| Grantha script 𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥 | |
|---|---|
 The word 'Grantha' in modern Grantha typeface | |
| Script type | |
Period | 7th century CE – present (excludingPallava Grantha) |
| Direction | Left-to-right  |
| Languages | Tamil andSanskrit |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | |
Child systems | Malayalam Tigalari Thirke Saurashtra Dhives Akuru Sinhala |
Sister systems | Tamil,Old Mon,Khmer,Cham,Kawi |
| ISO 15924 | |
| ISO 15924 | Gran(343), Grantha |
| Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Grantha |
| U+11300–U+1137F | |
| Brahmic scripts |
|---|
| TheBrahmi script and its descendants |
TheGrantha script (Sanskrit:𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥𑌲𑌿𑌪𑌿,romanized: granthalipi;Tamil:கிரந்த எழுத்து,romanized: Granta eḻuttu;Malayalam:ഗ്രന്ഥലിപി,romanized: granthalipi) is a classicalSouth IndianBrahmic script, found particularly inTamil Nadu andKerala. Originating from thePallava script,[1] the Grantha script is related toTamil andVatteluttu scripts. The modernMalayalam script of Kerala is a direct descendant of the Grantha script.[2] The Southeast Asian and Indonesian scripts such asThai andJavanese respectively, as well as South Asian and Sri Lankan scripts such asTigalari[3] andSinhalese scripts respectively, are derived or closely related to Grantha through the early Pallava script.[4][5][6] The Pallava script or Pallava Grantha emerged in the 4th century CE and was used until the 7th century CE, in India.[7][8] This early Grantha script was used to writeSanskrit texts, inscriptions on copper plates and stones of Hindu temples and monasteries.[9][2] It was also used for classicalManipravalam – a language that is a blend of Sanskrit and Tamil.[10] From it evolved Middle Grantha by the 7th century, and Transitional Grantha by about the 8th century, which remained in use until about the 14th century. Modern Grantha has been in use since the 14th century and into the modern era, to write classical texts in Sanskrit and Dravidian languages.[9][2] It is also used to chant hymns[clarification needed] and in traditional Vedic schools.[11]
The Tamil purist movement of the colonial era sought to purge the Grantha script from use and use the Tamil script exclusively. According to Kailasapathy, this was a part of Tamil nationalism and amounted to regional ethnic chauvinism.[12]
InSanskrit,grantha is literally 'a knot'.[13] It is a word that was used for books, and the script used to write them. This stems from the practice of binding inscribed palm leaves using a length of thread held by knots. Grantha was widely used to write Sanskrit in the Tamil-speaking parts ofSouth Asia from about the 5th century CE into modern times.[9][2]
The Grantha script was also historically used for writing Manipravalam, a blend of Tamil and Sanskrit which was used in the exegesis of Manipravalam texts. This evolved into a fairly complex writing system which required that Tamil words be written in the Tamil script and Sanskrit words be written in the Grantha script. By the 15th century, this had evolved to the point that both scripts would be used within the same word – if the root was derived from Sanskrit it would be written in the Grantha script, but any Tamil suffixes which were added to it would be written using the Tamil script. This system of writing went out of use when Manipravalam declined in popularity, but it was customary to use the same convention in printed editions of texts originally written in Manipravalam until the middle of the 20th century.[citation needed]
In modern times, theTamil-Grantha script is used in religious contexts by Tamil-speakingHindus. For example, they use the script to write a child's name for the first time during the naming ceremony, for the Sanskrit portion oftraditional wedding cards, and for announcements of a person's last rites. It is also used in many religious almanacs to print traditional formulaic summaries of the coming year.[citation needed]
An archaic and ornamental variety of Grantha is sometimes referred to as Pallava Grantha. It was used by the Pallava in some inscriptions from the 4th century CE[7] to the 7th century CE, in India.[8] Examples are theMamallapuramTiruchirapalli Rock Cut Cave Inscriptions and Kailasantha Inscription.[citation needed]
Middle Grantha first appeared in the Kuram copper plates, dating from around 675 CE, and was used until the end of the 8th century CE.[9][8]
Transitional Grantha is traceable from the 8th or 9th century CE, until around the 14th century CE. The Tulu-Malayalam script is derivative of Transitional Grantha dating to the 8th or 9th century CE, which later split into two distinct scripts –Tigalari andMalayalam.[9][8]
Grantha in the present form dates from the 14th century CE. The oldest modern manuscript has been dated to the end of the 16th century CE. Two varieties are found in modern era Grantha texts: the 'Brahmanic' or square form used by Hindus, and the 'Jain' or round form used by Jains.[9][8]
The Grantha script has evolved over time, and shares similarities with the modern Tamil Script.[3]
As in otherBrahmic scripts Grantha consonant signs have aninherent vowel, typically corresponding to/a/, so, for example, the letter⟨𑌕⟩ is pronounced/ka/.
𑌕 ka | 𑌖 kha | 𑌗 ga | 𑌘 gha | 𑌙 ṅa | 𑌹 ha | |||
𑌚 ca | 𑌛 cha | 𑌜 ja | 𑌝 jha | 𑌞 ña | 𑌯 ya | 𑌶 śa | ||
𑌟 ṭa | 𑌠 ṭha | 𑌡 ḍa | 𑌢 ḍha | 𑌣 ṇa | 𑌰 ra | 𑌳 ḷa | 𑌷 ṣa | |
𑌤 ta | 𑌥 tha | 𑌦 da | 𑌧 dha | 𑌨 na | 𑌲 la | 𑌸 sa | ||
𑌪 pa | 𑌫 pha | 𑌬 ba | 𑌭 bha | 𑌮 ma | 𑌵 va | |||
Grantha has two ways of representing consonant clusters. Sometimes, consonants in a cluster may form ligatures.
𑌕𑍍𑌷 kṣa | 𑌕𑍍𑌤 kta | 𑌙𑍍𑌗 ṅga | 𑌜𑍍𑌞 jña | 𑌞𑍍𑌚 ñca | 𑌞𑍍𑌜 ñja | 𑌤𑍍𑌥 ttha | 𑌤𑍍𑌰 tra |
𑌤𑍍𑌵 tva | 𑌦𑍍𑌧 ddha | 𑌦𑍍𑌵 dva | 𑌨𑍍𑌤 nta | 𑌨𑍍𑌤𑍍𑌵 ntva | 𑌨𑍍𑌥 ntha | 𑌨𑍍𑌦 nda | 𑌨𑍍𑌧 ndha |
𑌨𑍍𑌨 nna | 𑌨𑍍𑌨𑍍 nn | 𑌨𑍍𑌵 nva | 𑌶𑍍𑌚 śca | 𑌶𑍍𑌰 śra | 𑌷𑍍𑌟 ṣṭa | 𑌹𑍍𑌮 hma |
Ligatures are normally preferred whenever they exist. If no ligatures exist, "stacked" forms of consonants are written, just as in Kannada and Telugu, with the lowest member of the stack being the only "live" consonant and the other members all being vowel-less. Note that ligatures may be used as members of stacks also.
𑌤𑍍𑌤 tta | 𑌤𑍍𑌤𑍍𑌵 ttva | 𑌕𑍍𑌷𑍍𑌵 kṣva | 𑌕𑍍𑌷𑍍𑌣 kṣṇa | 𑌗𑍍𑌧𑍍𑌵 gdhva | 𑌸𑍍𑌤𑍍𑌵 stva | 𑌨𑍍𑌤𑍍𑌸 ntsa | 𑌤𑍍𑌸𑍍𑌨 tsna |
𑌕𑍍𑌯 kya | 𑌖𑍍𑌯 khya | 𑌕𑍍𑌰 kra | 𑌙𑍍𑌗𑍍𑌰 ṅgra | 𑌙𑍍𑌗𑍍𑌰𑍍𑌯 ṅgrya | 𑌦𑍍𑌧𑍍𑌯 ddhya |
𑌰𑍍𑌕 rka | 𑌰𑍍𑌕𑍍𑌷 rkṣa | 𑌰𑍍𑌣 rṇa | 𑌰𑍍𑌮 rma | 𑌰𑍍𑌦𑍍𑌧 rddha | 𑌰𑍍𑌦𑍍𑌵𑍍𑌯 rdvya |
Grantha includes five long vowels, five short vowels, two vocalic consonants, ṛ and ḷ which are treated as vowels and may be short or long, and two part-vowels,anusvara⟨◌𑌂⟩ ṁ andvisarga,⟨◌𑌃⟩ ḥ. Independent vowel letters are used for word-initial vowels. Otherwise, vowels, vocalics, and part-vowels are written as diacritics attached to consonants. Each consonant in Grantha includes an inherent vowela, so the letter⟨𑌕⟩, for example, is pronounced ka. Adding a vowel diacritic modifies the vowel sound, so⟨𑌕⟩ plus the diacritic⟨𑌓⟩, gives the syllable⟨𑌕𑍋⟩,ko. The absence of a vowel is marked with avirāma⟨◌𑍍⟩, for example,⟨𑌕⟩ka plus⟨◌𑍍⟩ creates an isolated consonant⟨𑌕𑍍⟩k.
𑌅 a | 𑌇 i | 𑌉 u | 𑌋 ṛ | 𑌌 ḷ | 𑌏 e | 𑌓 o | ◌ | ◌ | ◌ |
◌ | ◌𑌿 | ◌𑍁 | ◌𑍃 | ◌𑍢 | ◌𑍇 | ◌𑍋 | ◌𑍍 | 𑌂 ṁ | 𑌃 ḥ |
𑌕 ka | 𑌕𑌿 ki | 𑌕𑍁 ku | 𑌕𑍃 kṛ | 𑌕𑍢 kḷ | 𑌕𑍇 ke | 𑌕𑍋 ko | 𑌕𑍍 k | 𑌕𑌂 kaṁ | 𑌕𑌃 kaḥ |
𑌆 ā | 𑌈 ī | 𑌊 ū | 𑍠 ṝ | 𑍡 ḹ | 𑌐 ai | 𑌔 au |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
◌𑌾 | ◌𑍀 | ◌𑍂 | ◌𑍄 | ◌𑍣 | ◌𑍈 | ◌𑍌 |
𑌮𑌾 mā | 𑌮𑍀 mī | 𑌮𑍂 mū | 𑌮𑍄 mṝ | 𑌮𑍣 mḹ | 𑌮𑍈 mai | 𑌮𑍌 mau |
There are a fewligatures of consonants with voweldiacritics and of consonants withvirāma.
𑌟+ ◌𑌿 𑌟𑌿 ṭi | 𑌟+ ◌𑍀 𑌟𑍀 ṭī | 𑌳+ ◌𑍀 𑌳𑍀 ḷī | 𑌟 + ◌𑍍 𑌟𑍍 ṭ | 𑌤 + ◌𑍍 𑌤𑍍 t | 𑌨+ ◌𑍍 𑌨𑍍 n | 𑌮 + ◌𑍍 𑌮𑍍 m |
0 ௦ | 1 ௧ | 2 ௨ | 3 ௩ | 4 ௪ | 5 ௫ | 6 ௬ | 7 ௭ | 8 ௮ | 9 ௯ |
.JPG)
%2c_Sanskrit%2c_Southern_Grantha_script%2c_Malayali_scribe_Kecavan%2c_sample_ii.jpg)
𑌸𑌰𑍍𑌵𑍇 𑌮𑌾𑌨𑌵𑌾𑌃 𑌸𑍍𑌵𑌤𑌨𑍍𑌤𑍍𑌰𑌾𑌃 𑌸𑌮𑍁𑌤𑍍𑌪𑌨𑍍𑌨𑌾𑌃 𑌵𑌰𑍍𑌤𑌨𑍍𑌤𑍇 𑌅𑌪𑌿 𑌚, 𑌗𑍌𑌰𑌵𑌦𑍃𑌶𑌾 𑌅𑌧𑌿𑌕𑌾𑌰𑌦𑍃𑌶𑌾 𑌚 𑌸𑌮𑌾𑌨𑌾𑌃 𑌏𑌵 𑌵𑌰𑍍𑌤𑌨𑍍𑌤𑍇। 𑌏𑌤𑍇 𑌸𑌰𑍍𑌵𑍇 𑌚𑍇𑌤𑌨𑌾-𑌤𑌰𑍍𑌕-𑌶𑌕𑍍𑌤𑌿𑌭𑍍𑌯𑌾𑌂 𑌸𑍁𑌸𑌮𑍍𑌪𑌨𑍍𑌨𑌾𑌃 𑌸𑌨𑍍𑌤𑌿। 𑌅𑌪𑌿 𑌚, 𑌸𑌰𑍍𑌵𑍇𑌽𑌪𑌿 𑌬𑌨𑍍𑌧𑍁𑌤𑍍𑌵-𑌭𑌾𑌵𑌨𑌯𑌾 𑌪𑌰𑌸𑍍𑌪𑌰𑌂 𑌵𑍍𑌯𑌵𑌹𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌤𑍁।[14]
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē´pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu.[15]
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.(Article 1 of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights)
| Grantha | ka 𑌕 | ṅa 𑌙 | ca 𑌚 | ña 𑌞 | ṭa 𑌟 | ṇa 𑌣 | ta 𑌤 | na 𑌨 | pa 𑌪 | ma 𑌮 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malayalam | ക | ങ | ച | ഞ | ട | ണ | ത | ന | പ | മ |
| Sinhalese | ක | ඞ | ච | ඤ | ට | ණ | ත | න | ප | ම |
| Tamil | க | ங | ச | ஞ | ட | ண | த | ந | ப | ம |
Grantha script was added to theUnicode Standard in June 2014 with the release of version 7.0.The Unicode block for Grantha is U+11300–U+1137F:
| Grantha[1][2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF) | ||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | |
| U+1130x | 𑌀 | 𑌁 | 𑌂 | 𑌃 | 𑌅 | 𑌆 | 𑌇 | 𑌈 | 𑌉 | 𑌊 | 𑌋 | 𑌌 | 𑌏 | |||
| U+1131x | 𑌐 | 𑌓 | 𑌔 | 𑌕 | 𑌖 | 𑌗 | 𑌘 | 𑌙 | 𑌚 | 𑌛 | 𑌜 | 𑌝 | 𑌞 | 𑌟 | ||
| U+1132x | 𑌠 | 𑌡 | 𑌢 | 𑌣 | 𑌤 | 𑌥 | 𑌦 | 𑌧 | 𑌨 | 𑌪 | 𑌫 | 𑌬 | 𑌭 | 𑌮 | 𑌯 | |
| U+1133x | 𑌰 | 𑌲 | 𑌳 | 𑌵 | 𑌶 | 𑌷 | 𑌸 | 𑌹 | 𑌻 | 𑌼 | 𑌽 | 𑌾 | 𑌿 | |||
| U+1134x | 𑍀 | 𑍁 | 𑍂 | 𑍃 | 𑍄 | 𑍇 | 𑍈 | 𑍋 | 𑍌 | 𑍍 | ||||||
| U+1135x | 𑍐 | 𑍗 | 𑍝 | 𑍞 | 𑍟 | |||||||||||
| U+1136x | 𑍠 | 𑍡 | 𑍢 | 𑍣 | 𑍦 | 𑍧 | 𑍨 | 𑍩 | 𑍪 | 𑍫 | 𑍬 | |||||
| U+1137x | 𑍰 | 𑍱 | 𑍲 | 𑍳 | 𑍴 | |||||||||||
| Notes | ||||||||||||||||
Some proposed to reunifyGrantha and Tamil;[16][17] however, the proposal triggered discontent by some.[18][19] Considering the sensitivity involved, it was determined that the two scripts should not be unified, except for the numerals.[20]
| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |