Grantha alphabet
Origin
The Grantha alphabet is a descendent of the Brahmi
alphabet and started to emerge during the 5th century AD. Most of the alphabets
of southern India evolved from Grantha, and it also influenced the Sinhala
and Thai alphabets.
The Grantha alphabet has traditional been used by Tamil speakers to write
Sanskrit and is still used in traditional vedic schools (patasalas)
Notable features
- Each letters represents a consonant with an inherent vowel (a). Other
vowels were indicated using a diacritics or separate letters. - Letters are grouped according to the way they are pronounced.
Grantha vowels
Grantha vowel diacritics (with ka)
Grantha consonants
Grantha numerals
Sample text
Transliteration
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantratāḥ
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.
Translation
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 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Links
Information about the Grantha Script
http://www.ancientscripts.com/grantha.html
http://www.mudgala.com/articles/grantha.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grantha_script
http://noolaham.net/wiki/index.php/வலைவாசல்:கிரந்தம்
Grantha Script Tutorials
http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/gsindex.html
Grantha fonts and software for writing Grantha
http://www.uni-hamburg.de/Wiss/FB/10/IndienS/Kniprath/INDOLIPI/Indolipi.htm