Image: 8th Century Grantha and Vatteluttu Scripts Velvikudi Grant in Sanskrit and Tamil, with labels

Description: Velvikudi Grant of Nedunjadaiyan was issued about 770 CE, inscribed in a series of copper plate. The inscription is one of few where both Sanskrit language and Tamil language was written in the same grant. Sanskrit was written in Grantha script, while Tamil was written in Vatteluttu ( also called Vattezuttu ) scripts. Lines 1-30 and 142-150 were in Sanskrit, while lines 31-141 were in Tamil (except some words in these lines were borrowed from Sanskrit and were written in Grantha). The text begins by invoking the Hindu god Shiva, reverentially refers to the Pandya kings, the sage Agastya, mentions some Hindu legends such as the samudra manthan (churning of cosmic ocean), conduct of a Vedic ritual, and some historical events in the kingdom. It mentions the past charitable deeds, and records a grant of villages. It then returns to Sanskrit and reverentially recites four verses from Vaishnavism teachings (note the start of the grant is related to Shaivism). The scribe writes his name at the end as Yuddhakesari Perumbanaikkaran. The above photo shows two plates, one with Grantha (Sanskrit language) and other with Vatteluttu (Tamil language) scripts. For more, see: Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XVII (1923-24), Editor: Rao Bahadur H Krishna Sastri, pp. 291-298 This is a photo of a 2-D inscription created in the 8th-century CE. Therefore Wikimedia Commons PD-Art licensing guidelines apply. Any rights I have as a photographer is herewith donated to wikimedia commons under CC 4.0 license.
Title: 8th Century Grantha and Vatteluttu Scripts Velvikudi Grant in Sanskrit and Tamil, with labels
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Author: Ms Sarah Welch
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