The Pallava script, also known as Pallava Grantha, is a style of Grantha script linked to the Pallava dynasty of Southern India, dating back to the 4th century CE. It evolved from Brahmi and served as the origin of the Grantha script. The Pallava script spread to Southeast Asia, influencing many scripts such as Balinese, Javanese, Khmer, Thai, and others. It is related to the Vatteluttu script, once used for Tamil and Malayalam. Scholar Arlo Griffiths suggests the term “Late Southern Brāhmī scripts” might be more accurate, as not all linked scripts directly relate to the Pallava dynasty.
History
During the rule of the Pallavas, the script accompanied priests, monks, scholars, and traders into Southeast Asia. Pallavas developed the Pallava script based on Sanskrit. The main characteristics of the newer script are aesthetically matched and fuller consonant glyphs, similarly visible in the writing systems of Chalukya,15 Kadamba, and Vengi at the time of Ikshvakus. Brahmi's design was slightly different from the scripts of Cholas, Pandyas, and Cheras. Pallava script was the first significant development of Brahmi in India, combining rounded and rectangular strokes and adding typographical effects, and was suitable for civic and religious inscriptions. Kadamba-Pallava script16 evolved into early forms of Kannada and Telugu scripts. Glyphs become more rounded and incorporate loops because of writing upon leaves and paper.17
The script is not yet a part of Unicode but proposals have been made to include it. In 2018, Anshuman Pandey made a proposal.18
Characteristics
The form shown here is based on examples from the 7th century CE. Letters labeled * have uncertain sound value, as they have little occurrence in Southeast Asia.
Consonants
Each consonant has an inherent /a/, which will be sounded if no vowel sign is attached. If two consonants follow one another without intervening vowel, the second consonant is made into a subscript form, and attached below the first.
| ka | kha | ga | gha | nga |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ca | cha | ja | jha* | nya |
| ṭa | ṭha* | ḍa | ḍha* | ṇa |
| ta | tha | da | dha | na |
| pa | pha | ba | bha | ma |
| ya | ra | la | va | |
| śa | ṣa | sa | ha | |
Independent Vowels
| a | ā | i | ī | u | e | o | ai* | au* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Examples
Unicode
A proposal to encode the script in Unicode was submitted in 2018.19
Bibliography
- Sivaramamurti, C, Indian Epigraphy and South Indian Scripts. Bulletin of the Madras Government Museum. Chennai 1999
External links
- Media related to Pallava script at Wikimedia Commons
References
"Grantha alphabet". Retrieved 13 September 2018. https://www.omniglot.com/writing/grantha.htm ↩
"Balinese alphabet". Retrieved 13 July 2019. http://www.omniglot.com/writing/balinese.htm ↩
"Tagalog". Retrieved 13 September 2018. https://www.omniglot.com/writing/tagalog.htm ↩
"Javanese alphabet". Retrieved 13 September 2018. http://www.omniglot.com/writing/javanese.htm ↩
"Kawi alphabet". Retrieved 13 September 2018. https://www.omniglot.com/writing/kawi.htm ↩
"Khmer". Retrieved 13 September 2018. https://www.omniglot.com/writing/khmer.htm ↩
"Lanna alphabet". Retrieved 13 September 2018. https://www.omniglot.com/writing/lanna.htm ↩
"Lao". Retrieved 13 September 2018. https://www.omniglot.com/writing/lao.htm ↩
"Mon". Retrieved 13 September 2018. https://www.omniglot.com/writing/mon.htm ↩
"New Tai Lue script". Retrieved 13 September 2018. https://www.omniglot.com/writing/tailue.htm ↩
"Sundanese". Retrieved 13 September 2018. https://www.omniglot.com/writing/sundanese.php ↩
"Thai". Retrieved 13 September 2018. https://www.omniglot.com/writing/thai.htm ↩
Coulmas, Florian (1999). The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems. Blackwell Publishing. p. 542. ISBN 9780631214816. 9780631214816 ↩
Griffiths, Arlo (2014). "53-57". LOST KINGDOMS: Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Early Southeast Asia. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9781588395245. 9781588395245 ↩
"Western Calukya script". 690. Archived from the original on 2011-02-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20110215233625/http://www.skyknowledge.com/burnell-plate4.gif ↩
"Pallava script". Skyknowledge.com. 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-03-13. http://www.skyknowledge.com/pallava.htm ↩
"Pallava script". Skyknowledge.com. 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-03-13. http://www.skyknowledge.com/pallava.htm ↩
Pandey, Anshuman. (2018). Preliminary proposal to encode Pallava in Unicode. https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2018/18083-pallava.pdf ↩
Pandey, Anshuman. (2018). Preliminary proposal to encode Pallava in Unicode. https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2018/18083-pallava.pdf ↩