mentioned above.
Measures to overcome this deplorable lack of information are easy to
envisage, but not quite so easy to realize: A cumulative online catalogue will
probably remain a librarian’s castle in the air for some time to come, unless
perhaps South India’s booming computer industry, in a noble gesture of
reverence to the subcontinent’s cultural heritage, would bestow its blessings
on libraries and other institutions struggling to preserve their exceptionally
rich holdings.
By and large, the same applies to Sanskrit manuscripts in South Indian
scripts. However, compared to catalogues of printed books, the range of
South Indian manuscript catalogues, though limited to relatively few libra¬
ries, is stunning, as a look into K. L. Janert’s Annotated Bibliography will
show.3 4 In view of the abundance of tradition documented in these catalogues
it is all the more regrettable that the projected successor to Theodor Auf-
recht’s Catalogus Catalogorum, the New Catalogus Catalogorum published by

the University of Madras, seems to have come to an untimely halt.5 As
pointed out elsewhere, whatever the reason for this delay, the project
deserves all the attention and help needed to get it back on track.5
The idea for this book came to me when I was collecting manuscript
microfilms and prints in South India in 1993. Feeling quite unprepared for
the task, I looked around for practical help, but all I chanced upon was a
2 Sitarama Sastry, S. (comp.): A catalogue of printed Sanscrit works in the Government Oriental
Library, Mysore (1891-1944). - Mysore : Govt. Branch Press, 1944. Venkatanathacharya,
N. S. (comp.): A supplemental catalogue of printed Sanskrit works in the Oriental Research

Institute, Mysore (1945-1956). - Mysore : Univ. of Mysore, 1957
i Janert, Klaus Ludwig: An Annotated Bibliography of the Catalogues of Indian Manuscripts. -
Wiesbaden 1965 (Verzeichnis der orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland, Suppl. 1 ).
4 Calculated on the basis of Aufrecht’s tripartite Catalogus Catalogorum, the New Catalogus
Catalogorum has covered around 43 per cent of its ground in the 34 years since the publica¬
tion of vol. 2 in 1966 (not taking into account the first edition of vol. 1 in 1949, replaced by
a 2nd ed. in 1969). If it is continued at the same speed, it could take another 45 years until
at least some of us would see its completion, but considering that the last volume was
published in 1991, this seems a very optimistic estimate.
5 See Grunendahl, R.: “A Plea for an Integrated Approach towards Manuscript Cata¬
loguing’ , Journal of the Nepal Research Centre, 12 (2001), pp. 151-159, section 4.2.1.
IX
PREFACE
few booklets designed for elementary instruction (see bibliography). Prac¬

tical guides to South Indian scripts that gave adequate attention to the
plethora of conjunct characters were hard to find.
When thinking about ways to fill this gap it seemed only natural to start
with the material I had just collected, viz., manuscripts of the Sivadharma-
lastra and the Visnudharma, and various prints, among them the Visnu-
dharma edition mentioned above. On the one hand I already had prepared
machine-readable versions of these two texts (c. 1,300 respectively 4,300
verses), which furnished evidence of all relevant characters and conjuncts.
On the other hand, the Sivadharmasastra tradition alone offered manu¬
scripts in three of four South Indian scripts (the exception being Kannada).
In a further stage, these materials were supplemented by other texts avail¬
able in South Indian prints as well as in machine-readable versions, first and
foremost the BhagavadgTta (for details see bibliography). At about the same
time I was entrusted with a collection of books in modern Indian languages
taken over from the Seminar fur Indologie und Buddhismuskunde, Gottin¬
gen, a considerable number of them being written in Dravidian languages
and/or scripts. This fortunate coincidence put the project on a much firmer
basis. Finally, the yield of these materials was compared with samples from
the manuscript collection of the Niedersachsische Staats- und Universitiits-
bibliothek, Gottingen.
An endeavour like the present one requires the basic decision between
particularity and generality. Should the delineation of a given script confine
itself to one particular manuscript or should it comprise as many sources as
possible, including printed texts? In my view the first method, although
convincingly applied to other Indian scripts, is less suitable for a highly
complex system such as Grantha Tamil, of which the following pages can
only give an inadequate impression.

But the impression would have been even less adequate had I confinec
myself to the evidence of one particular manuscript. To begin with, even
with a limited choice of manuscripts it would be difficult to decide which of
them can be considered exemplary. Having made a choice, and accepted its
inevitable randomness, one is tied to the characteristic features of that parti¬
cular manuscript, no matter how ‘typical’ they may be. furthermore, the
choice entails undesirable limitations: As a rule, a given manuscript will
offer only one variety of, say, the Grantha Tamil conjunct nca, which may
X PREFACE
match one of the seven specimina given below (see p. 24). But with regard
to the other six - provided they had come to one’s notice in the first place -
one is faced with the dilemma of either waiving the principal decision in
favour of one particular manuscript or plainly excluding valuable evidence
gathered from other sources. And there is another, equally undesirable
limitation: Considering that hardly any individual manuscript will yield the
full range of ligatures and conjuncts it may be asked how its limited evid¬
ence is to be complemented, or whether comprehensiveness should be tacitly
sacrificed in favour of an ultimately unsustainable principle.
By comparison, an eclectic approach taking in all available sources -
manuscripts and prints - has few disadvantages, apart from not finding
favour with the purists. It will certainly increase general applicability of such
a survey if the bewildering variety encountered in manuscripts, and the
sometimes distinct conventions of prints, can be distilled to a diversified
whole. Such an approach obviously requires a certain standard in the deline¬
ation of the scripts in question. To a degree, the printed type developed for
these scripts in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is the result
of a similar distillation process, and therefore provides a suitable reference
point for the standardization of the material collected in this book. I am
confident that readers will have little difficulty in relating the standardized
type to the individual character, and vice versa.
An additional advantage of standardization is that it elucidates the under¬
lying principles of composition, especially with regard to conjuncts. An indi¬
vidual scribe may slur conjunct components beyond recognition, whereas
they remain recognizable if standardized, and this in turn enhances the
grasp of the underlying principles of composition.
With a view to achieving the degree of uniformity necessary for easy
recognition of characters I designed a number of PostScript™ fonts with
Pontographer™ 4.I.6 7 These are definitely not intended as a contribution to
professional typography, and seem to confirm Fiona Ross’ verdict that the
wide dissemination of font designing tools had led to an abundance of very
poor font designs/ It should be kept in mind though that I had to put the
6 Apart from Fontographer™, no Windows™ based software was used in the composition of
this book. The layout was done with WordPerfect™ 6.0 (DOS) supported by SmartKey™.
7 Ross, Fiona G. E.: The Printed Bengali Character and Its Evolution. Richmond : Curzon 1999,
p. 223.
PREFACE XI
adequate representation of manuscript evidence before other aspirations.

Furthermore, even within the limited range of my standardization efforts,
font design already took far more time than I had planned, and at some
point pragmatism had to prevail in order to carry the project to completion.
After all, it had already caused yet another serious delay of my schedule for
completing the edition of the Sivadharmasastra.
A discussion of paleography and phonology definitely lies outside the
scope of the present guide. Here the reader is referred to the pertinent titles
in the bibliography. At present, a discussion of paleographical aspects would
be premature anyway because this field of research will soon be put on a
new basis by the ongoing ‘Indoskript’ project of the Indological institutes of
Freie Universitat Berlin and Universitat Halle.
Generous spacing provides room for noting down variants one will in¬
evitably come across in the course of one’s study of manuscripts and prints
in South Indian scripts. It is the primary purpose of the present guide to
encourage such studies.

Besides, it is also intended to recall to memory an aspect of hbrananship
that tends to be ignored by the modern travesty of an academic librarian
striking the eye in the peculiar blend of a self-styled global player in infor¬
mation management and a smug media worker.
My debt of gratitude is to Gerhard Ehlers (Berlin) for going through

earlier versions of the Grantha Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu sections and
contributing numerous additions and corrections, to Ute Hiisken (Gottin¬
gen) for procuring material from India, and for her help and encourage¬
ment through the various stages of this project, to Heike Moser-Achuthath
(Tubingen), from whose expertise the Malayalam section has benefited
considerably, to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for funding the
publication of this book, and to Harrassowitz Verlag for undertaking it.
Reinhold Grunendahl
Terms1 and Symbols
Conjunct The graphic connection of a consonant with another

consonant or consonants, whereby another shape is pro¬
duced.
Consonant cluster The unconnected combination of a consonant with an¬

other consonant or consonants, which leaves all compo¬
nents graphically unaltered, except in size and position.
Ligature The combination of a consonant with a vowel diacritic.
& separates variants (not used in lists of conjuncts)

#
a Tamil character in a Grantha Tamil context
# a numeral
□ represents a host consonant (in displaying vocalization etc.)
1 Cf. Ross 1999:236f.

Introduction
Most of the hitherto published works on Indian palaeography focus on the

historical development of the various Indian scripts based on the evidence of
inscriptions and manuscripts. Especially works on South Indian palaeography
rely almost exclusively on epigraphic evidence, which may be due to the
extreme scarcity of South Indian manuscripts with verifiable dates. In conse¬
quence, these works usually turn out to be moderately useful for the prac¬
tical purpose of actually learning a script: to begin with, they can only offer
the limited range of characters documented in inscriptions. Furthermore,
epigraphic characters of a given script differ considerably from those
encountered in manuscripts.
The present book is an attempt to fill this gap. Some practical hints for
readers may not be out of place:

Variants of basic characters are given in the respective systematic sections
under -at-a (see box on top of the page). These variants have not been
carried through all non-a vocalizations unless a particular ligature appears
more frequently or seemed worthwile to recall as a variant of a basic
character. The large-size outline tables give only the ‘standard’ form.
Both long and short diphthongs (e/e, o/d), the distinction of which is a
characteristic of several Dravidian languages and scripts, have found their
way into South Indian Sanskrit manuscripts and prints. In some sources
they seem to be used indiscriminately while in others preference is given to
one or the other. As a rule, I have given the exact transliteration of long and
short diphthongs although the distinction is inconsequential for Sanskrit
(for examples see the lists of conjuncts).

The charts and outline tables display a number of ligatures (i.e., vocaliza¬
tions) not sanctioned by Sanskrit phonetics. This certainly makes them
rather hypothetical and difficult to document in texts as, e.g., ligatures of
vocalic -/ with consonants other than But I can detect no harm in includ¬
ing them just the same. And, if required, each and every one of them can
actually be documented, albeit in one particular context alone, viz., the
South Indian ‘letter-numerals’ occasionally used for numbering the folios of
manuscripts. The system of ‘letter-numerals’ reserved for this purpose is
different from the one employed in other contexts, which combines basic
characters and conjuncts in no apparent order, all of them ending in -a,
XIV
INTRODUCTION
with three exceptions (see the Malayalam section, p. 94).2 3 By contrast, the
letters used for manuscript pagination follow the sequence of the Sanskrit
alphabet, usually beginning with the vowels from a to au (plus am/ah/iti)
followed by the consonants from fa to h- (plus fa-/sfa/sp-) declined through
the entire range of vocalizations from -a to -au? Gerhard Ehlers once point¬
ed out to me that these ‘letter-numerals’, apart from their obvious function,
could also be intended to provide the reader of a given manuscript with a
reference aid for getting acquainted with the hand of its scribe. In view of
the fact that such mss. frequently display a parallel numbering in digits it
seems likely that this is the principal purpose of South Indian ‘letter numer¬
als — contrary to letter numerals in Nepalese manuscripts, for example.
The following notes on some graphic aspects of the scripts in question are
intended to facilitate orientation in the sometimes confusing variety of
characters. Palxographical and phonological aspects are of no concern here.
Grantha Tamil
Grantha Tamil is by far the most complex of the South Indian scripts
applied to Sanskrit texts. Finding this complexity difficult to summarize in
words I have tried to map it out in an attempt at graphic classification (pp.
59-76), which, it is hoped, will need no further comment here.
2 Cf. C. Bendall 1896.
3 Cf. Burnf.ll 1878:80. At least to my knowledge, the South Indian systems of letter-numerals
have not yet been studied in great detail. Here are some examples taken from manuscripts
deposited in the Niedersachsische Staats- und Universitatsbibliothek, Gottingen. First, a
rather typical numbering method according to a Ramayana-Ms. in Tamil Grantha (Cod.
Ms. Sansr. Schr. 75): vowels from c to au (1-14), am (15), ah (16), consonants with
inherent a from ka to ha (17-49), then l_a, faa, ska, spa, arn(?), in (50-55), followed by {a
[repeated!], fa, fa fa■ fa'. fal fa, fa, fa fa, fa, fa', fa, fa« (56-69), fa’V (70), fah (71), and
so on through the rest of the alphabet (fata, faia. faii, fa' etc.). An interesting variation can
be found in an incomplete manuscript of the Taittirlya-Samhita (Cod. Ms. Sanscr. Schr. 6):
fa-ha (1-33), la, fact, sfa, spa, am (?), iti (34-39), then fa, fa, fa, fa, fa', fal fa, fa, fa, fa, fa,
fa' (40-51); after a gap caused by missing folios, the numbering continues with chit (‘70',
according to the somewhat incongruous parallel numbering in numerals) etc.
INTRODUCTION XV
Tamil
Tamil script (for the Tamil language) is included here because Sanskrit
manuscripts and prints in Tamil Grantha frequently display T amil charac¬
ters (e.g., 6Tf la for (lD) la in 6)_irR5jfT6Tr5)(y3)patdlatala). Furthermore, in
spite of its limited range of characters, Tamil script is frequently used for
printing entire Sanskrit texts, especially popular editions of religious texts
such as the 1_I c9o6Ll S) 6B)<3), in large numbers. Although they are
seldom encountered in a Sanskrit context, I have also included Tamil
abbreviations and other features that are hard to find in the usual reference
works.
The following remarks on graphic elements of the Tamil script are based
on Beythan’s observations (1943:1 qff.):

A hook is added at the lower right to distinguish between initial cfj, a-
and c#l a-, and likewise between diacritic y -it and □ -u (in (5^ nu, Ly pit,
I jl yu, 6^ vu). Similarly, the end of initial 65) 6- is curled to distinguish it
from 65? o-. An added 6fT /-graph distinguishes initial u- from 2— u-,
initial 6^6U au- from 6g o-, and diacritic Qd&fT -au from 0D -e.
A curl distinguishes diacritic □ T from □! -i, preceding diacritic (}□-<?/
Gnff -o from Qd -e and 6) off -o, as well as a variant of diacritic -u from -u
(in (§ tit, (T_p mu, 0 ru, (Lp lie, (0TF, lu). It should be noted that diacritic
-u/-u show the greatest variety of all vocalizations.
A thorn at the lower right distinguishes initial 5T e- from 6T e- and
(where necessary) [T ra from diacritic 11 -a, while the (f -a-element distingu¬
ishes Qorr -o from Qn -e, and Go IT -0 from Go -e. A similar graphic ele¬
ment denotes diacritic -it (inîIT nit, 000)11 nu, <3T\ ttl, JT/IT ?n<,6V2IT lit, UT
rii, 6girr nil) if the respective -u character ends in an upward stroke (gd nu
etc.).
The three characters that have a curve at the bottom to denote diacritic -a
(viz., §0G) na, (TT? ra, (5TT) rid) retain it in -0/-0: 6\tm) no, 6(55(5) no etc.
Grantha Malayalam (Arya Eluttu)

The graph for unaugmented diacritic 0 -au distinguishes initial (alternat.)
6Y30 i- from 6T) i-, gXD it- from g>_ u-, §£ /£§ f- from & ©0 au from
0 o, and diacritic 0D® -au from ©□ -e.
XVI
INTRODUCTION
The two older variaties of diacritic -u □ / OB and -u □ / c&. are invariably

applied according to the pattern laid down in the respective table (pp. 84b )
This pattern is also applied if such -u ligatures appear as final members of
a conjunct/consonant cluster: cflYg) \tu, aSYgj \tu, o0d knu, o& \nu etc.
In consonant clusters built with virama attachecPto theTirst component
diphthong diacritics are written between the virama and the following
component, e.g., 6fi“(IcMd n\se, (UVdGCQj tsnye.
The inventory of prepausal characters is rather small, compared to
Grantha Tamil. However, in Grantha Malayalam prepausal characters for
voiceless plosives also stand for their voiced counterparts. Thus cfih also
serves for -g, (Ob -t for -d, and also for -/!«
A triangular marka indicates gemination in conjuncts with preceding r-,

viz. nj rc(c)a, 6Dj & 61^1 rb(b)a, j rbh(bh)a,Q rm(m)a, Cg)& CQj) ry(y)a,
QJ & Cljl rv(v)a including the non-r- variants of those conjuncts ending
with an upward stroke to the right, especially jQJ cca, g) mma and tty yya.
Variants of the simplified Malayalam script introduced in the 1970s and
1980s have been included.
Due to their graphic similarity, the following characters may be difficult

to distinguish, especially in manuscripts:4 5
e-
a® & pri
CD -au (D na
QJ ca QJ pa QJ va
cro sa CU) da
CO) ta cfb ha
63 0 la
u £ la OD/ nya
(DJ nva (DJ mpa
finally, some notes on writing Prakrit in Malayalam script:
anusvara' preceding a consonant may indicate gemination:
0(0) ‘m’ta = COTOl /to, oO ‘m’tha = g ttha
anusvara on top of a consonant or vowel indicates nasalization:
6TDS = 6TDo8 iiatnbha

‘anusvara may stand for yya: (BTOoCBTO) am a = (BlOg),(erO ayya
4 As P°'nted out by Gundert (i8;2:xiv) and others, in Malayalam -t is pronounced

5 List contributed by Heike Moser-Achuthath.
INTRODUCTION XVII
Telugu
There are two conspicuous characteristics distinguishing Telugu (and Kan¬
nada) from Grantha Tamil and Malayalam, One is the vertical stroke l?
(Tel. jada or ottu or vottu) marking all aspirated stops except 6 tha. The
vertical stroke of §p> pha may be considered dispensable in so far as the basic
character is clearly set apart anyhow and, consequently, pha does not have
the aspiration mark in the related Kannada script (see below). The remain¬
ing Telugu aspirates need the vertical stroke to distinguish them either from
their unaspirated counterpart (viz., $ cha from c5 ca, dha from da,
dha from 6) da, $ pha from O pa, and $$ bha from 23 ba) or from unre¬
lated characters (viz., cp3 gha from c53 ma and ($P jha from C& ya, for
headmarks see below). Strictly speaking, the aspiration mark in <4) tha
achieves little by way of distinction because there is no unmarked counter¬
part, and $ tha bears no resemblance with unaspirated (5 ta. Instead, the
dot in the middle distinguishes $ tha from $ dha. However, especially in
older prints the distinction between <4) tha and £) dha is not always made.
The second graphic characteristic of Telugu and Kannada is the head-
mark (Tel. talapattu, Kan. talepattu) above some characters with inherent
-a, taking different forms in Telugu □ and Kannada □. According to
Burnell (1878:17), this headmark developed from a short cross stroke
which, in previous stages of paleographic development, marked the upper
end of a perpendicular stroke at the character’s origin. With regard to this
headmark, Telugu consonants fall into three categories:
- 8 consonants without headmark:
Sp pha, c& ha, 2i ja, ST na,t) ta,Z) na,& ba,0 la, (and S5 fa),
- 19 with a headmark in central position and/or attached to the body of the
character: ^
pa, f\ ga, c5 ca, q> cha, 6ip jha, (5 tha, da, ($ dha, (5 ta, (p> tha, 6) da,
<£ dha, $ na, # bha, ma, C& ya, 6 ra, <5 va, f sa, (and $ la),
- 6 with a headmark to the left of the centre and detached from the body:
q)3 gha, 5 pa, cf) pha, <A sa, n) sa, oT ha.
As a rule, the position of the headmark determines the position of diacritic
CP -a (Tel. dirgharn),& -i (Tel. gudi, circle),□ -i (Tel. gudidirgham) as well
as diphthong diacritics.
XV111 INTRODUCTION
- Consonants without headmark add diacritic -*z/-z/-i7-[diphthong] to the

right, attached to the upward stroke, and sometimes merging with it (as,
e.g., in €J° la, O li, e) ll, 53 le etc.).
However, some consonants without headmark have diacritic -a in central

position:
— W ha, apparently in order to avoid confusion with £7 ja,

— £5°na because it has no upward stroke,
— 2? ba by obvious analogy with ^ bhd derived from bha which, by
distinction, bears a headmark.
- Consonants with headmark replace it by diacritic -tf/-z'/-z7-[diphthongJ. If
the headmark is in a detached position to the left of the centre (i.e., oS pa,
5 pha, ^ sa; for CO gha and ha see below), diacritic -dl-ol-61-au
replacing it start from the position determined by the headmark, thus
intersecting the upward stroke to the right (e.g., tTph, Z?po, ST pd,
pau). This, by the way, distinguishes tTpd,~tT pau from IT wl, ZP vau,
and Tty sa, <\5° so, P6 so, Tv? sau from IT na, rS* no, 55* no, dP nau.
Exceptions:
If the body of the consonant ends with a hook 0 (viz., gha, Cxp jha,
<53 ma, C&) ya), the headmark remains and, graphically similar to dia¬
critic u, C” -a is attached to the final hook: gha, CQT jhd,
■Pr ma, C&P yd, whereas -z/-f/-[diphthong] usually take the position of
the headmark: mi, ID mi,Ufa me,'ok) me etc.
However, there are further exceptions:
- £Cp jha replaces the headmark with diacritic -o/-o/-aw. 55) jho,(Yg) jhd,
jhau), or alternatively retains the headmark and adds -ol-ol-au to the
right: 55P jho, Chjj jhd, Cp? ' jhau.
~ <pD gha does not take -z'/-z7-[diphthong] at the position of the headmark
but attaches them in the centre: c^P ghi, c|5) ghi,!±D ghe,~^x) ghe etc.
- The z-related semi-vowel C£b ya deserves special attention because it re¬
tains its headmark in CxSt yd, but drops it in -if-t: OCO yi, 007° yl\
- In dP ha the headmark is treated as part of the character’s body, and is
thus retained in the formation of YY ha as well as ho, o.'f ^ ho (alter¬
natively cJD ho, &TXT' ho; see below), and hau.
INTRODUCTION XIX
-i/-l ligatures:
Most consonants with an upward stroke bearing a headmark (e5 ca, $ cha,
6 ta, (5 na, bha, ma, <5 va, & sa, $ la) or with a hook to the right
(^) {ha, & ja, ba, O la) attach an integrated variant of diacritic -i/-i:
SP {hi, {hi, © ci, &> ci, § chi, § chi, 25 ji, ji, etc.
Another variant of diacritic -if-i is attached to closed circular consonants
or suchlike elements thereof which bear a headmark: jhi, jhi (alter¬
natively: GCfT), § thi, 6 thi, § thi, & thi, £> di, 6 di, Q dhi, 6 dht, & n,
<5 ri.
-u!-u ligatures:
<5 va and 5 pa $ pha denote diacritic -u (Tel. {ommu, horn) with □)
instead of QD to clearly distinguish S) t'W (and oDJ pu) from <&) and
pAw from (fx) gha; likewise, they denote -u with DJ3 instead of QT3 to
distinguish vu (and pu) from &T3 ma, and phii from gha.
-o/-o ligatures:
Several Telugu characters (alternatively) denote -0/-0 by combining their
respective -e ligature with diacritic 3/T° -u/-u (as is the rule in Kannada,
see below). However, only ha fully complies with this pattern: oJX) ho,
ISAT3 ho (alternatively ho, ho). As against that, <fD gha, ma
and C& ya follow suit only in o (viz.,"q^DO gho,S)0 mo, CSx) yo), while
in -6 ligatures the last hook Oof the basic character is dropped. "qSj° gho,
SxT mo, and G3t° yo\ Finally, by analogy with its -u/-u ligatures mentioned
above, va adds variant J/J3 -u/-u to distinguish o5) vo fromTiO me, and
vo from"Sj° mo (alternative forms: S' vo, S* vo).
An additional feature distinguishing Telugu (and Kannada; see below)
from Grantha Tamil and Malayalam emerges from the above description of
ligatures, viz., the notation of several non-a vowels: Diacritic -d (with quali¬
fications), -e/-e, -ai, -d-o, -au are not denoted sideways, but on top of the
respective consonant.
Consonant clusters and conjuncts:

If two or more consonants are combined without a separating vowel, the
consonants following are written below the first and lose their headmarks.
Various consonants take a special form when subscribed in this manner (see
p. 136K). In general, the construction and arrangement of consonant clusters
XX
INTRODUCTION
is predictable, although the position of diacritics for non-a vowels can be

puzzling. As a rule, consonant clusters are read from top to bottom and
from left to right; the vowel - non-a diacritics usually being attached to the
basic consonant of the cluster (except with alternative oj-pu C-pa /
Qj -phu a^-phii) - is pronounced only after the last component. This
requires some circumspection, especially in reading more complex clusters
such as rtsnye (see list). It should be noted that, contrary to other non-a
diacritics, the lower component of -at is not directly attached to the basic
consonant but written at the bottom of the cluster/conjunct, e.g.,3, ntai.
In some cases the sequence of components is modified, appa'rently for
pragmatic reasons (see list for tpra [actually 'trpa’\ sstha {‘sthsa’}, the first s
standing for visarga).
Class nasals are frequently replaced by anusvara (or ardhdnusvdra). How¬

ever, they appear in their ‘regular’ shape, too, and have therefore been
included in the list.6
Some clusters and conjuncts, especially those with -r-, can be written in a
variety of ways, which have not been carried through in each and every
case. A glance at the context of the respective section will help to comple¬
ment the picture, it is hoped.
Kannada
Most of what has just been said of Telugu holds good for Kannada, too. A
vertical stroke □ (e.g., in 0 dha) marks all aspirated stops except St) l{ha (cf.
Telugu section above) and G1) tha.
The groups of consonants distinguished with regard to the headmark

(Kan. tale\attu) are very similar to those in Telugu:
— 8 without a headmark:
3D /{ha, & iia, Zjja, Tp ha, 6) ta, 23 na, 2d ba, t) la (and C9 la, G£> ra),
— 21 with a headmark attached to the body of the character:
?5 {a, ri ga, 4i) gha (alternat.), 0 ca, <0 & 0 cha, dtp jha, <3 tha, 0 da,
0 dha, S ta, 0 tha, 0 da,0 dha, K na, 0 bha, ol) ma, Ol) ya, C> ra, va,
3 sa, CD ha (alternat.), (and la),
6 By contrast, C.P, Brown (i854:xxiv) considered this “an empty innovation (...) not likely to
become popular”.
INTRODUCTION XXI
- 6 with a headmark detached from the body due to the right upward
stroke usually ending well below it:
& 5? gha (alternat.), do pa, 6g pha, cDs sa, ro sa, 3 & 3 ha (alternat.).
These characters have a dot (or small circle) as an additional feature.
The dot determines the position of -d/-H-i/-[diphthong] diacritics and,
combined with the shorter upward stroke, distinguishes dB pa1 / oJ pi /
da pe etc. from oTQ va / a) vi / o3 ve etc., foe) sa / cO si / rU se etc. from
rTD na / 3 ni / 3 «<? etc.

In the absence of a special graph for (long) diacritic -il-el-d, theAength is
marked by adding ^ (dlrgha) to diacritic -il-elo'. T, -e, -o.
-z ligatures:
Most consonants with an upward stroke bearing a headmark (23 ca, C+J cha,
^ ta, r5 na, bha, 3) ma, 3 va, 2) sa, & la) or with a hook to the right
(SO bha, 2d ja, 2) ba, Q la) attach an integrated variant of diacritic -1: bfri,
23 ci, 0 chi, 23 ji, § ti, 3 m, & bi, 0 bhi, etc.
Another variant of diacritic -i is attached to round or circular elements
bearing a headmark: A gi, CSp jhi, A thi, & di, dhi, (4) /A/, A) di, 0 dhi,
£> n.
-u!-u ligatures:
3 tw and 60 pa dp pha denote diacritic -u with Qj instead of O0 to clearly
distinguish 3j zzzz (and 3j pu) from 3) ma, and cpj phu from & gha-,
likewise, they denote -u with oJ3 instead ofDD3, which distinguishes <3/3
vu (and 3_/3 pu) from 3 ma, and cta/3 phu from 3
-o ligatures:
In Kannada -0/-0 is generally denoted by combining the respective -e liga¬
ture with diacritic DM) -u, e.g., kp> bp.

3) ma and Ol) ya lose the last hook of their -<? ligatures (3) me / C& y<?)
in 3-/S wo Ci3t3 yo / <3_A)^ mo ol/3C yo.
Consonant clusters:
The principles for consonant clusters in Kannada are the same as those
described for Telugu (see above). Diacritics for non-a vowels are attached
to the basic consonant of the cluster. Subordinate consonants, including post
7 There is an alternative form for 8TD fa with a longer upward stroke intersected by diacritic
-a: d}c) pti).

XXII
INTRODUCTION
consonantal -r, are written after non-a diacritics attached to the basic con¬
sonant (e.g., d)y dru). Only the subscribed component of -ai is written after
post-consonantal -r (e.g., £\j^ trai). Pre-consonantal r-r follows the afore¬
mentioned components (Jj^ r rtsnya), but usually precedes post-conso¬
nantal -r (e.g. $r, rtre); the dirgha graph (J denoting -il-el-o usually takes
the final position in the cluster (e.g., <£) rtht, rtre).
Nandinagari
In spite of the abundance of manuscripts written in Nandinagari, this

variety of the Northern Devanagari is perhaps the least-documented South
Indian script used for writing Sanskrit texts. The cursory treatment in
Burnell’s South Indian Palceography does not even yield a complete alphabet
of basic characters. The appendix (pp. 201-210) compiled on the basis of

my own limited material and a few specimens consulted in the Staats-
bibliothek Berlin sketches only the distinctive features, stressing the differ¬
ences rather than the similarities in relation to the Nagari of North Indian
provenance.
Finally, the checklist of conjunct components and the table displaying the
years of the Brhaspati cycle according to the South Indian calendar may be
helpful in handling manuscripts.
Grantha Tamil: Basic Characters & Ligatures
Vowels Initial Diacritic
a 3"d
a &
□rr
i
61/
CO
I °nj° □
u □“a
u 6)6tT & & ^95
r s D3 &9
r S3
1 6TU □6nr
I 6iff) & mQ □erfi)

e 6) fG\ & 9/01 Q □&(§)□
ai Q61/OT &Q9/OT QQ □
o 6tj> & 6^ Q air
6^6TT □ 61T&QD61T
au
2
BASIC CHARACTERS & LIGATURES
Consonants: Velar Retroflex
ka c9o fa U— & L-
kha 62J & QJ tha o& o

ga da go
gha 6LU dha
ria pp & na 6Mr
Palatal Dental
ca ta dJ) & d? & Jc£>

cha jSlo & tha UL9
ja g§ da
jha GFO & dha LU

na na JT) & W) & fE
GRANTHA TAMIL 3
Labial Sibilants
pa 6LJ sa LTD &LO
pha 6UQ sa 61)h
6TU sa 61T0
ba
bha 6V) & 6V) &
ma 8 &cf
Sonorants (conjuncts p. iy) Other
UJ ha 61/T) & 6LQ)

ya
ra fU &F la 60.. & (C°-
la [/or (CO) la]

©
va 6U
4 BASIC CHARACTERS & LIGATURES
-a/ -a
k- c9o c9ofT kh- 6U & QJ 6UfT
g- U) & U) jlt) rr gh- 6ILI 6111 IT

n- £p & ^ £pfT
c- _3J 3j\r ch- CLQêiD 3DIY
j- S8 m jh- fffO & q!^ hJOfT
fi- ® «■ ®rr
1 U- & L. U-rr th- O& o OfT

a- a) OT dh- 83 ssir
n- 603T 6$STfT
t- _c5) & d[> th- UL9 LL9fT

d- ^_fT dh- UU UJfT
n- JT) & Jfj J)fr
GRANTHA TAMIL 5
-a/-a
6LJ Q_Jff ph- 6in 6LQ1T

p-
b- 6TU 6YUfT bh- 6lQ & 6Lf) apr-
m- 8 B IT
y- LLI lli rr
r- nr nr rr
1- © (L)fT
V- 6U 6UfT
s- III] & ID ID IT
s- 6)^L 6^JT
s- 6IT0 eirorr
h- Oil} 6i/T)ir
1- 6L_& (L- 6DJT

6
k- dfdl & kh- siTi 62P

g- jJ)l & 0 $ gh- 6Ilil 61if
n- *6]
c- _af ch- 0) 61
i- sfl &g? g? jhra=61 iff6°
n- ^1
t- &lp u? th- (51 & (S' c?

d- sSi g? dh- aSI 8?
n- 65ofl 6W5P
t- d§l & (S) Si & (&) th- uJT|

d- § & C & (p dll- ll5i & uj? uj?
n- fSj & |R [6°
GRANTHA TAMIL
P- 6)l_ti 6lP ph- 6l51
b- 6Tlfl & 6Ylf 6n_f

m- S\ ?
y- LlJl u_F
r- nfl &P nF
1- (uSt <$
V- 6lTl of
s- inf & uf inf

s- 6l£l 6lf
s- eirSi 6IPL?
h- 6in9 ei/ff
1- 6Y2f 6T2f
-u/-u
k- 35"° & cS™ 35® & kh_ 5^ju 62J®
g-J/® & if}_- J/J® & ^ gh- 6iir° 6ULF®
n- ^J1-1 ^®
c- O)!33 ^J® ch- °) rn3
j- S233 g?® ih- ra^ fmj®
n- Ctfp3 £3)®
t- ©J® th- (J33 o®
d- gJ33 gJ® dh- gg33 gg®
n- 6MP3 6MT®
t- 37° & 3^_ 3^® th- UJJ33 LL^®
d- QT° & ^ ^T® & ^ dh- LU33 UU®
n- [[; 33 & ff i__ J©©

GRANTHA TAMIL 9
-u/-u
p-6LJ^&6IJ 61_J®&^y ph- 6UP 6UT©
b- GiW3 & 6Ty 6Y1J® bh-6UJ°&6lQ
m- S^&S-n S®&&rg)
y- iLR&iy iu®
r. nr^&itD&PS ra^&r0^&rtr^ (=ra-i)
1- (lDP @5® v- 6U°
s- UITO & UTT2_ & itdl_ tro®
S- 61^T° & Q$ku 6)£® & 61^6)
s_ 6iru° Giro®
h- gi/tto &6ino__ 6inj®
1- 6Y2Z0 6Y2®
10
k- c9cT) & cSb1- <^3 kh- Qjg
g- gh- &1Q 6^3

... etc.
Variants:
^ & 0
n<- J53
GRANTHA TAMIL 11
-1/-1
k- cgo6nr cgo6rff) ... etc.

-e/ -ai
k- 06o 6\6\c5o kh- 063J 0063J

g- 0J/) 00 lq gh- 06UJ 0061JJ
h- 0^0 00^p
c- 0_f2j 00_^J ch- 0 °) n 00 G) n
i- 0g§ 0083 jh- G\m 00™

n- 0(65 061^5
t- 01 001^ th- 0o 00O

d- 003 0003 dh- 003 0083
n- G\6m 006MT
t- 6W5 0065 th- 0UL9 00UL9

d- 0^ 00^_ dh- 0UJ 00ULJ)
n- 0fF) 00n5
GRANTHA TAMIL *3
-e/-ai
p- 6)6LJ 61Q6)J ph- Q61D 006i_Q
b- Q6TU QQ6TU bh- 616U) 0061Q
m- 618 QQg
y- QlU QQili
r- Qm QQrtr
i- 0@) QQ(u3)
v- Q6U QQqj
s- Quu QQlJU
S- Q6)^ QQ6i^
s- Q6LT0 QQeiro
h- G\6UT) 0061/7)
1- 006^
r4 BASIC CHARACTERS & LIGATURES
-o/ -au
k- 6)c9ofT c5om kh- Q6^jrr 6^J61T

g- 6H/)fr J/)6TT gh- Q&u ri¬ 6HJ6TT
n- nr pp6TT
c- Q jQJfT J2J6TT ch- 61 °) n rr _2_Q6TT
j- Qg^rr S96TT jh- Qraw fF0 6rr

n- Q^rr (§)6n
t- QL^_fT U_6TT th- 61orr ©6TT

d- 61m 2d>6TT dh- 61m S36TT
n- Q6Mnr 6QOT6TT
t- Q^fr d;6TT th- 61UL9fT LL56TT

a- 61^_rr ^6TT dh- Quurr UU6TT
n- Qr^fr J561T
GRANTHA TAMIL T5
-o/ -au
p- 6l6urr 6U6TT ph- Qfi) fl IT 6IH61T
b- Q6rurr 6TU6TT bh- 6l6U)fT 6U) 611
m- Qsir 86TT
y- Qu_i n~ UJ6TT
r- Qiurr RJ 6U
-au alternatively
1- Q@)fr <@)6rr
with prefixed Q:
V- Q6)JII 6U6TT
kau Qc3b6TT
s- Qunrr UTJGfT khau Q6^J6TT
s- 6^6TF gau 61jJ}61T
s- Q6irofr 6IT06TT ghau 61QJJ6TT
nau Qgp 6TT

h- Q6in)rr 61/T}61T
... etc.
1- 06W ewrr
i6 BASIC CHARACTERS & ligatures
Prepausal Consonants (cf Conjuncts)
k n & ITd
g P
n b mi
c Si} Ik 6 m i
j H y
n r rtr
t u V
d gJ&sJ s u6
n cmi s 4-
t si s ajib
d h am/
J
GRANTHA TAMIL 17
Additional Graphs
lg -m
0 -m (anusvara)
g & & & 8 & 1 -h (visarga)
<g> -h (jihvdmulTya)
0 -h (upadhmaniya)
Z&*> avagraha
[ pluti
Conjunct Forms of Sonorants
& □) & □ ) & -y-, e.g. sya-: ITO^ & etc.
n j & □ & Orj post-consonantal -r-, e.g. sra-: &
□ pre-consonantal -r-, e.g. darsana-:
^_tno_j_[Fj &
(for further variants see list of conjuncts, s.v. r-)
pre-consonantal -r- with gemination, e.g. dhanmnaLLJh
□ & □i & □ 6\) e.g . slaLTD & UO\J

@>
Gmntha Tamil: Consonant Clusters & Conjuncts
kka c9o
<%>
c9o
kkha c9o c3621

61J
kca c9o
QA
kta cSo (Suj)
ktu cST™
ktya <3o\ c3d^

&,nj
ktra cSo (5o^
ktva cSo
cDocfru
<3c»j
ktha c9o
UL9
kna c9o (Sofj

J5
knya c3o\ (SaF^
kma c3o
8
kya
«®0
kra
kla (So c9a\j

GRANTHA TAMIL *9
klu cSdvxxj (for kl)
kva c3d dJoa

611
ksa
ksna
6MT
ksnya c9oi2>\
6MT0)
ksma c9G>JjL
ksmya
ksya c9gi^
ksra
ksla c9oi$k c9gi^

@>
ksva c9di$k <5oi^k
6U
ksa c9o cSoiro

&ro
khna 62J13 gu5
khma
khya
6M)
20 CONSONANT CLUSTERS & CONJUNCTS
khra
khla 62J 0hv)

@)
khva
gga inp
ggha J/36UJ ipsm
g)a
%
gda AD
A?
gdha AD LAO
uu
gdhra AD
ADD
gna AD Lffij
AD
gnya
gbha AD i/rap
®r>
gbhya \mn\
Wn)
gma AD
s $
gya
A
GRANTHA TAMIL 21
gra
J
grya
gla AD
@>
gva AD %
LOJ
6U
ghna 6UJ 6UJ

J5
ghma 6ILJ
3
ghya
j
ghra 621^ aL)

ID
ghrya QJJ^ I
ghla 611J 621J

© ova
ghva 6)U :
6U
j
nka
c9o
nkta
nktva ‘KBSyu
22
CONSONANT CLUSTERS & CONJUNCTS
nkya
nkra
nksa
nksya
nga
SD
rima
s
rila
@>
era
GRANTHA TAMIL 23
chma °) n
8
chya
chra n_m7
chrya
3g>)
chla 3_n
@>
chva q>n
6U on
j
jva 83
6U 8gu
jhra NfFO/
rica
-QJ S->
ncya
3k)
richa
_SlQ 5^
nja OV^
S8
njya
SO)
tta
^ Vv
ttha
V k)
tya
tra
W
GRANTHA TAMIL 25
thya
0d d)
thra 0^
<3
thva 0 o
6U QJ
dga gd
SO
dja gd 2^
S3
dda gd 2^d
gd
ddha gd
S3
dbha gd guftp
ap
dma gd
8 H
dya
?-t)
dra gj
dva gd gj5U
QJ
dhya
ad
dhva gd gd
QJ 6U
26
nta 6m
U-
ntha 6m 6^
0
nda 6MT 66m
23
ndya 65ST^ 6T5Sa^
ndra 666^5)
ndha 6m 666&)
23
nna 6W 655)
60OT
nnya 6m\
COOT'l)
nya 6MT\
U
nra 6Gsfc>
nva 6KTT 6S«3U

6>J
nha 6m 6mn)
an)
nhya 666T\ 6661TV^
an) v
nhva 666imn
tka
cSo
do ^c3°
GRANTHA TAMIL
tkra ^c9dj
tksa d^>c9t3L^
tkha
tta
ttya
ttra
ttva d^c96U dfesLI

c96U
ttha di ul9 <dr\JL9
tna dJfFj
tnya d,g
tpa ai6LJ d6U
tpra dfey-
tpha i£ d^GLQ <9Q_Q

6L0
tma <5j
8 If
tmya
tya dS\ dkrA

28
tye 6^6) LLJ
tra
trya
tla jS c9ovj
@>
tva c%U <Jj21
6U
tsa jS <3bm)
6LTD
tstha jS <5t3LTD
61T0 LL9
LL9
tsna jS d/)61W
Giro J5
ffj
tsnya
Smo)
J5
tsya j5n
any&
tsva jS afeiro
61A) 6)J
6U
thma UL5 U|
8
thya
thra
thla ULS
@>
GRANTHA TAMIL
29
thva LL9
6LJ
dsa |r fP y
dgra
dgha fWl %dU

6I1J '
dda
ddya
ddra
vt/
ddha *&_> ?XJ
IU
ddhna
tg5
ddhya
tb^ H
ddhra sl
^LUj fci
ddhva t06U
6U
dna tnj
J5
dba g>6TU ^6T) 1
6nj
3° CONSONANT CLUSTERS & CONJUNCTS
dbha §>-
Of)
dbhya
ijyb
dbhra %-
6If) T
dma ^ '
8 ¥
dya
U $
dra
<b d 0 -
dva g<5)J -Sj

6U
dvya
lia) 3-d
dhna uu LUg (see ddhna)
J5
dhma UU
8 u
dhya
u
dhra uu, (see ddhra)
dhla uu
@)
dhva uu
6U
(see ddhva)
GRANTHA TAMIL
nta
ntya
ntra
ntva ^3 CS6U 6»6L!

6D
ntsa 6c9om)
6IT0
ntha
nda
ndya
ndra
ndri
ndva
ndha
ndhya
ndhra
nna
nbra
J5
nma
8 1 1
nya
"0 1)
nra
©
nla J5
@)
nva J5 ffru (5l HiJ
6U
nsa rgjiro
J5/o
nsa igja/o (1mm
nha gJffiJT) flm/p
pta 61J
H
ptu 6i_r=<
SSL.
ptva 6U
<9QJ
pna 6U
pnu 6U
rn_ ®-fe_
ppa 6U ®_/SLJ
eu
ppha 6U 6U/6IH
6LQ
GRANTHA TAMIL 33
pma 6U
g
pya 6UN
r ®-0
pra 6LJj
pla 6U
<S>
pva 6U
6U
psa eu
61T0
pstha 6U
61T0
UL9
psma 6U
QJO
8
6l_A
psya 611
6IT01 * 6inJ
psva 61 J
61TD
61
phna 6LQ
3
phma 61Q 61^
g
phya
phra 63^
phla 610
@>
phva 6LB
6U n.
bja 6TU 6HJ^

82
bda 6TU
%-
bdha 6TU
uu
bdhva 6TU
UJ •nOsu
6D
bba 6TO
6TXI
bbha 6YU
Of) y
bma 6TU
8
bya
m-d
bra
bla 6TU
@>
bva 6TU
6)J
bhna 610 arW)

J5
bhma OD
o %
GRANTHA TAMIL 35
bhya 6^
bhra 6in
bhla 6U) 61BO

@>
bhva m 6li0)J
6U
3)
mna
3 £
mpa 06U c^6U
mpha O6L0 <#6LQ
mba 06TU 8
6TU
mbha 06U}
mma 8 S3
8
mmya
00
my a
mra
v3 2
mla 8 C?OVJ>
o\j
©
SO 0)
mva
mha
yya
^ H)
rk(k)a <S>4 c3qIc3d
fP
Crq
crq
CO
u>4
rgya
rgh(gh) a 6MJ4 qm 6H_H

6LLI
rghya 6Ul4\
rc(c)a -2J4 c
rcya
al4i
ri(i)a gs4 gslgs
rju
rn(n )a (50ot4
4)
rt(t)a t®4 <$3,

rttha see irtha
GRANTHA TAMIL
rt(t)ya ^4 <9^
rtra 3^4 4
r(t)tha H5>4 dxiS—b <9o4
rthya uj?4^
rd(d)a
?
r(d)dha uu>4 44
r(d)dhnal uu4 %4^>
JB
r(d )dhva uu>4
6U
~TtCS5U
rp(p)a 6Ll4 6llj 6lil

6U
rba 6TLl4
rbha 6U}4
rm(m)a s4 &
ry(y)a lu4 UJ<3 [l6
rl(l)a @)4 (4)
OV
rv(v )a ®j4 ol'

rsa ud4 16 ub
rsva i/o4
6U
rsa 6i%-l 6)^
rsna
am CWT
rha 61/1)4
lka ©
c9o
lga ©
AO
lgu
&\a__
Ipa
©4U
®lu
lpi
ipya ©a_|J
Iba m
6TU
lma © &9
8
lya
Ira
.©/ <%
11a ©
@) <^L
GRANTHA TAMIL 39
lva <@)
6U
vya
vra
sea ud UD)|
scha UD
J2_Q
sna UD Uc^
J5
sma UD
g D>
sya R0])
sra
sla UD UI3\J
<S>
sva UD UD6U lfO)J
6U
ssa UD UD
LTD UD
ska 6)%
So
m CJO
skra 612
<5ot
,
skha 612, asp
61J
sta 61^ 6TL
stya 6^ ^
stra
stva
<5
stha 61%
O
sna 612, 610,

65OT am
spa 61%
6LJ %
spra 612,
sma 612, 6§>

8
sya 61S0
sla 612,
@)
sva 612,
6U
ska 6iro
c3o ®-%0
GRANTHA TAMIL 41
sta 61T0 aj^

<3)
sci 6irSI 6^
stu 6iAy°
stya 61T0\
&)ru
stra 6iro
stva 6LT0
c96U
stha 61T0
LL9
sna 6iro 611^

J5
snya 6iro\
jja)
spa 61T0
6)J
spya 6LT0N eircA

euo) 6UJ
spha 6IT0
6LQ
sma 61T0
8
smi
smya 6iro\
8 n)
sya 61A3^ 6IA|J 6)JlA

sra aro,.
sla eiro
@)
sva 6IT0
6U
ssa 6IT0
hna 6)JT) 6im

60OT dm
hna 6inQ 6Mm
J5
hnya ©HA 6UTfTj)
Jjqj
hma 6U7)
g A 5
hya
A)
hra emcy
w
hla 610} 6LH0VJ
@) Oflio
hva 6)jp 6I00U
6) 1
Tamil
a dH & ^-1
a □IT & ^
@
£9
□)&D°
S6
i
CO fo
I R* & FF □&□
u J3)l & □) | &(^n & □ *
e 6T & R" Q □& G
e 61 & 6J G □& G
ai 88 6CT)Q & 0Q) J & c/Q & 2.n
o 6^ & 6cj Q nff & GnlT *
6 g&6?
G ntr & Gnrr *
au 6^61T & 6cj6YF Qd61T & Gn6VT
* a7id variants
44 TAMIL
Consonants
Vowelless -a Vowelless -a
k- 66 c5o v- 6)J 6LI
n- ilj ILJ !- U) y>

c- <£T cT 1- 6TT 6TT
(6T) r- rp
«' <s>
P
t- L_ L_ n- 6m 675T
n- 6MT k o°o
& ( fa o°oU za o°o03 )
n- W) Grantha Characters'.
P- LJ u j- 03 82
m- LD LD s- 6TL
y- LLJ UU s- 6LTD 61A)
r- IT D_ h- 6LTT) QJ7)
1- 6V) 6V3 ks- c36l£L

TAMIL 45
-a/ -a
k- 66&6L cSblT 1- 6\) 6\)IT
n- fEJ&S&'K) I6JIT V- 6U & 1 6Ud
c- <5~ & & cd-ir I- Lp&Lp Lpn-
n- (6?) & (61) fr 1- 6TT & 6YT 6TTd
t- i— l rr r- fp&A/}
n- 6MT 650)&6ML)&655) n- 6QT (50) & 65F) & 66)
t- 6F> & d) ddl
n- JLj & \ lj J5 IT j- 88 gSIT
P- U urr s- 6)% & 6^ IT
m- Li) & LO LDrr s- ©_TD & 2/\j& 2rvJ 6UDIT
y- LLl&UJ&liJ* Luir h- 6L/p ©jpir
r- d dd ks- c9di^ rr
* To be distinguished from '—I_ tta

46 TAMIL
k- Si & c1® ^5 & <fS 1- 6v51 & 6\S 6\f
n- fdl & sr rdf & eT v- &5) & AT 6)f
C- S & (f (ff- & (T? 1- L_j)l & lj3
n- (6^1 & ^ (6?) & ^ !- 6ffl & 6YP 6lf
t- Lq_ & LH L£* r- nfj) & N)

£
n- 6SR&6Mf 66$f n- 60fl & 6fff 60?
& <$) 0? & cfj)

Eo Ed Lo ^b
&5 j- §51 tff
&l_t lT s- 6)0 6)0
&u5 US’ s- 6irSl 6)„n?
&u_T llT h- 6)/f)] 6)_/ff
r- rfl & rf if ks- c9ei0 c3oi0

TAMIL 47
-u/-u
k- (g) <36._ i- 6yi&6\n 6Y31T&6\3/T
n- f5j & ^ V- SLl&c?., ey,81^
c- c5r © 1- (L|)&(Lp (Lp*(g?
n- jjT)! &j3>j l- (mj&rn) (6TF) & 6yF)
t- © © r- & /V)| JTyT & AQ/T
rv6M)l&6M)| 6m\i^6mn n- 663I&6£DI 603IT&653/T
t- cd)] & d) | ^JT & <5)/T
n- J5J & P5I c QpJT & FJ\ j- 83° 83®
P- L_] s- 61£° 6)pG

m
m- (l_p&(Lp np&(gp s- 6103d 6103^
y- U-| h- 6107 6L0JG

•y
r- 0 ks- cSoi^ c9di^
©
48 TAMIL
-e/ -e
k- 61(53 & G(3d Gd5 & G65 i- Qe\j> G6\)

n- 6)f5J GfEJ v- 616U G6U
c- 61c5 Gc5 i- 6lL_p GLf)
n- 61(6?) G(6T) 1- 616TT Gm
t- 611_ Gl r- 61m Grp

n- 616OT G6OT n- 61OT Got
t- 6)d£ G^
n- 6\p Gp j- 61ge Ggg

P- 6)u Gu s- 616)5 G6)^
m- 61LD Old s- 616)50 Geiro
y- 61uj Glu h- 6l6)JT) Gem)
r- 61[T Grr ks- 61c9opL Gdfei^k
TAMIL 49
-ai
k- 6mc56 & OT)<9B 1- §6VJ & 610XJ & 2/OJ
n- 60OJ v- 6060
c- 600 1- 60 Lp
n- 60(67) 1- §6TT & 610TT & 2/ovr
t- 601 _ r- 6orp
n- <k?0& 6100^0 2/00 n- $60 & 6100 & 2/60
t- 606?)
n- 607) j- 60 c8
P- 601_1 s- 606)^
m- 60 LD s- 60600
y- 6010 h- 60607)
r- 60 [T ks- 60c96i^>
5° TAMIL
-o/ -6
k-0c5&fr&G£5fr Qc56fr&(j96bfr l- 06v>rr (36V)rr

n- rr <3 f6J FT v- 06V rr G6vn~
c- Qcîr Gcrrrr l- 0Lpfr GLprr
n- Q(6?)fr G(6TP)fT 1- 06TTfT G6TTfT
t- 01_fT GL.fr r- 0(n? G(n/
n- 0666) G§66) n- 0g) G0
t- 06£fT G^rr
n- 0n)fT Gnîr i- 0g8ir Gggrr

p- 0urr Gufr ?- 06)^ rr Gei^rr
m- 0LDrr GLDfr s- 06)j\)fr Geirorr
y- 0ujrr Gujfr h- 06vprr Gevprr
r- 0rnr Grrrr ks- 0c9oiîr Grffei£Lfr
TAMIL 51
-au
k- 0666rr&G®6vr 1- 06\)6TT
n- Gwhim v- 06U61T
c- 06^611 i- 0LP6TT
n- 61(656TT 1- 06TT61T
t- Ql_61T r- 0rp61T
n- 06MT61T n- 06OT6TT
t- 0^61T
n- 6U56TT j- 0g86TT
P- 0U6TT s- Qeiêrr
m- 0LD6TT s- 06LTO61T
y- 0HJ6TT h- 06)JT)6TT
r- 0[T6Tr ks- 0c9b^k6TT

52 TAMIL
Abbreviations & Contractions
6L otn (cf. below)
= c9b<5r until
= S^[T(CT)^6lJl long-lived
- ffllf sri
= I—5](5Tr§6Tr pillai, a title of rank
LD-irr-nT-L^ = LDcsinrirgs rnrgsffliP maharajarajam

abbr. “M. R. Ry.
= (LP^ 6VJ from the first
= 6U60)(33LU[rir belonging to
= OLD(pL ILCj afore-mentioned
- (L-P^6\51lIJ60)6U “etc.”
- Accounting
= cfj,c3) total
Utl & = JJjLL\_IIT number
= 6\,)J 6(D 6U balance

TAMIL 53
l_d = Q[_|[Tc95 what is spent
mp = (Sided LD charge
= 6UIJ6L] receipts
- Agriculture etc.
= <DH61TLD saltpan
= Oj56V3 6yi paddy

^ & cSP-
= IT) 6GT QdLLLI wet cultivation

"a*
jT = jfjl 6\) LD ground
= |_jOTGlc^LJJ dry cultivation

4ra_
- Anglo-Indian Currency
Srx.^ = <5BfFc5r a Cash
L4 = i_16LDT LD a Fanam = 8o Cash
= QL 111 601 ten Fanams
QJ™- = 6U [T n~c56 60T a Pagoda = 42 Farr
L^dr = 66) 1_Id'll a Paisa or PL
= cd!6(5Db an Anna
54 TAMIL
0 &@k- - (01—NT LJJ a Rupee - 16 Annas
- Calendar
= 6U 0 6)$h LD year
= LDffd^LD month
6L & P_ = Q ^ Si) date
HP = 0fT6TTd?) 1 current
- Weights & Measures
tP = 1—irT[TLD a Candy (an “Indian ton”)
I5J = (d3^cipj6UO<R one Marcal (measure of capacity)

•
IP = 1—\<9? c56 (df) two Marcals
<5) r&i = 88 1LI <§^650^1 five Marcals
6)J^ = 0j cd?)JT eight Marcals

•
dJorr = c356V) LD a Kalam - 12 Marcals
8 = d£fT6Gof] a Cawney (measure of land)
cf£L = 61 c56 dJ~ I I) a yard
= (c9^La square yard

Grantha Tamil: Numerals
Cardinals
Si) 2- FFl & Htt & Fn S @ Sn 6T ctH <5cd O
&
£j (TF) 5yj 2>.| Uo
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ;
uO & LU & O & c5> O uO* & c5>c5) u02_ & c5>2_
10 11 12 etc.
2__u0 & 2_ O 2JJO* & 2Lc5> 2_u02_&^2_
20 21 22 etc.
nxuO & rn o
30 etc.
nr & /vy&np&np& c5>o o nr a & c5>o<s>

100 101 etc.
muO & mao & q5)*o miO*&***

110 111 etc-
5<5 NUMERALS
(IT 9_lO & <3E>2_ O fTT9_c3) & c5>9_*
mm_uO & *fTiO
2_(TT & £L O O 9_fTTc3) & 2_Oc5)
2_fTTlO & 2_<5>0 2_fTTlOc5) & 2Lc5>cS
2- fTT 2_lO & 9_9_0 9JTT9JJL>5) & 9_fTT9_c9D & 9 9 Sh
rfim & fii o o
1,002 etc.
)6b 6b )(5d£L
1,012 etc.
GRANTHA-TAMIL 57
y 91-0
1,020 1,021 1,022 etc.
^rrr ^fTTc5) £L
y
1,100 1,101 1,102 etc.
2,000
lO<^ uO<5>^
10,000 11,000
rrr^
100,000
uOm^
1,000,000
fTTHT^
10,000,000
58 numerals
Fractions
6\J<J ft)
V320 */1
^00
rr
60 = 2/320
O
I
1Ao = 8/i20
C^fO u U§&Q_A^
l/32-S/320+2/}20 i/so—s/no+V320 l/20= l6/}20 l/l6=IS/320+4/320
a 6p &6HT7I fFrO
'/l0 = 32/320
i/8 = 40/320 3/20 = 48/320 '/s=6 V320
6\J 6) & @
i/4 — S0/320
l/j—16°/32o
3A = ™/J2o
Grantha Tamil: Graphic Classification
The following list is an attempt to classify Grantha Tamil characters accord¬

ing to graphic criteria. It is intended for the single purpose of identifying a
given character, without regard to phonetics and palaeography.
The major obstacle in learning Grantha Tamil seems to be the bewildering
variety of characters that look very similar, at least to the untrained eye.
Starting from the characters’ (supposed) origin to the upper left, I have
tried to abstract from this variety a handful of recurring graphic elements:
These basic elements, along with two variants, are displayed in black boxes,
while the framed boxes below them show their various derivations.
In the column to the right of a framed box,
— the first row classifies the basic characters) built from the respective
graphic element (or otherwise remains empty);
— the second row gives all conjuncts beginning with the graphic element
in question. It should be noted here that only genuine conjuncts, i.e.,
graphically connected consonants, have been classified in this manner; clusters
of graphically unconnected consonants should be looked up in the alphabetic
list, starting from the basic character around which the cluster is construct¬
ed. Where the complete classification of all conjuncts originating from a
particular consonant would have entailed unnecessary repetition the reader
is referred to the alphabetic list for further details.
— The third row indicates graphically related characters.
Within these rows, conjuncts are arranged according to increasing com¬
plexity, as far as possible.
Tamil characters are marked with an asterisk (#), numerals with a number
sign (#). Unclassified characters are listed at the end.
In order to look up an unknown character encountered in a manuscript or
print, the reader should first identify the graphic element at its (supposed)
origin to the upper left according to the basic classification given above.
6o
graphic classification
1.1 ^ 1 ^ ha ja 86 ai#
60
1.2 ria n §9—^, rja
(cf 2.2)
cf mma & r(m) ma sd mmya
!-3 mpa
GRANTHA TAMIL
‘396LT0 ntsa
62 GRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION
2.9
2.10 KTo nka nkya rikra
nkta <23dcfrij nktva <25<Sl£L nksa
{23t>4^ riksya
2.12 °Fj | rica
(cf 4.2)
^ nna °1F) 1 & °TTo 1 nca
(cf 4.4)
2.13 <T e* <T #7 *J e* g fia*
6^&6^- la
3.3 61_ om 611 va 6)—I pa 61U gha
3.4 61] vu* 61^ vu*
(cf 4.9) 61l v 6L-1 p 611-4) rva 6Ll4 rpa
644 pea 64^ 6L^_ Ptu
61_^ pna pnu 61^ pma
6)jl & 6)^3 & 6)^ rva
6111* &6ljJ rgh(gh)a 6)lj ghma
®-0 pya vya
61/DTT lai* 6lf$\J lai* 6l/90ffT nai*
(cf. 3.12) 3.5 gU kha QJT9 khna glj khma
khya khra gl^ khla
gU^Khva
64
3-6 6L0 pha 6H7) & 61/7) ha 6U71_ hu
61/0 sa 61/OT e
3.7 617^ phna 611^ phma 6LQ^ phva
(cf. s- and h-conjuncis)
3-8 61£L sa
3-9 rsa (cf. s-conjuncts)
3-10 60) & 60) -ai* 667 na* 6667 na
3-11 & na* c66)| nu* 60) fT nu*
na*
6Q(5b n 666b nra
666L, nta 666J ntha
6^2pna* 6M)J nu*1 660)0 nu"
nna 660^j 99ya

GRANTHA TAMIL 65
6t^ & (5$5) rnna
nda ndha 6GS2^ n dya
ndra
6£k30)J nva
6mr) nha SMTj) nhya
6£R51_ff01J nhva
3.12 QJ kha
6? 3.13 63JF) khna khma khva
(<f 3-5)
6^3
66
GRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION
i 6) -
6\ (cf. -o and -au)
4.2 61T #7 6tT -au 6TT la* 6RT 1
6T 4-3 (6TF) lu* (6TF) Ju* 6T5 & 6T5 nna
(cf 2.II-
4.4 6T e* 6T e* (6T) na* 661 nu#
2.13)
^gjJT nu*
4-5 6YT la* (cf. au*)
4.6 6m ba ml b
6T 6RJO ndha 6013 ntha

4-7
bdha 6T1J0^j bdhva
6)0^, bma 60^ bja 6T^ bda
6T0 bla 6YO0 bva
4.8 6m&6^ la
GRANTHA TAMIL
67
4.9 6Lp bha 610— bhu
4.10 6LTTF) bhna 6U^ bhya 610) bhra
(cf. 3-3) bhma 6100 bhla 6liO)J bhva
4.11 61Q bha (cf 4.9)
& 6\) -la (in conjuncts) 6V) la*

00
6\J 6V) 1 lu* 6yjT la*

-2LI & CJJLI ca dH & -2J #8 c#| &
^ & -?j> 2/\j sa* cha
rca c ^)4 rca
c^() cya ^ cma
<=%L & 0^ Cfia

<=^) chya chla chva
& (c§) & (§ i*
§ &cf ma m
S3 da gj d cO & §3 dha sj“ d
cTl^ & c?Fj mna mya dy rnra
mla §6\J lai* c^1 mpa

GRANTHA TAMIL 69
Son mva c^Lfp mha ?j6TT lai*
to nai toyr nai*
fA) dga §J5IJ dva cL6tf) dbha
cpgo dja dda 80$} ddha
dma
5.6 u £L #2 £L3 & Q
da
5.7 dra rda
|J) dna dga dgra
^©D dgha ^6ni dba
dra dya ^ d
5.8 ^ u* dL #2* SJ va* cMM u*
2/\) sa# c^L sa* 2/U\) lai*
2am lai* tool nai* 2ism nai

7° GRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION
5-9
9 5.10 dda
5-11
5’12 %Y) dna dgha dba
dbha g^Li dva genj dba
dbha %0 ddha §XJb ddhna
g^r(d)dhna ^ ddhva
■§D6U r(d)dhva ddhra
5-i 3
5.14 ddha
5-i5
5.16 ^ I dva dga

GRANTHA TAMIL 71
The distinctly square design of this basic element is more

typical of prints than of manuscripts, where the corners
appear much rounder.
6.1 & ca* #4 3r cu* drr #6
cS> #1 _ tu c3rx_ ku* (% & #9
(SI a (§ a ^ ta 5 ta* #1,000
g ku* ^1 tu* ^JT tu*
6.2 6k} t t5F)—i rta rtra
tka <5^ tta ttya
8^ r(t)tya c9goj ttva
& c9t\jl9 ttha (9tu tva tpa
tla diaLl tva dSU tpa

6.3 dJo ka
( = 5 6.4 dfia k dib-i rka
<5&d) kta cSd^jj ktva d^ kka
dlop) kna dkjf^ knya
dkxo kla dfbu kva dfolL9 ktha
dfeiA) ksa
dJSi£k ksa ksla ksma
ksva
dig kma dfc^) kya
<5(>2J kkha kca

GRANTHA TAMIL 73
7-1 1_ ta* 1 & U t

Vp
1_1 pa* 1_1 pu* Lj^ pu*
LJD & LQ ma* (y^,mu* mu*

CbP
LP & LP la* & lu*
<y * & i°
(cf 7.10) 7.2 U-Lx_&lrir L-

. tta* ttha
7-3 © tu* © tu*
7-4 U) &_U) ga
7-5 LO^ g J/)-i rga L & Lf}) gya
Igj & u| g @ gi J/)GlU & j_p6UU ggha
IMp gbha [Mf^ gbhya LO— gu
LOJ gva LO/) gga L/7JU> & L/Jj) gdha

'UJ gma \p^ gla Lg gma
LAf) gna L/YT^j gnya
IO sa LTD sa
l6 rsa ub s ub rsa utt4 rsa
LTD1— su LR5^ sya LTOYJ sla
UX5LI sva IKT2_ su [R5J sra
sna LRr>| sea Ujfr/p scha
LLJ ya lO dha U^3 #10 LL_9 tha
U-/ y IU4 rya n) IL^ yya ryya
LO-l rdha UL^ dhla UQ dhma
U_9—i rtha thla
Uthya
(r/ 7.2) 7.10 LU & LLJ & MJ ya* LLJ #10 LL( yu* Ly yu
GRANTHA TAMIL 75
7.11 Fn #3 IUO jha nj ra llj r °nj° I 1*1* I*
r 7.12
7.13 jha
7.14 nr -a If ra* 1*1* & 1°F 1* _JFj & 0 na
T\) ria* l^_ nda 15J nva [Ed na*
15] riu* Hi #3 IF)_ nu IKj & IFqj nva
rF|J nya 01 nu* 0JT nu*

®) -
0) nma 1 fig nma

nâ nb
nya ndha Ht) nra nna
ffero nsa ffmj) nha
0 ru* 0 ru* @ #5
76
Unclassified” Characters
s r
& la
(p&Af) ra#
NJ #100
G -e*
G -e*
O & O tha
O -m (anusvara)
® ~h (jihvamuliya)
o -h (upadhmantya)
o & <5. & 8 & 1 visarga
Z & avagraha
[ pluti
Furthermore, Tamil fractions and abbreviations have not been classified.

Grantha Malayalam: Basic Characters & Ligatures
a (BIO & ^
a ©TO) & C6JD) □o & co & m
n co
i □ 1 & □
I OfOO & 6Y30 □ 1 & □
u p) & 61 □ □ & ai
o & P3 & no
u p)0 g &D^&CE3 &Di
r □ & Cfe_ & □ I

o/ cy
r & □ &D|
<D ao1 ay
1 6T0 □
610
I 610) □
6T0)
□
©
□
e/e O® Offl
ai OQ® ©©□
o/5 63 63 3 ©□3 Qa3

D3
au 630 ©□0 &D0

ka c£b ta s
kha 6U tha o
ga CO da CUD
gha OQj dha CU9
ria 6T3 na 6TD & 6T7)
Palatal Dental
ca nj ta (5) &&>
cha Old tha LQ
ja 88 da 6 & 3
jha COU) dha CO
na 6TD) na CO
GRANTHA MALAYALAM 79
Labial Sibilants
pa Q_1 sa Lfd
pha OQ sa cm &c&
ba 6TU sa (TO
bha B & £
ma (2
Other
Sonorants (conjuncts p. gg) ha QO
ya CO) & la
ra © la S’
la QJ fa o
va OJ [na 60]
-a/ -a
k- c£b c£bO kh- 60 600
g- CO COO gh- QOJ OQJ0

n- 60 600
c- hj HJO ch- O CO ClCO 0
j- gs ggO jh- (OLD (OLDO

n- 6TQ) 6T033
t- S SO th- O OO
d- CUD 0130 dh- 019 0190
n- 6TD & 6TT) 6TT30
t- (03 & 6h (030 th- LQ LOO

d- G &3 GO dh- 03 COO
n- 00 000
GRANTHA MALAYALAM
-a/-a
QJ C7J3 ph- CXQ C7Q3

p-
b- 6T7I 6QJ3 bh- (3 & S S3
m- 12 03
y- CQ) CQJ3
r- O 0)3
1- QJ QJ 3
V- QJ OJ3
/
s- <39 (793
s- Q9J & a$L Q9J3
s- cro QT03
h- Q.O (703 I- S’ 3>3
^3 r- O 03
1- *cL
k- c£b) cflbl kh- 6ul 6I_fl

g- col ufl gh- col oof]
n- 6T3l 6I#1
c- jQjl nf\ ch- 0 (dl ...QCcTl
j- gfl gfl jh- (o\jS1 (DUfl

n- 6T0S1 6TOfl
t- sl si th- 61 ol
d- CU)1 cufl dh- CO61 cofl
n- 6tt51 6rrfl
t- cool cofl th- LOl lqD

d- el g1 dh- ud afl
n- ct51 orfl
-I
p- Q_fl oj6! Ph- aol aril

b- 6n_n 6n_fl bh- b\ e6!
m- a! efl
y- cq51 coll
r- (61 afl
1- ail afl
v- afl afl
s- cyal c/()l
s- cm) 09^1
s- (t61 mfl
h- o61 adl 1- yl s’6)
1- €1 r- 61 cfl
-u/-u
k- d93 C03 & (cfh, kh- 6I|

ey
g- & (CO, gh- oqj
°qj
n- 60O 60
<a
c-
j- jh- (DU)o
n- 6TQ)O 6T0d
0
t- so
§ t>>- 9 9
d- CUD
o dh- QJ9
o °8
n- era end)
t-
m ,h- LQ
•-Q
d- 0o 0 dh- (A)
O a>
0 0
n- (Td (Yd)
-u/-u
Ph- clQ
a*J
enj 6^ bh- R, g*<§
m- (2 (2
-u/-u alternatively
y- with ^ resp.
COA &(«§
3*
c—0
<§
r-
»
1- (—0
_c
m
1
V- qj g- toi coj
gh- OQIJ 0oil
/
s- C© (/§}& (C/Q|
s- cmO A 6131 61%
... etc.
s- cm0
h- QD QQ 1- ?
O
©
k- C&) & C&2_ kh- ey
*- <£) gh- OQj °QJ

n. 6p
©
ch- OCc)
>- « jh-
n- 6TO)
6®
-r/-r alternatively
with J J
k-
kh- ®4J 6HJ

g'
gh- oqjj °riij

n- “J «3J
... etc.
GRANTHA MALAYALAM
-\/-\
-e/ -ai
k- Qcfb ©0c£b kh- ©60 ©©60
g- ©00 ©©00 gh- ©OQJ 0©OQJ
n- ©60 ©©60
c- ©_QJ ©©XII ch- ©GO 00OO
j- ©g8 ©©S3 jh- ©(DU) ©0CUU)
n- ©6TU) ©©6T0D
t- ©S ©©S th- ©O 0©O
d- ©CU) ©©(U) dh- ©019 0©CU9
n- ©6TO ©©6TO
t- ©CU) ©0(09 th- ©LO ©QLXD
d- ©0 ©©0 dh- ©00 ©QOO
n- ©CD ©©GO
-e / -ai
©Q_1 ©©Q_1 ph- ©QjQ ©©clO

p-
b- ©60J ©©6TTJ bh- ©6 ©08
m- ©a ©©a
y- ©QQ) 0©CQ)
r- ©<£> ©©ca
alternatively:
1- QQJ ©©&j
ke 6c£fo khe GQJ
V- 0OJ ©QQJ
ge (ICO ghe 6^©]
/
s- ©c/a 6)G)C/a
ne 606
s- ©Q9d ©©oad ... etc.
s- ©CTO ©©era
h- ©ClO ©©ClO ©2? ©©3>
1- ©^ ©©^^ 0O 0©O
-0/ -au
k- ©dbO ©c£b0 kh- 061JO ©6U0
g- ©COO ©GOOD gh- ©OOJO ©OQJ0
n- ©600 ©600
c- ©OJO ©O 10 ch- QOQ 0 ©_ClO 0
j- ©020 ©030 jh- ©0U)O ©00)0
n- ©6TODO ©6TCD0
t- ©SO ©S0 th- ©OO ©O0
d- ©01)0 ©01)0 dh- ©0190 ©CU90
n- ©60)0 ©60)0
t- ©COO ©0)0 th- ©mo ©LQ0
d- ©GO ©80 dh- ©coo ©CO0
n- ©000 ©000
©aJ3 ©CTJ0 ph- ©OJ03 ©CTQ0

p-
b- ©6TU3 ©6TLI0 bh- ©83 ©80
m- ©0 3 ©0 0
alternatively:
y- ©00)3 ©00)0 ko Gd£b3 kho G6U3
r- ©(03 ©(00 go G033 gho 0(/©JO
1- ©QJ3 ©QJ0 ... etc.
V- ©QJ3 QO10
-au alternatively
/ ©C/90 ©:
s- ©C/93 without
kau d0J0
s- ©0013 ©O00
khau 6U0 ... etc.
s- ©(TO 3 0(TO0
h- 0003 0QO0 I- ©S5 3 0^
j. ©6^3 0^0 r- 003 0OOD

92
Prepausal Consonants
k rf}b & o0b & §4 r Cb &(&
n 6TTb&6nS i ob & cob

t cob & cob & ob ! 0o & C/0
n crb &orb 1 $
m <i
Additional Graphs
o -m {anusvara)
O
O -h (visarga)
-h (upadhmamya)
/*/ avagraha (only in prints; avagraha not documented

in mss.!)
□ virama
□ gemination mark, e.g. cca Q,| rvva QJ
633o om
00 repeat preceding word/phrase” (esp. in drama mss.)

00
Conjunct Forms of Sonorants
8 -y-, e-g- Sj sya
QD & [JU post-consonantal -r-, e.g. (O—J & [_P—I
□ & Dj pre-consonantal -r-, e.g. karsacfbCm & cfbQj3d

(for further variants see list of conjuncts, s.v. r-)
□ e.g. slaC/3
6V) S 6\J
□J e.g. sva-\ c/a i
Numerals
£i a cn e1 § at) S) cycra’o
&
,p Q_ cry (d1 G) rr r) 61 & (cG p CYd1 6 "
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
juo & djJ ct} era’
10 100 1,000
(Grantha Malayalam numerals are handled analogous to
Grantha Tamil; cf. pp. 55ff.)

Letter Numerals
CO cm tmy (103
D (y 0C/5U
na nna nya skra jhra ha gra pra dre
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
(3 LQ OJ
Oil 6TU (S) m 6TO
ma tha la pta ba tra ru cha na
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
6rm
ha
100
Fractions
I II III
!4 >/2 %
Grantha Malayalam: Consonant Clusters & Conjuncts
kka <£te)
kku d0&> kku d0£P> kkr
kkra (cffo)
kkha c£b6IJ d36U
kca c£b_QJ ebb O J kce rib (SO 1 $oGDJ
kta ktu d&YQ) ktu cQ'fG ktr dbg)
ktya cBCD)
ktra (c£b5)
ktrya
ktva dbf£D_J d&Y&iJ
k(t)tha dEbLO cfibUQ d0Y5i_Q
kna cCb knu c£b knu dEb

no no 08)
knya
mb')
kma c£b
0
kya
&
kra [ c£b
&
kla c£b
6V) t)
kva cfhJ
ksa c£fa9d c£fa$L
ksna c£h9d
6TD
ksnya
61DC7
ksma cfbQtl
0
ksmya d&9d i
osd
ksya d00
ksra (c0h^
ksva <fh94J
ksa C03 CJ&TO

an
khna 6)J
CD
khma 6U
0
khya
GRANTHA MALAYALAM
khra L6LI
khla 6U
6V)
khva 6ULI
m dObOO
crqPC
P
gga
II
ggha OOOQJ 00 CAOJ
QQl
gja oogs
gda 08
g(d)dha 0000 OOJO OOJO
g(d )dhra oou(oy (OU)
g(d)dhva O0JQJ
gna ono 000 gnu ooo

gnya
gbha one
gbhya
gma on“a CQ oa
gya
gra
L^> <SD (0
grya
gla CO 00
6\J *|U Jo 6\J
o
gva COJ OTJ
ghna OQ ghnu OQ
m 03
ghma QQJ0
ghya
ghra L°QJ (OQJ
ghrya
ghla OQJ
6\J
ghva OQJ
In consonant clusters n- is usually represented by anusva ra.
rika 6T3c0d 8Eb nku 803 nku 803

nkta 66 c£H0) 80Y2D
rxktva 63 c£)YQ) J 80Y06
rikya 66 <£$j
nkra 66 (c0) ©
nksa 66 dEh9d 80^
nkse 66 6c£b9d Qmm
nksya 66d0g, sag;
rikha 6666
ngha 66QQJ
riria 66 606 606

CD
nma 660
nla 66QJ
cca C2-1
8H
ccha nj qj (=da> no = chsa)
D-O
cchra _QJ O I O I (=csra)

^9 <!3
cna BJ6TO) _QJ

6TCD
cma Q fa
cya
era i<U (SJ

u
chma OidPl -Q.J 0 (=csma; eh -alternatives accordingly )
chya
chra Lula (Q9

chrya
chla HQ
6\J
chva _QQJ
)P
jjna
jjya
jjha
jna cBGTCD
GRANTHA MALAYALAM
jnya 'Sm))
jma g80
jya §/
0
jra |_83 ©
jla gg'bj
jva gsj
jhya ©U),
jhra [ (DU)
nca 6TSLI
ncya ermj,
ncha mid 6YQ) 1 (=ncsa)
(79
nja nju 6109)
njya erg; erg;

nna 6ror(D
nya
©
tta § td @
u
ttha SO S
O
tya
§
tra Ls 6
thya
9
thra Lo (9
thva OJ
dga 01)0) OD
cn
dja ODgQ
dda 01)01)
m
ddha 0D0i9 QJL)
019
dbha 01)8
GRANTHA MALAYALAM
dma CUD (2 GJQ

a
dya
&
dra [CUD (Op
dva CUU
dhya
W
dhra | CUD (Ojp
dhva CU9J
nta 6ms erg
ntra
(25
ntha cm 6T15
nda 6TTU)
ndya 6TT^/
ndra (6nru)
ndha 6mi9
IO4 CONSONANT CLUSTERS & CONJUNCTS
nnya
nma 6T12)
nya
nra (erp
nva 61T)_J
nha 6T0 GO
nhya 6TOQ^/
nhva 6110 ODJ
tka (Obcfb
tkra CQb(c0)
tksa CDbcMH
tkha (0b6D
tta C6TD)
ttu roro) tta cum ttr (OYQ)

GRANTHA MALAYALAM I05
ttya
ttra co)(co) (cm) m

ttva COYO)J
ttha co)n
tna COT)
tnya
©
tpa cobo_1 CO)Q_J
tpra CO)”(cy
tpha cohon CO)Q_Q

a
tbha see dbha
tma C0K2)
tmya
tya
©
tra Leo) (S)
trya
tla CO)
6\)
io6 CONSONANT CLUSTERS & CONJUNCTS
tv a (Du
tsa (DTD
tstha (Db(TD n (umo
tsna (dtdod (DTD

m
tsnya CDTOO); tsnye (DTD (JCf)^
tsya
W
tsra (W5T 9
tsva (DTD_J
thma LD0 LG
0
thya
La
thra LLQ (Lg
thla LG
6\J
thva LGJ
(d-conjuncts are frequently built with (Ob = -t)
dga GCO cobco
dgra 6(0)
dgha GQQJ cobooi aoi

dda §
ddya
Gg/ §1
ddra G© COb0
ddha GJU
ddhna GJOCT) GLQ ddhnu GJL)

00 00
ddhya
&
ddhra
(&>
ddhva OJQJ
dna GCO G
00
dba 66T)J coberu

dbra 6(601 C0b(6TL)
j
dbha GG cube COG COG

|
dbhu dbhu «5B dbhr (Ug
dbhya
«*>&
dbhra G0 CDb(g
dma B(2\ (30 cob a
dya
Si
dra LP 0
dva QJ
dvya
0
dhna com (JO

m
COT) 0<?£ ddhna)
dhma coa CO
£2)
dhya
&
dhra [CO (x<?<? ddhra)
dhla 00
6\J
dhva CQJ (see ddhva)

GRANTHA MALAYALAM
nta OOT ntu ntu
ntya
©
ntra
ntrya
ntva obcuu oou

ntsa orbcoro
ntha CT1D
nda 03
ndya
©
ndra ndri
0 (S
ndva mi
ndha (YU)
ndhya cn^
ndhra (Tb(cy (rm;
nna ono
nbra orb(6irij
no CONSONANT CLUSTERS & CONJUNCTS
nma oa
nya
&
nra LCD at)® (a)
nla nrbej
nva (DJ
nsa obc/a
nsa (Tboro
nha nrboD
pta QJ QJ ptu QJ
(0) CLd) ptu
ptya
ptva QJ
COD Du
pna o ford Q_1 pnu QJ Q J
CD CTO CD
ppa QJ
QJ
ppha
8d
pma QJ0
GRANTHA MALAYALAM
pya
pra l^j ($y pn

pla Qj Q_1 (=pla)
6\J
pva q_juqj Q_l j
psa Q_1
CTO
pstha o_ju(TT)_n
psma Q_J °(T0

0
psya
<croc^
psva camn
phna on
CO
phma on
a
phya ciO,
phra |_ClO (QJI)

I 12 CONSONANT CLUSTERS & CONJUNCTS
bja 6QJ
S3
bda 6TU
8
bdha 6TU
00 603
bdhva 6KTJ e'OGsu
Oil
bba 6UJ
bbha 6tij e
bma 6HJ
0
bya
bra L6TU (mj

bla 6TU
6\J
bva GTIJJ
bhna 800
bhma e
0
bhya
bhra
l© ©
GRANTHA MALAYALAM I 13
bhla 8QJ g
6\J
bhva gj
mna a
m
mpa 0QJ CTU (contraction of Ofbo—1 “npa”)
mpha aoia
mba a 60 1
mbha as
mma aa
mya
&
mra La 0
mla a
6V)
mva aj
mha abo
yya
3
”4 CONSONANT CLUSTERS & CONJUNCTS
i
rk(k)a (bo0D cOj cDj c&6)
cbco
rg(g)a
$
rg(g)ya cbc/^
r(g)gha QQJ CAQ]
r(g)ghy;a Q0 OTg;
1
rc(c)a m o'l
dl
rc(c)ya
dd
r(c)cha o'q jOJ

ms
rj(j)a %
rn(n)a
rt(t)a com
rttha see rtha
rt(t)ya
rtra Cb(CD) rtre Cb G((G)
r(t)tha cmd
r(t)thya
GRANTHA MALAYALAM I 15
I
rd(d)a §
r(d)dha ob
r(d)dhna men
r(d)dhva f3XU
rp(p)a
8d
rb(b)a 6Qj enji
1 1
rbh(bh)a 8 e'e
rm(m)a do\
i
ry(y)a
rl(l)a qj
6V)
rv(v)a QJ ay
rsa C/d
m
rsva cAj
rs(s)a gA
rsna cbo^d
6TD 61D
rha ob qp
lka QJdBb QJ
dEb
lga ofcn QJ CObCD (= tga)
CO
lta qj
CO)
lpa QboJ (=tpa)
gj
Ipya
^Jd
Iba QJ Qb6TlJ ( = tba)
ecu
lma QJ a QJ
0
lya
&
Ira Loj QJ Q)
11a QJ
6\J
lva QJQJ QJU
vya
Sp
vra LQJ
(&
vva
GRANTHA MALAYALAM ”7
sea C/5) 1
scha <79>(d
sna (79 C/OT) snu C/9 (TOYS

CD ors
sma (79 <790
0
sya
sra Leya (U5
sla <79
6U
sva <79J <70U
ssa
ska 094 dEb 094

cflb
skra 094"(<g) 094 QSj

skha 094"6U
sta 094 O^
s
stya
°^d
stra 094
<3
I T8 CONSONANT CLUSTERS & CONJUNCTS
stva 0990
s
stha OTI
o
sna 099
6TD
snya on,
spa 099
QJ
spra On
(9|
spha 099
09
sma 099
a
sya
sla cm
6\J
sva 099J
ska (TOd0D cro

cJ0b <SB
skha (TO
60
sta (TO
(0) O, cm>
stya (TO ,
(0) cJ
stra (TO
(S>
stva
stha miQ
sna (TO
m
snya
spa (TO
OJ
spya (TO
T?d
spha (TO
(ID
sma (TO
a T
smya
^d
sya
©
sra [or (crp
sla (TO
6\J
sva CTOJ
ssa (TO
(TO
ssva (TO
mu
120 CONSONANT
hna 0060)
hna am hnu QOd hnu QTTd)
hnya
hma am QJ2)
hya
99
hra |_o_o
(29
hla aD
6\J
hva QDJ
!Ja
Jka 3>
(fb oS,
Jca y
£lJ
rr (pronounced tt) O O O
O
rrr
(29
Telugu: Basic Characters & Ligatures
a (□)
a e □T
9 c\
i si □ &□
§ f\
I ^8 □&□
u S' □0
u s* □ T3
r SOX)
D0
r air
S
1 (& OO =lu) □
°2)
I (& OJ° =lu) n
e/e o) ”3 &fB
ai so T^& (3
r*—6
□ □
r*~~o
o/o 8o s
□
-=3—D
au 17
ka S' ta &>
kha qi> tha (5
ga t\ da <5
gha $0 dha $
na & na £3
Palatal Dental
ca ta eJ
cha $ tha $
ia a da <5
j ha (Sp dha $
na sr na 3
TELUGU I23
Labial Sibilants
pa 3 sa 3
pha 3 sa 3
ba a sa 3
bha # Other
ma 3d
ha 3"
Sonorants la
ya c3d ra ea
ra 6
la o
va 3
-a/ -a
k- S' kh- sp 2p°

g- 7Y gh- & $p
n-
c- £ ch- cj5 dr
j- a jh- C£p
n- sr SP5
t- th-
d- <5 dT dh- (£ dr
n- 8P
t- TP th- $ dr
d- 6 dT dh- $ dr
n- 3 dP
TELUGU I25
-a/-a
vT
p- 5 t? ph- qj 3°
b- £> bh- ^
m- <Sr
y- c£q cxxp*
r- <5 u°
1- 0 qT
V- 7T
✓
s- $ IT
s-
s- £ 7^5°
h-
j- $ V~°
r- ea
k- § s kh- op $
g- A A gh- & Ao
n- 2? &
c- oJ & ch- 4) A
j- 23 jh- &p &Cqr
n- Sf sA
t- (S th- £> A
d- & A dh- $ A
n- £5 £>
t- o A th- §) A
d- (5) 6 dh- Q) A
n- r2) &
TELUGU 127
-i/-T
1—-—
9
1) h ph- cP
p-
b- £ b bh- c> £
m- SD to
y- COO OOF
r- 0 6
1- &
V- £ t
/
s- 5>
s- h
s- b
h- 9oT
!- C> §
r- e5
-u/-U
k- §5 & to to & to kh- $x)
/to gh- qXO to"
n- 250 25CP
c- c5o to ch- tpO to
i- © ST° jh- CCpO tor
h- oTO SM15
t- to to th- to to
d- to (to dh- to & to to & tor
n- £90 £9J°
t- to to th- to to
d- to to dh- $0 to
n- rOO to
TELUGU I29
-u/-u
p- 3) ph- qT) *U°

b- bh- $0
m- ^00
o5x> CboT0 r- 60 (5j°

y-
1- 00 OJ" v- oJj <57
s- $0 $XF
s- cOO &
s- rOO & rOO ^ &3xj°
h-
1- £b
r- eso
I30 BASIC CHARACTERS & LIGATURES
TELUGU
1/-1
T32 BASIC CHARACTERS & LIGATURES
-e/ -ai
k- -g X kh- ^
g- T\ gh- "5^
n- 2J
s.
c- ch- tj5 £
i- E gr_ jh- ”Qlp "&p

n- §=
poj foJ
t' "S) lb th- 73
d- ^ c[ dh- Cp
n- 13
t- "3
2L th- 7}) M feJ
d- G!> ■s dh- 7^)
n- 73
TELUGU r33
-e/-ai
p- a) ph- S
b- s’ g[ bh- ^
m- "o5D "3d
y- 03b ego
r- “S "5
1- ^
v- o3 Sanscrit -e □
—=s
rendered as -e bl
s- F r (especially in prints)'.
S- <xk & oX CkX & o7. ke ~S khe oj)
s- rO rO ge ghe ~<vO
...
h- oT0
se ckb & S
1- ■?
... etc.
r- 19
r34 BASIC CHARACTERS & LIGATURES
k- S’ S’0 kh- 3T sjS°
g- FT TV gh- 35°
n- 2T W*
c- ch-
j- jh-6J) & cer m>*ccr

n- sr sf0
t- ~W* th- €T&<3^ -5-
d- <T dh- TT
n- W
t- or th- (-r qr
d- (S’ C5° dh- (^T* W

n- S’ r3* °
TELUGU T35
p- is ph- 0" “3"
b- 8T bh- 8T
m- "3x> ~S3 &S3”
y- CkbO oSj^0
r- <T &cT
Sanskrit -o □ also
1- r*—6
rendered as -6 □
V- oT &^) (especially in prints)'.
✓
s- sT r ko $ kho §>*
s- &
s- i<r jho CcT &5i> ...
VO 0r& -
h-
h5 3^ & oT^kJ15
1- r
r~r—n ... etc. (see p.. xix f.)
r- eû
Additional Graphs
^7 =- ^
□ virama (Tel. pollu), e.g. alam\ ^9 O oj3
-n, e.g., dhaman: §T
O -w anusvdra (Tel. sunna)
ardhanusvdra (Tel. arasunna) indicating nasalization of

preceding vowels, e.g., ata (Tel. “it is said”): ^9C 60
& 60 & ft candrabindu, esp. in om: &o fhO
o & n -h visarga
avagraha
D alveolar modification of c5 and &
Conjunct Forms
n\j kS~ -kr> e-g-> Ah?-:
□ 6
-g-y e-g; -dga--
0 0
-c'> e-g; -cca-\
T
°\ -ch-, e.g. , -ccha-\ <5\
□
-t-y e-g-> -kta-\ jr
TELUGU r37
-;n-, e.g., -ghna-:

D<k
-p-, e.g., -tpa-: *5 -pu/-pu (altern.): Dj
□\ -ph-, e.g., <5^ -phul-phu (altern.):

Qj
-b-,e.g.,-dba-\
T)
T) -bh-, e.g., -dbha-: \
V''T‘/
□ , & eg -m-, e.g. -nma-\ r5^ & r5^

-y- (Tel. kjyya or kiyyavadi), e.g., -sya-:
-ya- (optional), e.g., vidya:

D£
-r- (Tel., f^raravadi), e.g., -sra-:
0&LD
-r- esp. as third conjunct component, e.g. -ktra-\
□ e7- pre-consonantal -r- (Tel. [valapala]gilakp, , rattle [on
the right hand]”), e.g., darsana
□ -/-, e.g. -g/fl-:

m 01
-y-, e.g. -sva-\
e.g., darsana- (cf. above): £)(5^r5
□ &□ the latter only for -fya-:

oT ^
-s-, e.g. -tsa
Numerals (cf pp. 180, 204)
0 _g> 3 X t_ 2 cr r 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Fractions
— 3L- 3_ 1 H ^
V] 16 2/l6= 1/8 Vl6 V16— V4 8/l6=‘/2 12/l6 = 3/4
Abbreviations & Contractions (#=doan-words)
B I = ^9§o/5 acting
^ II = <5-6(5 6do answer
si * town
Ao || * = /%o%°6® in charge of
Ao || * = /1o6d^5 a clerk, writer or agent
/loll = AbOoS) respecting
o5 01 # = 6 O(a)0 ‘on date (dating documents & letters)
= uT* r5 according to, at the rate of

TELUGU J39
g5°|| = €) °<t 5 by, through
| * = 26 5) or 26 r\) 06OO people

afterwards
tt I * =^r6sp date, dated ...
0"|| * =^TOJ°§b appertaining or belonging to
?T||^|| * = u*25°Soo postscript, P.S.
(S | * = 65 rO ?5" signature
(5)|| = 5)Sd day, dated ...
fcll on account of
ôll number ...
|3| = S'S'SSdo according to

L—
It
|^x) I = S<$So first
question
If51
sri * =8^8)60 item, heading
ST’IIST’ 1* =syô5d6o 85"olO£>0 be it known (to you)
Sr 1 by the hand of, in charge of

SDO|| * =£0O£^€i out of (a sum or number of)
^00 1 * =^03^0 halting place; also ‘dated at
0^3 II * - CODrOO an individual
COD I *35 I * = CkX)?t>iS3 &~(\T(50 ‘endowed with honour

&
o’||o'1 trj| =o’s.Sr^c o’&Sja&gJS

0^23 ^ ‘His Honour’ (address in a letter)
<3 * =<J5 and (Pers.)
<5| * =<S7\p° etcetera
01 = S3 23° oO r\) oOOO oir oO rOsôO odOO letter, request

sr
?! or rO 1 = (S&JG^r6 ‘Your humble servant’
= W^7¥ much, many
oil * above-mentioned
7^| * inhabitant of...
^11 * -TtFlPKO Sahib
■S’! * =^J°OTV<5jd temporary

TELUGU I4I
- Administration
Ty || * = <lT a Taloodivision of a district
^ | # = o5£)/*\S3 a Pergunnah, district division
3l) O 1 or <ST~° 1 * = oXH 2o °a village, town
- Anglo-Indian Currency
= 3(5^ a Pagoda
d|| a Dub = 4 Paise
(5o &(5cp = CdX0 aY CXX) 03 Rupees
3HI * a Hunn, or Pagoda
- Calendar
|| = ^£)3Y(5^)0 Sunday
fa r51 * Anno Domini
^l! <sd£3 ^
the dark fortnight
Ao I = f%D Of) oY (!) oXD Thursday

a | = 26 Cx60 o6° (5 qSdO Tuesday
all = 86 the dark fortnight
s»|| = 860 $15° <5^)0 Wednesday
ri = 06 06u (5Soo Saturday
stol Friday
Sol = ô6^)o the light fortnight

0 Q
t ^ il
r0^| 1or <~0\ 1 * year
rOO|or r00||(!50 = year
rOO ||(5ay) = rO Oo5^S^(ôy) of a year
ôo llrroo = &o£3^p°€o years (pi.)
rvf | = rvf o$D oT (5cÔO Monday
- Weights & Measures
SPI = q|iO& or a Candy (or ‘Indian ton’)
A'II = Aor a Garise or Garce

Telugu: Consonant Clusters & Conjuncts
kka kka kkr $

cx'-S
kta _£f kta IT kti i ktu §p kt5 S
ktya ^ ktya ~S"° C

— )
ktra *)
ktva ktya ~SPC
c^y6
kna kno
kpa kpa
kya kya^
c^~6
kra kra kro j

krid>
kla & kle~^
m ro
klya
kva
cc~€
ksa ksu kso S
' LaX
ksna to
AaA.
ksma §
UA,
gda TV
Q
gdha A gdhi A gdho A
Q Q Q
gdhn Aj
gne7^
gnya
gbha
gma A^ gmu Ap
gya A^
gra Â, A gra (7TJ
grya
TELUGU M5
gla t\
S 01
gva /AC gvi AC

oJ OJ
ghna qXk ghnu qPXh^ ghno "c^T0^
ghya ghya ghyau
ghra cÔJ ghra qPT°‘ 1 ghre ~Jb j)
nka 26^ _<£> nka 2o°|^_ nkl 2o^) nku 260
nke ?ojj
ftkt
nkte 2o ^ [“ntke”]
nksa 2o nksi 2o nkse 2o

S ‘ S
' & OJs.
nksya
nkha &> nkhi 2o

qp qp
nkhya 2o C nkhya & C
SpO qp W
nga 26 nga 25° ngi 2o
ngya 26
i46 CONSONANT CLUSTERS & CONJUNCTS
ngha 2o ngha jighi 2o nghe 2o

q|X)
nghys1
<£K)
nghra & 7 righri 2o
JJ
<V 1 £)-
rima
cca cca cci £) \
ccha ccha ^ cchi
cchra t5\J) cchrl cchru
cchre cchr5
cchva c5\ { cchva cxT
cya cyaa cT cyu
iial
jjna &
Gj
jjna Zp
zr sr
jna £j jna <2°
sr ST
jya
TELUGU M7
jra {&j jra jri (2§^ jre i?Sj
jva 2oC jva
nca of\ nci of^ nee nco
ncha of^ nchi
_ • ryyt
nia of nil
a
dga (a3 dgi & dgi &

o o
nta £3
ntha £3
O
nda £3 ndi £^
G G
ndha £3
(5
nna £3
E9
nma £3, nma
nya £3^ nyai

£
nva £3^
tka tkai
tkra tkra tkri
tksa 6 tksi 0
S
w. S
TELUGU I49
tta {S tta iT tti O tte "3 tto ^
(-«- in other conjuncts is usually reduced to -t-)
ttha O ttha iT’

Q Q
tna tm tne
me
tny, 6^ tnya ^ tny5 <5^
tpa {S\ tpi 0\ tpu {So \ tpu

u {So^x
oJ
n,) oJ oJ
tpra {S\^ tpra

1 Xh
tpha {SX^ tphu {SO '^ {Sj tphu {So~° x^

0
tma {S, tma tmi
tmya {S^ (>■%

tya <5^ tya tyu {SO^ tyo {5^
tra ^tSj |y5 tri trljO trai S3 J)
trya {S^^) [=“tyra”]

try5 'XJ
tva {S^ tve OC tvo ySk
tsa {5 0^ tsu OD\ tsai S3_ 0^
tska {S 0^
l
r5° CONSONANT CLUSTERS & CONJUNCTS
tstha [“tthsa”] tstha <lJ°\

QrO Q rO
tsna <5^ ^ tsna ^
tsya
tsv5 ^ tsy5 ^
tsva
thya (4)^
dga £5 dgl t) dgu 65o

O O 0
dgra £Sj
dda 65 ddr 65 \ ddai IS

G> ' QqJ Q_
ddra 65j)
ddva 65 C ddvi 65 C
OoJ QoJ
ddha 65 ddha 6T ddhi 65 ddhr 65 \
Q Q Q QeJ
ddhya 65^ ddhya ere
Q 0
dhva
dba 65^ dbl 6) N

&)
TELUGU
dbra 6^)
dbha 6) \ dbha (TT \ dbhi 65 ^ dbhu 6S70

PJ ?J
dbhya (5 dbhyo £5*^
dbhra (5 \
?X;
"T"
dma (5,
dya dya dS^" dye^
dra ^6)^ |65 dru (^T3J) drau G5 °J)
drya ^
dva 65 dva (IT^ dvi 65^ dve "65^
dvya ^ dvya
dhna (4)^ dhna
dhma £j5^ dhma Q6
dhya £j5^
dhra 6 )J) dhru
dhva (j5^ dhva 65^ dhvi

I52
nkr
nta r5 nta r3^
ntya r\)^
ntra r6 ^ ntra ^ 1 ntrai

J ntro
ntrye
ntsa r5 \ ntsu r\)C
ntha r\) nthi rO

0) <+>
nda rv) nda rvT
Q O O O O
ndra rO 1 ndri rv)
oy
ndva rv) C ndva r\) ndvi

OoJ Q
ndha r5 ndha cvT
Q Q
ndhya r5^ ndhya
ndhra P5 ndhre 75 q
I; qJ
nna & nna nni rv)
,1
nbra r\)^
n ma 3, 3 nmu P$o, nmai

TELUGU
r54 CONSONANT CLUSTERS & CONJUNCTS
psya 08
bja 88 bja 8Y*

£» &
bda 88 bda 8^ bde &)

O Q Q
bdha 88 bdhi 8) bdhai 85”

Q Q Q_
bdhva 88 {^ bdhva 85^
Qcx.
bra 88 (88, bra bru 88J° 1
bhya 8j8C bhya 8(8^ bhyu (£0^ bhy>
bhra <%) J bhra bhru UJ
mna mm nine
in5
oSl)\ mpu (^3CP\ <^D ^

oJ oJ oJ
mpra oSlF
m Kl \ mkn \
TELUGU 155
mbha o50 ^ mbhi oX) ^ mbhu oJDT°^
mbhe ~o5l) ^ mbh5 IxXl0
mma oSl)^ ^0^ mma §5
mya oX)^ mya mye ~o5l)^ myo ”SC
mra mri mre ~o)D *) mro "ckXJ0j
mla oX) mle ■& mlo "c^lT

m n ro
yya CXX)^ yya C&^ yye
yva CxSd^
(r-ligatures are frequently built with )
rga (5 rgu <50 rge”(5

8 O O O
rghya XJ^
rghya
rnga 2o ^ rngi
rca
^ ra53
rcya ^ rcy5°3)&
J56 CONSONANT CLUSTERS & CONJUNCTS
rja (5 rji 0
a a
rna 6 \ rne "3
E3 E3
rta 6 rti
rtra ^(5^ rtra {~Qj
rtsnya N rtsnye 3^ ^ EF~

rtha (5 rthi 0 rthi 6
Q Q
rthya (5 C rthya
QU Q
rda (5 6 Er- rdi 6 rdu <5p
o Q o
rdha 6 rdha rdhi £) rdhu 6j°
Q Q Q Q
rdhna O n rdhna U\ rdhni <b \
Q<*- Q d. Qcd
rdhva (5C
QoJ
rna (5>^ rna rni

0
rpa 6\^ rpa rpi rpu &
0 ^
rpu (5j^ (5J
rbra ^ rbr5D,a);
rbha 6j^ rbha 0^ rbhu 6) \ rbhii $J°E^
TELUGU 157
rma (5^ (5) rma 1 rmi A rmu (3),
rya <5^ ry5 D*£
rla (5 rlo <5"*

fO n
8U0
rva (J C rva rvf rve C rvai ■0
rvya 6^ rvya O*^ rvyu
rsa rsi rse
rsva rsve^^
9.
rsa (5 oAf - rsi 6 oA f rse <xX
aX. ' al
rsna (5 rsni 0
ob. CkX
^ S3 ^ £9
rha C) oT^~ rha rhi 0 rho
oJ° oT1 <3*
lka Oj^ lkl
lkya °u
lga O lgu OO
O O
lpa OX lpa 0"°\ lpo

OJ oj oj
lbhya 0^^ Ibhye A)

lma lmai $5^
lya 0^ lya 0"°^ lyu 0O^ lye 0^
11a O
n
lva
lha O lha 0~°
vya «£>C vya vyu cxV)^ vye
vra âSj vra ôTj vrl a) vre {^J
sea c? ^
sea sci 9^ see 9*^ scai
K)
fcya {T^ scyu
sna 9^ sna e)5"^ snl 9^ snu $0^
sma _cj^
ri
sya 9^ sya^ sye9^ syai ¥_(

S
sra ^9^ sra ^Wj sri (also $ sr)
srT sru ^ sre ]?J sr5

TELUGU T59
sla $ sta W sli §> sle f

ro ro ro ro
sva svi sve svo
ssa (for -h s-) ssu

ss
ssra ssru cfO^J
ska ^ skatX^ sku skr (vowel position!/)
skra <A )J skra
sta cA sta oX sti cA stu cAO stau "oX

•• eo " eo ' eo go <a
stya ol^ stya a5!^
stra cA 1 stra °j stre cA 1 stro a$. 1

G3A G3 A go A go A
stva <AA stva oXA
gooJ eooj
stha cA stha oik sthi cA sthe cA

•’ G " © © ©
sna <Â snu cAX) sno cS* snau~AX

S3 S3 S3 S3
snya cAC
S3©
So
spa cAA^ spa
oJ
?P!
A spu
X rA
spu cAXT spai cA
A
spra <XXN© 5P-

CX
9 9
sma oX sma oX, smi oX^ oXX
©
r
sya aX^ sya sye oX^ syai cX ^
sva oX^ sve oX^
ska rO) ska r\X^_

skr ^
skha rv)
©
v<* t/ - ^
sta rv) sta r\X _ o\6
stu rOO rOO ste rO tO OJ
stau rv)u
stya rO ^ stye styo rvf ^
§ -=s
stra ( rv) ) stri ^rv^ stre i rO
strya rO
stya rOJ^ stvi• rO

9s
stha rO sthi rO sthu rxJVJ0 sthe rO sthai rv)

Q Q Q Q o©
'
sthau rv)°
©
sthya rO C sthye rv)C
©*) ©©
TELUGU
v/
sna rO^ sna rv^ sni rO^
spa rO^
spt Hi
§_ N
)
spha rO\
r\ )
sphl rO \
Cl4 ji
sphu rOO
c 5
sphu rvKJ3 \ rO -T” sph5 rvf
r\ 1 r\
sma rvh rO ) smi rvh smr rO^ smai
smya rO^ C
Hi
sya rO^ sya 7\T^ sye rO^ syai rOC syo
v/ o\€
sra sra (TvT) sr5 (OJj
sva rOC sva TvT^ svi rOC sve rO^
ssa rO\ ssu rOO^ sso rv)6^
sstha rO \
QrO
ssva rO^ ^ ssve r\T^ ^
§
hna oT° hna 3* hni cJ° hne oJ°
‘ S3 S3 ' S3 S3
C) —^
hna oT^ hni oT^ hne oT^
hma (xP, hma oT6, hmo oThT^

e
hya cJ°^ hya hyo oTMPC
hra hri joTj
hla hla S6
n m
hva oT°^ hva ^ hvi oJ^
Kannada: Basic Characters & Ligatures
a (□ )
a & & ^°cD □"e)
i $ D & B
I -3* (& CxXJz) yl)
i
u e/o □0 & nj
u trcQ DJL &□/£>
r &£>
De)
r SdiXO & si/c)
1 °2 □
I □
_9
e/e &) a) & (& ab ye) □
_D _D
ai so
o/o so
au S5 l3P
ka d ta d)
kha SO tha d
ga r\ da d
gha of & eJJ* & c0O dha
ria es na £0
Palatal Dental
ca ta
cha tha
ja £ da c5
jha Ctp dha O
na -sr na S3
KANNADA 165
Labial Sibilants
pa dJ & dJ> sa d & s’
pha qj & ep sa dJ\ & dJ\ & di & di
ba sa rv)
bha 2jj & 5J1 & $3 &
ma old & eZ)0
Sonorants Other
ya CdO ha So & o!n & eZn
ra d la $ (.substituting da or la)
la 0 &© la <23
va o3 & eZ) ra 63
k- ^ 6c) kh- SO so2)

g- rt nc) gh- p & ep5 & pO (pc)
n- 23 23^
c- 23 2Ê) ch- C{J & 2^ <P2)

£ 252) jh- dp dp2)
~ nm
n- o| fSTJB
te) th- d 0c)
d- C3 CJc) dh- Cj5c)
n- 23 esc)
t- 3 3c> th- 0 qj6
d- £) 6)c) dh- Cjj po

n- rO rOc)
KANNADA 167
-a/ -a
p- oJ & dJ cDc) &cdc) ph- cp & ep 4Jc)
b- eo TO bh- <$& od& <53>&
m- cdO & eZX) <dro
y- OJO OlJc)
r- d Oe)
1- O & © TO
v- cd & ed oJc)
s- d & d <TO
s- dj\& dJh&da&da oJ\ 0
s- rv) r\Jc)
h- (30 & oja & CTO 1- d TO
1- 09 03=^ r- 09 03^
-i/-l
k- 6 kh- oD sD?
g- A A^ gh- qi
h- 239 23^
c- 23 23^ ch- 0
j- S3 jh- Acp &P?
n- ZT9 'ST9^
t- & th- A £>?
d- <5 dh-
n- $
t- 3 th- (J)
<?>?
d- (A £)^ dh- Q) 0?
n- rv)
KANNADA X69
-i/-I
p~ oJ ph- 4j 4^
b- 2D bh-
m- cxD cDo^
y- ClO
r- 0
1- O
V- oD
s- a
9v
s- oJ\
s- r\)
h- 60 <5o^ 1- 0
1- es? r- es?
-u/-u
k- to) kh- OX) OX/S)
g- to rto gh- to CpC/c)
n- 20 202)
c- to 2to) ch- Cpt) to)
j- 20 2Cc) jh- dpo ctpxo
n- zro 'Sto)
t- to to) th- d) (to)
d- to to/c) dh- Cl) (jl/c)
n- 2S0 2072)
t- to to) th- Ql) to
d- to Ck/c) dh- 0J C^L/c)
n- to r\iXc)
KANNADA
-u/ -u
p- ^0 gjyo ph- <5j ^\j^

b- 200 2070 bh- 2^0 2.170
m- cxiOO cxXOTO
y- OlOO QlOTO r- do dro

l- eoo eooo v- 3) <dyo
s- do doo
s- 6J\ 0 cD\O0
s- r\_0 rUTO
h- 0o0 3o70 1- ^0 £oo

l- eoo eooo r- eoo eooo
I72 BASIC CHARACTERS & LIGATURES
-r / -r
kh- SO^
k- ^S°
gh- ^
g' % %
n- 52^
- ^ ch- ^ *%>
jh- *Sp^ cipvt)
n- ^
,h- ^
%>
d- du ^
n- £8^
£- % %
th-
d-
dh' ^
n- ... etc.
n- ^ %>
KANNADA *73
J74 BASIC CHARACTERS & LIGATURES
-e/-ai
k- 6
A kh- 2D 2D ;
0
g- A
A
0-)9
gh- dj opA
e
n-
<>}
c- ea ch- 0
j- a! jh- £cp Acp

i
n-
t- & th- A
A
d- £
n-
dh-
A
t- 3 , th- §) a,
q3
d- A)
n-
'A
dh- Q)
A
'A
-o/ -au
k- 5^) kh- sD^/a
g- rf3 gh- cp^-VS 4T73
n-
c- ej73 ch- 0^)
j- af3 jh- Glp^) ccp^
n- zr9^) ,W3
t- b^) 6j^ th-
d- dP dh- qf3
n-
t- S^) ;JP th- fyjo)

d- dh- Q)^) b?
n- dP
KANNADA I77
0/ -au
p- OjJd 53^ ph - 4a73 4?®
b- bh - £>-VS 2^
m- <xkycD
Q
y_ o3^) ClL/9 Sanscrit -0 D^/c)
Q
also rendered as -0 ; -/a) P :
r- bjd Cp
1- dd
k5 6-Jc)^ kho cDv-/c)^
go f\jc)^ ... etc.

V-
special forms:
/ sP
s-
po <x)pho
t?c)
s- cu\
vo Ck)(cf p. xxi)
s- & Jd Fo3
h~ 60 Jf) Qo9 1- Ova o’3
1- esPoQ 03^ r~ e£fva

Additional Graphs
□ 6 &cf virama e.g. alam:
g- -n, e.g., dhaman:
O -m (anusvdra)
00 -h (visarga)
X -h (jihvamuliya)
00 -h (upadhmaniya)
s avagraha (only in prints; avagraha not documented
in mss.!)
Conjunct Forms
□ e.g., -tka<
6 6
□ -g-, e.g., -dga-: d
A A
□ -c-, e.g., -cca-: d
2c
-ch-, e.g., -ccha d &d

ep ep ep ep
□ j-> e.g.,
£
-t; e.g., 2^
KANNADA T79
□ -d-, e.g., -bda-:

CD CD
□ -dh-, e.g., -bdha-:

Q Q
-n-, e.g., -ghna

Dd
□ do e.g., -tpa
oO oJ
□ -ph-, e.g., -tpha

qJ qj
□ -b-, e.g., -dba-\ d

20
□ -bh-, e.g., -dbha-\ cj
% -m-, e.g. -nma-\

%
do e.g., -/ya-:
d
&o post-consonantal e.g., -sra-: ^j srt: {
□ F pre-consonantal -r--, e.g., darsanaC) <2)Frv)
□ -/-, e.g. -£/*-: r\

no on
-n-, e.g. -§va-\

&o3
□ & D -s-, the latter only for -ksa-:

oJ\
-j-, e.g. -/‘iff-:

r8o BASIC CHARACTERS & LIGATURES
O _9 & V §? £ 2_ 6 e o
&
O _Q s- V 3? e l V f o
12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Fractions
I II III
l//|6 2/l6='/8 Vl 6 V 16“'/4 S/l6='/2 l2/l6 = 3/4
Abbreviations & Contractions
samvat
^ || //o/(i2
Kannada: Consonant Clusters & Conjuncts
kka d kka Sc) kkr d \

6 6 6 QJ
kta O
_D
kta Sc>^ kti 6^ ktu d^J kto SdQ o
ktya d^ ktya Sc)
ktra d^j d d
^ vi5
ktva dn^j ktva Sc)^^
kna d kno Sx-/cD P

cl cl
kpa d kpa Sc)

oJ oJ
lcya ^ kya Sc)^
kra dy kra S0y kri kro dyJc)^
kla d kle S’ £
on m
klya d «
mi)
ksa 6
• « a A
ksa Sc)
* < A A
ksi 6
* i A A
ksu dO
*
kso SL/c)^
LA-A
ksmya 5c)
ksya d » ksya 5c) P

^ '3 -, ^
02
ksva 6
d
khya £0^ khyai otA^
gda (\ c)
O
gdva / YE)
Od
gdha A gdhl A ^ gdho d v_/c)
Gf) Cp Cp
gdhn AqJ?
gna rYc) gne A ^

8113 <A d,
gnya Hu
gbha ^
ep
gma rt, gmu rto.
cd A-
gya
gra rty gra rro j

KANNADA
grya ^
gia
6
rino gla (\ c)
m
gva gvl
ghna cp\^ ghnu cpO_^ ghno cp^-Jc)^
ghya cp\> ghya qJ*c)^ ghyau qJ^1 ^
ghra cpy ghra qj'cPy ghre q7
In consonant clusters n- is usually represented by anusvara.
hka 23
6
nga 23^ ngi 23^
cca 2^ cca 23c) cci 23

2cr
ccha 2^ 2^ ccha 23c) cchi 23 cche ^

ep ep ep ep ep
cchra 2o^^ cchri 23^y^ cchru 2^0 i cchre 2^ ^
ep.7 ep
cchro 2^72) i
ep.7
i84 CONSONANT CLUSTERS & CONJUNCTS
cchva 2rj ( cchva 23c) f

ep o) epoJ
cya 2^ „ cya 23c) » cyu 2^0 „
<2 t <Q
jja 23
&S
jjna 23 jjna 23c)

ft'ST ft'ST
jna 23 jna 23c)

'sr 'ST
jya 23^
jra 23y jra 23c)y jri 25^ jre 2?,f^
jva 23^j jva 25c)^j
/« consonant clusters n- is usually represented by anusvara.
rcr\
nca o{
2a
tka tka 6J3)

6 6
tta 6*3
e)
tya
KANNADA l85
tsu (ddj
dga d dgi d dgi d ^

A A A
dya d^
dhya Q
<£>
In consonant clusters n- w usually represented by anusvara.
nta £9
d
ntha £9
O
nda £9 ndi £c)

Q " Q
ndha £9
Q
nna £9
£3
nma £9, nma £9c).

nya Ec)^ nyai
nva E3
tka S tkai S a
6 6 e)
tkra S i tkra 3d , tkri -3 i

6 J tJ 6 J
tksa
'
^d K^kJ\
tta tta 3d tti tte S n^ tto
ttra ^
^3
ttha ^ ttha -Sc)

Cp (J)
tna S tnl ^ tne ^ ^

Oy Oy Oy
tnya S « mya 33^ tnyo <§03^

Oy’Q
tpa -3 tpi -B tpu 'll) tpu &Jd

oO oJ oJ oJ
tpra ^ . tpra 3d j
oj3 oj_y
tpha ^ tphu tphu S^Jd

qj qj q_>
tma 3, tma 3d, tmi ^ ,

e-
tmya
KANNADA 187
tya J o tya 3c> JO, ids

5 tyu ^ ty0
t
tra .>J Li i
tri ’’i J trl °ri jy trai 3 ^
trya trya 3c>^
tva J ( tve J (f tvo JdO

'd J
tsa tsu Jo tsai
'rJ 'rOeJ
tska
d*
tstha
■d®
tsna
da tsna 9c)v
tsye
tsya
du tsya £
tsva
dd
thya 0
i
dga Cj^ dgl d^ dgu dO^
dgra
dda d ddr d \ ddai d >
Q ' Q<0 O0
ddra C5 ,
oJ
ddva d3 c ddvi £) f
£) oJ-V-*. Q oj
ddha £3 ddha G3c) ddhi £) ddhr G)
Q Q Q Q?)
ddhya C5 « ddhya CJc) .
dhva
dba £3 dbl £) P
2d 2d v
dbra C) ,
2d J
dbha C3 dbha Gdc) dbhi (5) dbhu CLdc)

2d 2d 2d (
2d
dbhya £3^ ^ dbhyo c5vVc) *
2d«
dbhra C) ,
2d^
dma £).
e-
dya dya Qc)^ dye £)^ ^
dra Cjy dru CL/tdy drau
drya G$ ,«
dva dva C)o) ^ dvi C) t dve
dvya C5 dvya Qc)j^

KANNADA 189
dhna £), dhna Qc).

d d
dhma dhma Q)c)^
dhya
dhra 0 j dhru 00 j
dhva dhva dhvi 0^
nta nta rOc) ntu rvO A

nte rv) O
P
V
ntya rv)
ntra rv) rO ntra rOc) ntrai r3

•J
1
^ 'J v^j
ntro (0_/c)
ntrye p3 nP
ntsa rv^j ntsu
ntha rv) nthi rv)

Cp 0)
nda rv) nda oTc) ndi rv) ndu rvO nde rv) P
CD CD CD CD CD
ndra tv) 1 nd ri rv) 1
CD.J CU
n dva rv) ndva o3c) ( ndvi rv> (

CD d o<i ©J CD oJ
I90
ndha rv> ndha r\Jc) ndhu rvL/a)

Q Q O
ndhya oj ndhya ^
ndhra ndhre rv)
nna nna r\Jc) nm rv)

cl cl cl
nbra r\3
Z)J
nma nmu r30 nmai r\3
&
nya nyu r\l)^ nye rv) » ^ nyai o3
& &Z)
nyo rÛ)
&
nra
nva rO nvii rv)

d d
nvra r3 nvrl rv)
dd Jl/
nsa r3
k)
■d q)
>ta oJ pte d,,?
—
ptau oJ
-D
tya dJ ptya
tva dj ptva doc) ^

KANNADA
_f>
-d3 D
pna dJ, Pnu pne oJ . y pno dJTc) ,
ppa dJ ppu djO ppu dJd/c)

OJ oJ OJ
pya pya dJc)^ pyai dj^
pra dJy pra dJc)y pri oJ^ pro dj7c)y
pla oJ plu odd

m ro
. 9
psa dJ^j psi OJ^J psu djjj
Psya Ho i psyc dJj ^ ?
bia 2d bia 2*Jc)

£ £
bda 2d bda 2Je) bde 2*3 ^

Q Q O
bdha 2d bdhi 2*1 bdhai 2*3 >

Q Q qq)
bdhva 2d t bdhva 2*Jc) r

Q oJ QoJ
bra 2dj bra 2*Jc) bru 2d dc)^y
bhya 2*3^ bhya 2*JcD^ bhyu 2*3d^ bhyo 2*1Tc)
bhra 2*3j bhra 2*3c>^y bhru 2*172)

mna <30, mna mm °0o ^ mne

cl ot a 4
mno
cl
mpa 3o mpu 30lQ

oJ oj
mpra 30 , mpra o5jo) j

oj.y oj_y
mba 3) mbi cxX) mbu ojOO

& 2b 20
mbha <xi) mbhl cxX) ^ mbhu ajOUc)
to 2P 2to
P
_D _
mbhe <xX)
mma 30. mma alJc)

e. fe,
mya a30<> mya 3jc) » mye o30^ ^ myo cdô) «

& <£>
mra o5jy mri <xf)y mre oOOy^ mro oSjldj
mla al3 mle o30 P mlo 3v7o)

on on on
yya Ql)<> yya OJOc) » yye Cd)^
yva
(r-ligatures are frequently built with F~ )

KANNADA
rga d fir rgu f\)F rge r\r^

A
rghya cp3^ F rghya cp^c)^ F rghye cp3
rca rci 23F
rcya V rcya £3c)^ F
rja 2oF rji 2uF
rna EPF rneEQF^
rta ^F rti 3 F
rtma C) ,
rtra ^Fy rtre S F^
rtS"ya dkF rKny5 JrJd^F?
rtha 0 F rthl (f) F^
rthya (4^ F
rda C)F rdu ClPc)F
rdha 0F
rdhna 0 F
cl
rdhva F
194 CONSONANT CLUSTERS : CONJUNCTS
rpa cL)F
rbra 20 Fy
rbha 2*])F rbhu 2*lL/c)F
rma U, <xk)F rma Oc),

e.
rya CL rya Oc)^ ryo COc)
rla OF rlo PJwQF
rva C)^ <x) F rvl ck) F^
<X) n F
rvya
rsa c^F
rsva SO F
_> _D
rsa oJaF rse dJh^F
rsna cD\
©
rha CDF
lka O lkT 0 P
6 6
Ikya O „
6 &
KANNADA
lea O lgu CO
6 r\ r\
lpa O
oJ
Ibhya (L)^ ^ Ibhye ^3^ ^ ^
lma C,
C
lya lya C50^ tyu lb0^ lye <6^

11a O
m
lva C
*5
I ha CJ
CO
i
vya vya oJO^ vyU d)J^ vye ^
vra Cx)^y vra oJO^y vrl cx) ^y^ vre o5^y^
sea 23 sea 250 sci §) see 2) ^ scai

&r
scya 2) scy/u 2b
$
snaa 2$, sna 250 sni ^ snu 2b

d d d d
sma 2)
sya SL sya 25c)0 sye 3»^ syai

$
sra sra 5
( z)y sri §y sri a^
sru 2bj sre 3j ^ 0

sro ( :Jo)y
sla 2)
on
sla 2Jc)
no
sli §
on
sle 3 on£ slo 3jz) ,
sva svi <§>^j sve svo ^Jo) r
ssa (for -h s -) 2)^ ssu
sfra ssru 2b \
/
ska d_)a ska dJ\c) sku d_J\0 skr dJh \

6 6 6 ' 6 0
skra dJh , skra dJ\c) ,
tJ tJ
sta dJ\ . 9
sta dJ\c) sti aJh , stu dJhO ,
G) g) ei G)
~r?c)
stau dJ\
GJ
stya dJ\ „ stya dJ\c) „

g) &) 0
stra dJh , stra dJ\c)^^y
5(rS
stro cDnvVc)
stva dJ\ r stva oJ\<£) r

eôJ ■’ g)oJ
KANNADA *97
stha oO\ stha dJhc) sthi oJ\ sthe d0\ P

O " O o •' O
sna o3\ snu dJ\0 sno 6J\U^) snau 6J^

£3 " £ 3“ £ 3“ £3
snya dj\
£3$
spa dJ\ spa dJ\c) spi oJ\ spu dJv)

oo oO oJ OJ
spu 6J\Jz) spai cLh >

oj ojQj
spra dJ\ spra oJ\q)

OJ J OJ J
sma oJ\. sma dJ\d). smi oJ\,
e- ' e, e.
sya cD\^ ?ya d3\c)^ sye syai
sva dJ\ ( sve dJ\

J
ska rv) ska rv)c) skr rv)

U
skha rv)
SO
_D
sta rv) sta rv)c) stu rvD ste rv) sto rOvVc)
~r7c)
stau rv)
stya rv) stye rv) styo rvk75 r ^

£
stra rv) i rv) rv) strl rv) (P rv)P stre rv) iP

-“J ^ ^
strya r\)
Jh
stva rv)
• 9,
StVl CV)
stha rv) sthi rv) sthu rvX/c) sthe rv) P

Cp (p Cp CD
sthai rv) > sthau rv)
(pe) (p
_> _f>
sthya rv) « sthye rO » P
(DO
• 9.
sna rv) sna rv)c) sni rv)
a, c( cl
spa rv) spr rv)

OJ oJ e)
spha rv) sphi rv) sphu rv)J sphu rvL/c)

qj qj qj qJ
_o
spho rv)vVc)
qj
sma rv), smi rv), smr rv) smai r<J

e* e.
smya rv)
sya rv)» sya rOc)» syerO^? syai

t i)
syo rv)v7c)
£
sra rv) sra rOc) sro rvXTc)
• 9,
sva rv) sva rv)c) svi rv) ( sve rv)
o) oJ oJ
ssa rv) \ ssu rv)0 \ sso r\kJo) \

KANNADA I99
ssva rv) ssve rv)

3U 0)^
hna <36 hna OOc) hni 60 hne

£3 £3 £3 £3
hna QO. hni 60 hne 20 P

a, a a
hma <30. hma (30c), hmo <3Cl/cD.

e. e- e.
hya <30 0 hya 00 c)^ hyo <30Oc)»
hra <30y hri 60
hla SO hla OOc)

no m
hva (30 c hva OOc)^ hvi &0 c
Appendix: Distinctive Features of Nandinagari
Vowels Initial Diacritic k-Ligatures
a & s\ & y\
a & M & 3^1 □1 ^1
i fb & 0 & □ (4i & ^
T 3 & □)
u 5 & 3 □
5
u □
5> & 3)
-O %
r \ ( = >”) □
v^
r □
\ (=“rD
\
! (not documented) a. &
I (not documented)
e y & v □
w
ai P & $ □ $
o dl
au Q| 4}
202 APPENDIX
Consonants: Velar Retrofit
ka ta cL & ck & d
kha ^ & n tha <5 & c& & © (c/
ga da 3 & 3
gha ^ ^ dha <5>
na* E na m
Palatal Dental
ca ^ ^ ta
cha $ & E> & ccha) tha E] &^
ja Ên & 31 da
jhaf T] dha
na («o/ documented) na a
* interpolated from conjnncts
f to be distinguished from ^ ru
NANDINAGARI 203
Labial Sibilants
pa sa ?1 & 31
pha sa ^ ^
ba sa n&î
bha rl & fl
ma 2FI
Sonorants Other
ya V\ & VJ & ^ ^ & °1 ha 3o &
ra "1 ja
la rvl & ^\>1
va
204 APPENDIX
Additional Graphs
° -i7i (anusvara )
A9 -h (anunasi\a )
o & C -h (visarga)
3 avagraha
□ & Q, virama, e.g. -t cj^ -t t\&
Qi & □ & □ Vedic accents (preceding accented syllables)
5°o om
n J 3 ^
1 2 3 4 5
<?_&£_ \r&u~ r&r o

6 7 9 0
Conjuncts
kka $ gga ^1
kca gna 8
kta $ $ gya V
ktya ^711 gra -3
ktra * gla JJ
ktva f>
ktha $ ghna ¥1
kya 371 3/1
kra §> n- usutally appears as anusvara
kla Ja & nmu 3
ksa 7 ksti ^
ksma V cca 5
ksmya wn ccha 39 (cf. cha) 3b
ksya Vi cchr 3^ (also for cchru)
cchva
khya 771 cya w\

206 APPENDIX
cyu
^5 dhva P
era 3
nya fTFI m/i

jjha
*»!
nva na
jna
jnya V tka A tku A)
jya V V tta r\
jyo Wfl "En7fl tna S
jva *3 tpa /q
tpra /g
n- is usually appears as anusvara tpha
tma ?s\
tya tmya ?m
tva
S' tya TV1
tra q
dya sft trya w\

NANDINAGARI 207
tva 3 dhva
tsa rh VI
tsya KV\ nta <5^
tsva nma
nya nyu
dga & nva
dda ddu 1 =S)
ddha 5, pta R
dba * pna <3
dbra 1 pno £l jfl
dma b pra g g
dya VI dyu
Y>
dra * bda
dva bra
s
dhya °nd w\ bhya fn

208 APPENDIX
bhra vya ^/I
vra §
mpa aq
mya m sea 7<3
mra 33 sna 731
sya 7V1
yya W\ Wl sra 71
srl 7^1 sru 7J
rda K sva 73
rma 5f
rya Vf ska % %
rsa skr ^
rse A£f sta ^
rsya stra ^
stva
lkya ^J1 stha

NANDINAGARI 209
sna a sma TS\
snu
5 sya rv\ m
snva sra
sma w sva 3
sya
sva hna
hma
ska hya zs\

sta v\ Â hla
stra & hva %

stha ^ ^
Checklist of Conjunct Components
Conjuncts listed in the sequence of their second component
kk rgh tt ttv
nk rghy nt nt
rikt St nty
riktv kc sty ntr
nky cc str ntv
nkr nc stv nts
nks ncy Pt
riksy rc tth ptv
tk rcy nth rt
tkr sc sth rtth
tks rty
rk cch dd rtr
lk cchr nd St
sk cchv ndy sty
skr nch ndr str
sk sch stv
ddh
kkh g) ndh kth
tkh jj tth
skh jjfi nn nth
fii nny rth

gg njy rn rthy
ng dj §n sth
dg bi hn
dg n gd
dgr kt dd
rg i)h kty ddy
rgy ktr ddr
Jg cn ktv nd
tt ndy
ggh jny tty ndr
dgh ttr ndv
212 CONJUNCT COMPONENTS
bd sny mbh chy

rd hn rbh jy
hny ty
gdh km thy
gdhr tP khm dy
ddh tpr gm dhy
ddhn PP ghm py
ddhy mp nm ty
ddhr rP cm thy
ddhv 'P chm dy
ndh >py jm dhy
ndhy ?p dm ny
ndhr spr tm py
bdh sp tmy phy
bdhv spy thm by
rdh dm bhy
rdhn tph dhm my
rdhv Pph nm yy
mph pm ry
kn sph phm ly
kny bm vy
khn db bhm sy
gn dbr mm ?y
gny nbr mmy sy
ghn bb rm hy
tn mb lm
tny rb sm kr
dn lb sm khr
dhn sm gr
nn gbh hm gry
pn gbhy ghr
phn dbh ky ghry
bhn dbh khy cr
mn dbhy gy chr
sn dbhr ghy chry
sn bbh cy ir
CONJUNCT COMPONENTS 2 13
1 hr jl thv ksl
tr tl dv ksv
thr thl dvy rs
dr dhl nv rsn
nr nl pv
tr phv ks
P1
try phi bv ts
thr bl bhv tsth
dr bhl mv tsn
dhr ml rv tsny
nr rl lv tsy
11 sv tsv
Pr
phr si sv ns
br si sv ps
bhr si hv psth
mr hi psm
lr ns psy
vr kv rs psv
/
sr khv rsv ss
sr gv ss
hr ghv nh
chv ks nhy
kl iv ksn nhv
khl thv ksny nh
dv ksm mh
g1
dhv ksmy rh
ghl
hi nv ksy
chi tv ksr
214 CONJUNCT COMPONENTS
Conjuncts listed in the sequence of their third component
jny sty spr

ncy sny str
ksn njy spy
ksny ndy smy ktv
rsn >?ny hny ksv
nhy nhv
rikt tty ktr ttv
nktv tny ksr tsv
tmy nkr ddhv
tsth try cchr ntv
psth tsy ndr ndv
rtth ddy tkr ptv
ddhy ttr psv
tsn dbhy tpr bdhv
tsny dvy dgr rdhv
ddhn nty ddr rsv
rdhn ndy gdhr stv
ndhy ddhr stv
kty psy dbr
kny mmy dbhr nks
ksy ntr
fgy nksy
gny rghy ndr tks
gbhy rcy ndhr
gry rty nbr nts
ghry rthy rtr
iiky skr
ipy
chry str
?ty
Conjuncts listed in the sequence of their fourth component
ksny riksy nktv

k?my tsny
CONJUNCT COMPONENTS 215
Reverse index of conjuncts
kk sth dn dm
rtk dd dhn dhm
tk nd nn nm
tk ndh pn pm
lk nn bhn lm
sk rn mn sm
sk sn vn sm
kkh ksn sn ksm
nkh hn sn sm
skh kt tsn hm
nkt hn ky
tt tP khy
dg
nt mp nkhy
dg
lg Pc rP gy
rtgh St lp rtgy
dgh kth ?P ghy
Tin tth sp nghy
cc nth tph rghy
nc sth sph cy
rc gd db scy
sc dd bb chy
cch nd mb jy
nch bd gbh jny
rd dbh ty
jj
gdh bbh sty
ddh mbh thy
b)
nddh km sthy
j)h
cn ndh gm dy
bdh ghm dhy
))k
kn Tim py
jk
tt khn cm sny
nt gn jm ty
St ghn nm kty
nth tn tm tty
2l6 CONJUNCT COMPONENTS
nty ly ndhr stv

pty kly gdhr dv
sty vy nr ddv
thy dvy Pr dhv
sthy svy mpr gdhv
dy sy spr ddhv
ddy ?y br bdhv
dhy rtksy dbr nv
ddhy sy bhr bhv
ndhy tsy mr yv
ny hy vr rv
gny kr sr lv
tny skr sr sv
nny skr hr sv
tsny gr ki ksv
py rtgr g1 rtksv
phy dgr Pi sv
by ghr ml tsv
mby rtghr 11 hv
bhy chr si hs
gbhy cchr hi ks
dbhy jr kv rtks
my str gv rs
tmy thr cchv ss
ksmy dhr jv ts
smy tr iiv ts
yy ktr tv nts
ry ttr stv ns
kry ntr dhv ps
gfy str nv ss
stry dr ktv rh
try ddr rtktv lh
dry ndr tv
sry dhr ttv
The Brhaspati Cycle
According to the South Indian Calendar (i2oy-ig86 A.D.)
I Prabhava 1207 1267 '327 1387 '447 1507 1567 1627 1687 '747 1807 1867 1927
2 Vibhava 1208 1268 1328 1388 1448 1508 1568 1628 1688 1748 1808 1868 1928
3 Sukla 1209 1269 '329 1389 1449 1509 1569 1629 1689 '749 1809 1869 1929
4 Pramoda 1210 1270 1330 1390 1450 1510 1570 163° 1690 1750 1810 1870 '93°
5 Prajapati 1211 1271 *331 '39' i45i 1511 '57' 1631 1691 '75' 1811 1871 1931
6 Ahgiras 1212 1272 ‘332 1392 1452 1512 1572 1632 1692 '752 1812 1872 '932
7 SrTmukha 1213 1273 I333 '393 '453 >5*3 '573 i633 '693 '753 1813 1873 '933
8 Bhava I2I4 1274 '334 '394 '454 ■ 5'4 '574 1634 1694 '754 1814 1874 '934
9 Yuva 1215 1275 '335 ■395 '455 '5'5 '575 '635 1695 '755 1815 1875 '935
10 Dhatr 1216 1276 '336 ' 396 1456 1516 1576 1636 1696 '756 1816 1876 1936
11 Isvara 1217 I277 '337 '397 '457 1517 ■577 1637 '697 '757 1817 1877 '937
12 Bahudhanya 1218 1278 1:338 '398 1458 1518 '578 1638 1698 1758 1818 1878 1938
‘3 Pramathin 1219 1279 '339 '399 '459 '5'9 '579 '639 1699 '759 1819 1879 '939
'4 Vikrama 1220 1280 1340 1400 1460 1520 1580 1640 1700 1760 1820 1880 1940
■5 Vrsa 1221 1281 1341 I4OI 1461 1521 1581: 1641 1701 1761 1821 1881 1941
16 Citrabhanu 1222 1282 '342 1522 1582 1642 1702 1762
‘7 Subhanu >583 1643 1703 1763 1823 1883 '943
18 Tarana 1224 1284 '344 ■ 404 1464 1524 1584 1644 '7°4 1764 1824 1884 '944
■9 Parthiva 1225 1285 '345 1405 1465 1525 1585 1645 ■7°5 1765 1825 1885 '945
20 Vyaya 1226 1286 1346 140C 1466 1526 1586 1646 1706 1766 1826 1886 1946
21 Sarvajit 1227 1287 '347 '4°7 '467 '527 1587 1647 1707 1767 1827 1887 ■947
22 Sarvadharin 1228 1288 1348 1408 1468 1528 1588 1648 1708 1768 1828 1888 1948
23 Virodhin 1229 1289 '349 '4°9 1469 1529 1589 1649 1709 1769 1829 1889 ‘949
24 Vikrta 123° I29O 1350 I4IO 1470 '53° 1590 1650 1710 1770 1830 1890 1950
1891 '95'
25 Khara 1231 H9I
'35' 14 I I 1471 >53' i59 ‘ 1651 1711 '77' 1831
26 Nandana 1232 1292 '352 1412 1472 '532 1592 1652 1712 <772 1832 1892 1952
1893 '953
27 Vijaya I233 1293 '353 1413 M73 '533 1593 '653 ' 7'3 '773 .833
28 Jaya 1234 1294 '354 '4'4 1474 '534 •594 1654 17'4 '774 i834 1894 ‘954
2I8 the southern brhaspati cycle, 1207-1986 A.D.
29 Manmatha
00
I235 I295 *355 1415 1475 '535 '595 1655 '7'5 1775 1895 i955
30 Durmukha 1236 1296 1356 1416 1476 1536 1596 1656 1716 1776 1836 1896
'956
31 Hemalamba I237 I297 '357 1417 '477 '537 '597 1657 1717 '777 1837 1897 '957
32 Vilamba 1238 1298 1358 1418 1478 1538 1598 1658 1718 1778 1838 1898
'95®
33 Vikarin I239 1299 >359 1419 '479 '539 '599 1659 '7'9 '779 1839 '899 '959
34 Sarvarin 1240 1300 1360 1420 1480 1540 1600 1660 1720 1780 1840 1900 i960
35 Piava 1241 I301 1361 1421 1481 1541 1601 1661 1721 1781 1841 1901 1961
36 Subhakrt 1242 1302 1362 1422 1482 '542 1602 1662 1722 1782 1842 1902 1962
37 Sobhana 1243 1303 x363 '423 1483 '543 1603 1663 1723 1783 '843 '9"3
'963
38 Krodhin 044 '3°4 '364 1424 1484 '544 1604 1664 '724 1784 1844 1964
'9°4
39 Visvavasu I245 1305 1365 1425 '485 '545 1605 1665 1725 1785 '845 1905 '9%
40 Parabhava 1246 1306 1366 1426 i486 '546 1606 1666 1726 1786 1846 1906 1966
41 Plavanga 1247 1307 1367 1427 '487 '547 1607 1667 1727 1787 '847 '907 1967
42 Kllaka 1248 1308 1368 1428 1488 1548 1608 1668 1728 1788 1848 1908 1968
43 Saumya I249 1309 1369 I429 1489 '549 1609 1669 '729 '789 1849 '9°9 1969
44 Sadharana 1250 i3io 1370 143° 1490 ■55° 1610 1670 1730 1790 1850 1910 '970
45 Virodhakrt 1251 13U '37' 1431 1491 '55' 1611 1671 '73' 1791 1851 I9II 1971
46 Paridhavin 1252 tfpf 1492 m m 1912 1972
47 Pramadin I253 I3I3 151 M33 '493 HI '9'3 '973

48 Ananda I254 *3*4 '374 Egg '9'4 '974
49 Raksasa I255 ,3I5 *375 1435 IS '975
50 (A)nala 1256 13 ’6 >376 1976
51 Pingala 1257 ■3'7 >377

issi '977
52 Kalayukta
9 137S
99 1110 SIB jjjj ■a 1978
53 Siddhartin 1259
SB 1379 ■ '979
54 Raudra
55 Durmati
1260 a
1381 1501 1561 1621
SB
1681
m 1980
1441 '74' 1801 1861 19S1
56 Dundubhi
si 1 n 8*2 ^95 1982
57 Rudhirodgarin ■ iff! H0 1983
58 Raktaksn j||j^ m HI 1684 mi HI a 1984
59 Rrodhana
mi ■445 §§0 '745 1805 1865 1985
60 Ksaya 1^1 !U '446 ggi ns lll^j 18 66 1986

Bibliography1
General
Buhler, Georg
1896.1 Indische Palaeographie : von ca. 350 A. Chr. - ca. 1300 P. Chr. -
Strassburg : Triibner, 1896. (Grundnss der indo-arischen Philologie
und Altertumskunde ; 1,1)
1896.2 Siebzehn Tafeln Indische Palaeographie. — (Grundriss der indo-ari-
schen Philologie und Altertumskunde ; 1,2)
Kannaiyan, V.
i960 Scripts in and around India. — Madras : Government Museum.
Dani, Ahmad Hasan

1963 Indian Palaeography. — Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1963-
Daniels, Peter T. & Bright, William

1996 The World’s Writing Systems. - New York : Oxford Univ. Press.
Falk, Harry
1993 Schrift im alten Indien : ein Forschungsbericht mit Anmerpungen. —
Tubingen : Narr (ScriptOralia ; 56).
Gai, Govind Swamirao

1986 Introduction to Indian Epigraphy : [with Special Reference to the
Development of the Scripts and Languages],— Mysore : Central
Institute of Indian Languages. (Occasional Monographs Series,
Central Institute of Indian Languages ; 32)
Gupta, P. L. [ed.]
1985 Ancient Indian Numerals (Prdetna bhdratlya amha). — Delhi . All
India Educational Supply Company.
1 With one exception, only printed works are listed. For manuscripts consulted see the
descriptions in my forthcoming edition of the Sivadharmasastra, and Gerhard Ehlers.

Indische Handschriften, Teil 12 : Die Sarnmlung der Niedersachsischen Staats- und Umversitats-
bibliothel{ Gottingen. Stuttgart : Franz Steiner Verlag 1995. (Verzeichnis der orientalischen
Handschriften in Deutschland ; II,12), especially the South Indian Mahabharata mss.

220
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Salomon, Richard
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Pi a fit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages. — New York ; Oxford
Lniversity Press, 1998 (South Asia research),
Stevens, John
1995 Sacred Calligraphy of the East. - 3rd ed, rev, and expanded, Boston :
Shambhala, 1995.
South Indian Paleography
Bright, William
1998 “The Dravidian Scripts”, in: Steever, Sanford B. [ed.]: The Dravi-
dian Languages. - London : Routledge (Routledge Language Family
Descriptions).
Burnell, Arthur Coke
1878 Elements of South-Indian Paleography from the Fourth to the Seven¬

teenth Century A.D. : Being an Introduction to the Study of
South-Indian Inscriptions and Mss. - 2nd enlarged and improved
edition, London : Triibner.
Harkness, Henry
1837 Ancient and Modern Alphabets of the Popular Hindu Language of the
Southern Peninsula of India. - London : Royal Asiatic Society.
SlVARAMAMURTI, C.
1966 Indian Epigraphy and South Indian Scripts. - Repr. of the 1. ed. 1948,
Madras : Government of Madras (Bulletin of the Madras Govern¬
ment Museum. New series ; 3,4)
BIBLIOGRAPHY 221
Grantha Tamil
Pakavatkjtai. T. Cuntararaja Carma (ed.). — Cennai : VetantapotinT Pres

1909.
Sri Pa\avatP}tai: SrTmat Paramahamsa Iramaccantirdnanla Carasvati Cuvami-

pal Ceytaruliya Tatparya Cahitam. — Madras : B. Irattina Nayakar
Antu Cans, Thirumagal Vilasam Press 1923.
[Barth, August (?)]

Alphabet GranthaA
[This is a handwritten list deposited in the library of the Kern Insti-
tuut, Leiden, which seems to circulate in several generations of
photocopies. I am especially endebted to the comprehensive collec¬
tion of conjuncts, comprising five of a total of ten pages.]
Beythan, Hermann
1943 Practise he Grammati\ und Ubungsbuch der Tamilsprache, 1: Gram-
mati\. - Leipzig : Harrassowitz (Sprachkundliche Lehr- und
Worterbiicher, 42).
Krishnamoorthi Sastry, R.
1989 Grantha Bala Pathah (Kranta Pdla Patamald). — Madras : Heritage
India Education Trust.
MacLean, C.D.
21989 Manual of the Administration of the Madras Presidency, vol. 2, Appen¬
dices. New Delhi, Madras : Asian Education Services (Reprint of the
1885 edition).
Subramanian, P.R., & Ramakrishnan, S.

1992 Kriydvin taifdlat Tamil a/{a rati: Tamd-Tam il-A h kilam (Dictionary of
Contemporary Tamil, Tamil-Tamil-English) . — Reprinted with cor¬
rections, Madras : Kriya (Cre-A).
2 This list is mentioned in: Willem Caland, l.lcuie Schriften, ed. Michael Vv itze!, Stutt¬
gart (Glasenapp-Stiftung ; 27), p. xxxiii, no. 55a as Ecriture Grantha.

222 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Venugopalan, K.
1983 A Primer in Grantha Characters. - St. Peter, Minn. ; James H. Nye
(also available from: www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/southasia/grantha)
Winslow, Miron
1862 A Comprehensive Tamil and English Dictionary of High and Low

Tamil. — Madras : P.R. Hunt.
ZlEGENBALG, BaRTHOLOMÛS
1716 Grammatica Damulica : quce pervaria paradigmata, regulas & necessari-

urn vocabulorum apparatum, viam brevissimam monstrat ... — Hals
Saxonum : Orphanotropheum.
Grantha Malayalam
Snmadbhagavadgita. — Trssivaperur : Vidyavinodini 1909.
Cakko, I. C.
1955 Panmiya pradyotam : a Commentary in Malayalam on Panini's Vya-

\arana-sutras Containing Sutrapatha, Dhatupatha, Ganapatha, Indices
of Roots and Terminations and Alphabetical Index of the Text (Panini-
yapradyotam athava Paninisutranhaluke malaydlavyd\hydnam). — Erna-
kulam : P. C. Devassia & M. M. Varkey.
Amaduzzi, Giovanni Cristoforo [Amadutius, Iohannes Christophorus]
1772 Alphabetum Grandonico-Malabaricum Sive Samscrudonicum. —

Romae : Sac. Congregatio de Propaganda Fide.
Bendall, Cecil
1896 “On a System of Letter-numerals used in South India ”, Journal of

the Royal Asiatic Society, pp. 789-792.
Gundert, Hermann
21868 A Grammar of the Malayalam Language (Malaydla Bhasdvya\ara-
nam). — Mangalore : Stolz
1872 A Malayalam and English Dictionary. — Mangalore : Stolz.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 223
Kunjan Pillai, Suranad (ed.)

1965— Malayalam Lexicon : a Comprehensive Malayalam-Malayalam-English
Dictionary on Historical and Philological Principles (Malayala Mahd-
nighantu). - Trivandrum : Government Press.
Mangalam, S. J.
1988 Palaeography of Malayalam Script. — Delhi : Eastern Book Linkers.
Pisharoti, K.R.
i928-3o“Sanskrit and Prakrit in the Arya Eluttu — a Note”. Bulletin of the
School of Oriental Studies, 5 (1928-1930), pp. 307-310.
Ravivarmma, L. A.
21971 Pracma Kerala Lipipal (Ancient Kerala Scripts). — Tiruvananta-
puram : Kerala Sahitya Akkadami (SrTramavarmma Granthavall).
Retnamma, Kalathivilakom
1994 Early Inscriptional Malayalam. — Thiruvananthapuram : DLA Publi¬
cations.
Telugu
SnbhagavadgTta, VenketaSesa [ed.]. - Cennapura : Srlramavilasa 1901.
[Visnudharma, (edition in Telugu script; no title page, no date; c. 1900)]
Arden, Albert Henry

1955 A Progressive Grammar of the Telugu Language. — 4. ed., repr.,
Madras : Christian Literature Society.
Brown, Charles Philip

1854 A Dictionary of the Mixed Dialects and Foreign Words Used in Telugu :
With an Explanation of the Telugu Alphabet. — Madras : Christian
Knowledge Society Press.
224 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mahadevasastri, Korada
1969 Historical Grammar ofTelugu : with Special Reference to Old Telugu

c. 200 B.C.-1000 A.D. — Anantapur (A.P.) ; Sri Venkateswara Uni¬
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Sankaranarayana, Paluri
:953 A Telugu -Eng lish Dictionary. - Revised and enlarged ed., Madras :
Sastrulu.
The Sanskrit Primer (Sanskrit - Telugu) \Samskrta-Bdlasi\sd\ - Madras :

Ramaswamy Sastrulu & Sons 1962
Kannada
Bhagavadgita
1920? Snmadbhagavadgita (no bibliographical data available).
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Hosakere [ed., comm.]. - Bengaluru : Es. Es. En Buk Dipo.
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sastri, Doddabelf. [ed., comm.]. - Bemgaluru : Hej. En. Rav
Bradars. 2 vols., Sargas 1 and 2 (Vidyananda Granthamala, 2 & 5).
Jensen, EIans
1969 Grammatik der {anaresischen Schriftsprache. - Leipzig : Verlag Enzy-

klopadie (Lehrbucher fiir das Studium der orientalischen und afri-
kanischen Sprachen ; 17)
Kittel, Ferdinand
1894 A Kannada-English Dictionary. - Mangalore : Basel Mission Book &

Tract Depository.
19°3 A Grammar of the Kannada Language in English : Comprising the

Three Dialects of the Language (Ancient, Mediceval and Modern). -
Mangalore : Basel Mission Book and Tract Depository.
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South Indian Scripts in Sanskrit Manuscripts and Prints - Grunendalh

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South Indian Scripts

Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme

Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP Cataloguing-in-Publication-Data

© Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2001

Terms and Symbols

Basic Characters & Ligatures . 1

Additional Graphs .l7

Consonant Clusters & Conjuncts .

Abbreviations & Contractions .52

Graphic Classification .59

Basic Characters & Ligatures .77

Prepausal Consonants .92

Additional Graphs .92

Conjunct Forms of Sonorants .93

Consonant Clusters & Conjuncts ..

Basic Characters & Ligatures . I2J

Conjunct Forms . r^g

Abbreviations & Contractions . r^g

Consonant Clusters & Conjuncts . Iz^

Basic Characters & Ligatures . xg^

Conjunct Forms . r^g

Abbreviations & Contractions . 180

Consonant Clusters & Conjuncts . i8x

Appendix: Distinctive Features of Nandinagari . 201

Checklist of Conjunct Components . 211

The Southern Brhaspati Cycle (i20j-i()86 A.D.) . 217

The present guide is a by-product of my edition of the Sivadharmasastra as

library of the Oriental Research Institute, Mysore,2 a kind of bibliographic

recht’s Catalogus Catalogorum, the New Catalogus Catalogorum published by

N. S. (comp.): A supplemental catalogue of printed Sanskrit works in the Oriental Research

few booklets designed for elementary instruction (see bibliography). Prac¬

only give an inadequate impression.

adequate representation of manuscript evidence before other aspirations.

encourage such studies.

My debt of gratitude is to Gerhard Ehlers (Berlin) for going through

Conjunct The graphic connection of a consonant with another

Consonant cluster The unconnected combination of a consonant with an¬

Ligature The combination of a consonant with a vowel diacritic.

& separates variants (not used in lists of conjuncts)

□ represents a host consonant (in displaying vocalization etc.)

1 Cf. Ross 1999:236f.

Most of the hitherto published works on Indian palaeography focus on the

readers may not be out of place:

(for examples see the lists of conjuncts).

2 Cf. C. Bendall 1896.

on Beythan’s observations (1943:1 qff.):

Grantha Malayalam (Arya Eluttu)

The two older variaties of diacritic -u □ / OB and -u □ / c&. are invariably

A triangular marka indicates gemination in conjuncts with preceding r-,

Due to their graphic similarity, the following characters may be difficult

6TDS = 6TDo8 iiatnbha

4 As P°'nted out by Gundert (i8;2:xiv) and others, in Malayalam -t is pronounced

- Consonants without headmark add diacritic -*z/-z/-i7-[diphthong] to the

However, some consonants without headmark have diacritic -a in central

— W ha, apparently in order to avoid confusion with £7 ja,

Consonant clusters and conjuncts:

is predictable, although the position of diacritics for non-a vowels can be

Class nasals are frequently replaced by anusvara (or ardhdnusvdra). How¬

The groups of consonants distinguished with regard to the headmark

rTD na / 3 ni / 3 «<? etc.

ture with diacritic DM) -u, e.g., kp> bp.

-a: d}c) pti).

In spite of the abundance of manuscripts written in Nandinagari, this