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{{Short description|South Indian script}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox Writing system
|name=Grantha script
|altname={{Script|Gran|𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥}}
|type=[[Abugida]]
|languages=[[Tamil language|Tamil]] and [[Sanskrit Language|Sanskrit]]
|time=7th century CE - present<ref name=brittanica/><ref name=diringer/> (excluding [[Pallava script|Pallava Grantha]])
|fam1=[[Egyptian hieroglyphs|Egyptian]]
|fam2=[[Proto-Sinaitic]]
|fam3=[[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]]
|fam4=[[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic]]
|fam5=[[Brahmi script|Brahmi]]
|fam6=[[Tamil-Brahmi]]
|fam7=[[Pallava script|Pallava]]<ref>Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography, R. Malatesha Joshi, Catherine McBride(2019),p.28</ref>
|sisters= [[Tamil script|Tamil]], [[Old Mon script|Old Mon]], [[Khmer script|Khmer]], [[Cham script|Cham]], [[Kawi script|Kawi]]
|children= [[Malayalam script|Malayalam]] [[Saurashtra script|Saurashtra]] [[Tigalari script|Tigalari]]<ref>[https://www.omniglot.com/writing/grantha.htm Grantha], Omniglot (2014)</ref> [[Dhives Akuru]]
|sample= Mandakapattu Inscription.jpg
|imagesize=320px
|caption= 7th-century inscription in Grantha script at the [[Mandagapattu Temple|Mandagapattu Hindu temple]]
|iso15924=Gran
|unicode = [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U11300.pdf U+11300–U+1137F]
|note = none
|footnotes = The theorised Semitic origins of the Brahmi script are not universally agreed upon.
}}
{{brahmic}}
The '''Grantha script''' ({{lang-ta|கிரந்த எழுத்து|Grantha ezhuthu}}; {{lang-ml|ഗ്രന്ഥലിപി|granthalipi}}) is a South [[Indian script]], found particularly in [[Tamil Nadu]] and [[Kerala]]. Originating from the [[Pallava script]], the Grantha script is related to the [[Tamil script|Tamil]] and the [[Vatteluttu]] scripts.<ref name="Salomon1998p42"/> The modern [[Malayalam script]] of Kerala is a direct descendant of the Grantha script.<ref name="Salomon1998p42">{{cite book|author=Richard Salomon|title=Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYrG07qQDxkC|year=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-535666-3|pages=40–42}}</ref> The Southeast Asian and Indonesian scripts such as [[Thai script|Thai]] and [[Javanese script|Javanese]] respectively, as well as South Asian [[Tigalari script|Tigalari]] and [[Sinhala script]]s, are derived or closely related to Grantha through the early Pallava script.<ref name="Casparis1975p12">{{cite book|author=J. G. de Casparis|title=Indonesian Palaeography: A History of Writing in Indonesia from the Beginnings to C. A.D. 1500|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cLUfAAAAIAAJ |year=1975|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-04172-9|pages=12–17}}</ref><ref name="HerbertMilner1989">{{cite book|author1=Patricia Herbert|author2=Anthony Crothers Milner|title=South-East Asia: Languages and Literatures : a Select Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-EqbeRzdDrsC&pg=PA127|year=1989|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-1267-6|pages=127–129}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Pierre-Yves Manguin|author2=A. Mani|author3=Geoff Wade|title=Early Interactions Between South and Southeast Asia: Reflections on Cross-cultural Exchange|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FuCYBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA306|year=2011|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=978-981-4311-16-8|pages=283–285, 306–309}}</ref> The [[Pallava script]] or Pallava Grantha, emerged in the 4th century CE and was used until the 7th century CE, in India.<ref name="griffiths">{{cite journal |last1=Grifiths |first1=Arlo |title=Early Indic Inscriptions of Southeast Asia |date=2014 |url=https://www.academia.edu/6301451}}</ref><ref name="diringer"/> This early Grantha script was used to write [[Sanskrit]] texts, inscriptions on copper plates and stones of Hindu temples and monasteries.<ref name=britgrantha>{{cite book|title=Grantha alphabet (Alternative title: Grantha script)|author=((Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica))|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica|year=1998|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Grantha-alphabet}}</ref><ref name="Salomon1998p42"/> It was also used for classical [[Manipravalam]] – a language that is a blend of Sanskrit and Tamil.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Giovanni Ciotti|author2=Hang Lin|title=Tracing Manuscripts in Time and Space through Paratexts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ezCDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA62|year=2016|publisher=Walter De Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-047901-0|pages=62–63}}</ref> 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.<ref name=britgrantha/><ref name="Salomon1998p42"/> It is also used to chant hymns{{Clarify|reason=How do you use a script to chant?|date=October 2020}} and in traditional Vedic schools.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|last=Singh|first=Upinder|date=2008-01-01|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=9788131711200|language=en}}</ref>

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.<ref>K. Kailasapathy (1979), [https://www.jstor.org/pss/3516775 The Tamil Purist Movement: A Re-evaluation], Social Scientist, Vol. 7, No. 10, pp. 23-27</ref>

==History==
In [[Sanskrit]], ''grantha'' is literally 'a knot'.<ref>MACDONNELL, ARTHUR. A HISTORY OF SANSKRIT LITERATURE. 1. LONDON: MOTILAL BANARASIDASS, 1900. 15. Print.</ref> 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 of [[South Asia]] from about the 5th century CE into modern times.<ref name=britgrantha/><ref name="Salomon1998p42"/>

[[File:9th century Tamil Grantha script Sanskrit Chera era font.jpg|thumb|left|A Chera era Grantha inscription.]]
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|date=October 2019}}

In modern times, the [[Tamil-Grantha script]] is used in religious contexts by Tamil-speaking [[Hindu]]s. For example, they use the script to write a child's name for the first time during the naming ceremony, for the Sanskrit portion of [[South Asian wedding card|traditional 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|date=October 2019}}

[[File:8th Century Grantha script Sanskrit language Velvikudi Grant, LINES 8-14.jpg|thumb|upright=2.5|8th century [[Velvikudi inscription|Velvikudi grant inscription]] in the Grantha script (Sanskrit language).]]

==Types of Grantha==
[[File:Pratyahara Sutras.jpg|thumb|[[Shiva Sutras|Pratyāhāra Sūtras]] in Grantha Script]]
Grantha script may be classified as follows:

===Pallava Grantha===
{{main|Pallava script}}
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<ref name="griffiths"/> to the 7th century CE, in India.<ref name="diringer"/> Examples are the [[Mamallapuram]] [[Tiruchirapalli]] Rock Cut Cave Inscriptions and Kailasantha Inscription.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

===Middle Grantha===
Middle Granta first appeared in the Kuram copper plates, dating from around 675 CE, and was used until the end of the 8th century CE.<ref name=brittanica/><ref name="diringer">{{cite book |last1=Diringer |first1=David |title=Alphabet a key to the history of mankind |date=1948 |page=411 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.1287}}</ref>

===Transitional Grantha===
Transitional Grantha is traceable from the 8th or 9th century CE, until around the 14th century CE.<ref name=brittanica>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Grantha-alphabet |title=Grantha alphabet (writing system) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia |publisher=Britannica.com |access-date=2012-03-11}}</ref><ref name="diringer"/> 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 script|Tigalari]] and [[Malayalam script|Malayalam]].<ref name=brittanica/><ref name=diringer/>

===Modern Grantha===
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.<ref name=brittanica/><ref name="diringer"/>

==Modern Grantha typeface==
The Grantha script has evolved over time. The modern Grantha is illustrated below and shares similarities with the Modern Tamil Script.<ref name=omni1>[https://www.omniglot.com/writing/grantha.htm Grantha Alphabet], Omniglot (2017), The Online Encyclopedia of Writing Systems and Languages</ref>

[[File:Shukla Grantha.svg|thumb|200px|The word 'Grantha' in modern Grantha typeface]]

===Vowels===
[[File:Grantha Vowels.svg|350px]]

===Consonants===
As with other [[Abugida]] scripts Grantha consonant signs have the [[inherent vowel]] /a/. Its absence is marked with Virāma:

[[File:Grantha Halant.svg|200px]]

Each letter below includes the inherent vowel:

[[File:Grantha Consonants.svg|300px]]

For other vowels [[diacritic]]s are used:

[[File:Grantha Matras.svg|400px]]

Sometimes [[typographical ligature|ligatures]] of consonants with vowel [[diacritic]]s may be found, e.g.:

[[File:Grantha VowelLig.svg|300px]]

There are also a few special consonant forms with Virāma:

[[File:Grantha FinCons.svg|300px]]

===Consonant clusters===
Grantha has two ways of representing consonant clusters. Sometimes, consonants in a cluster may form ligatures.

[[File:Grantha ConsLig.svg|400px]]

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.

[[File:Grantha SubLig.svg|400px]]

Special forms:

[[File:Grantha Ya.svg]] {{angle bracket|ya}} when final in a cluster, and [[File:Grantha r.svg]] {{angle bracket|ra}} when ''non-initial'' become [[File:Grantha yvat.svg]] and [[File:Grantha rvat.svg]] respectively. These are often called "ya-phalaa" and "ra-vattu" in other Indic scripts.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

[[File:Grantha yrLig.svg|300px]]

[[File:Grantha r.svg]] {{angle bracket|ra}} as initial component of a cluster becomes [[File:Grantha reph.svg]](called Reph as in other Indic scripts) and is shifted to the end of the cluster but placed before any "ya-phalaa".

[[File:Grantha RephLig.svg|300px]]

===Numerals===
[[File:Grantha Numbers.svg|400px]]

Below is an image of a palm leaf manuscript with Sanskrit written in Grantha script: 
[[File:Tamil-Palm-1 (cropped).JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|A manuscript page]]
[[File:1863 CE palm leaf manuscript, Jaiminiya Aranyaka Gana, Samaveda (unidentified layer of texts), Sanskrit, Southern Grantha script, Malayali scribe Kecavan, sample ii.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|A Vedic text's palm leaf manuscript (''[[Samaveda]]'') in Grantha script]]

===Text samples===
[[Kālidāsa]]'s Kumārasambhavam:

: [[File:Grantha Kalidasa Kumarasambhavam.svg|600px]]

Transliterated into Latin ([[ISO 15919]]),
: {{IAST|astyuttarasyāṁ diśi devatātmā himālayo nāma nagādhirājaḥ.}}
: {{IAST|pūrvāparau toyanidhī vigāhya sthitaḥ pr̥thivyā iva mānadaṇḍaḥ.}}

Transliterated into [[Devanāgarī]] script,
: {{script|Deva|अस्त्युत्तरस्यां दिशि देवतात्मा हिमालयो नाम नगाधिराजः।}}
: {{script|Deva|पूर्वापरौ तोयनिधी विगाह्य स्थितः पृथिव्या इव मानदण्डः॥}}

==Comparison with other South Indian scripts==
===Vowel signs===
Grantha script vowel comparison with Malayalam, Tamil, Sinhala]: 
[[File:Grantha VowelComp modified.gif|400px]]

Note: As in Devanāgarī {{angle bracket|e}} and {{angle bracket|o}} in Grantha stand for [eː] and [oː]. Originally also [[malayalam script|Malayāḷam]] and [[tamil script|Tamiḻ]] scripts did not distinguish long and short {{angle bracket|e}} and {{angle bracket|o}}, though both languages have the phonemes /e/ /eː/ and /o/ /oː/. The addition of extra signs for /eː/ and /oː/ is attributed to the Italian missionary [[Constanzo Beschi]] (1680–1774), who is also known as ''Vīramāmunivar{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}.''

===Consonant signs===
[[File:Grantha ConsComp.gif|400px]]

The letters {{lang|ta|ழ ற ன}} and the corresponding sounds occur only in [[Dravidian languages]].

Another table that compares the consonants ka , kha, ga , gha, ṅa with other Southern Indic scripts such as Grantha, [[Tigalari script|Tigalari]], [[Malayalam script|Malayalam]], [[Kannada]] and [[Sinhala script|Sinhala]].

[[File:Tigalari script comparison chart..jpg|400px]]

==Unicode==
{{Main|Grantha (Unicode block)}}
Grantha script was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in June 2014 with the release of version 7.0.
The Unicode block for Grantha is U+11300–U+1137F:
{{Unicode chart Grantha}}

===Unification with Tamil===
Some proposed to reunify [[Extended Tamil script|Grantha and Tamil]];<ref>Sharma, Shriramana. (2010a). [https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2010/10256r-extended-tamil.pdf ''Proposal to encode characters for Extended Tamil''.]</ref><ref>Sharma, Shriramana. (2010b). [http://unicode.org/L2/L2010/10379--extended-tamil.pdf ''Follow-up to Extended Tamil proposal L2/10-256R''.]</ref> however, the proposal triggered discontent by some.<ref>Eraiyarasan, B. (2011). [https://unicode.org/L2/L2011/11055-tamil-grantha.pdf ''Dr. B.Eraiyarasan’s comments on Tamil Unicode And Grantham proposals''.]</ref><ref>Nalankilli, Thanjai. (2018). Attempts to "Pollute" Tamil Unicode with Grantha Characters. ''Tamil Tribune''. Retrieved 13 May 2019 from https://web.archive.org/web/20200306030655/http://www.tamiltribune.com/18/1201.html</ref> Considering the sensitivity involved, it was determined that the two scripts should not be unified, except for the numerals.<ref>Government of India. (2010). [https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2010/10409-grantha-meeting-sum.pdf ''Unicode Standard for Grantha Script''.]</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==See also==
*[[Malayalam script]]
*[[Pallava script]]
*[[Tamil script]]
*[[Tigalari script]]
*[[Vatteluttu script]]

==References==
*Grünendahl, Reinhold. (2001). [https://archive.org/details/SouthIndianScriptsInSanskritManuscriptsAndPrintsGrunendalh/ ''South Indian Scripts in Sanskrit Manuscripts And Prints'']. Wiesbaden, Germany: Harrassowitz Verlag. {{ISBN|3-447-04504-3}}
*Venugopalan, K. (1983). [https://web.archive.org/web/20090907004129/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/digbooks/dig_toc.html?BOOKID=PK419.V468_1983 ''A primer in Grantha characters''].

==External links==

* [http://www.ancientscripts.com/grantha.html Quick facts about Grantha at AncientScripts.com]
* [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/grantha.htm Article at Omniglot]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100111183842/http://www.tnarch.gov.in/epi/ins3.htm Tamil Nadu Archaeological Department – Grantha Webpage]
*[http://noolaham.org/wiki/index.php/%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%9A%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D:%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%A8%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D Digitised Grantha Books]
* [http://www.virtualvinodh.com/grantha-lipitva Online Tutorial for Grantha Script]
* [https://www.scribd.com/document/380382710/Prarambha-Grantha-English Learn Grantha Basics]

{{List of writing systems}}
{{Tamil language}}
{{Kawi family}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grantha Script}}
[[Category:Scripts with ISO 15924 four-letter codes]]
[[Category:Brahmic scripts]]
[[Category:Tamil language]]
[[Category:Tamil script]]

Grantha script - Revision history

HungHanks23355: refine page also and fixed typos

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article