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Early Tamil epigraphy from the earliest times to the sixth century A.D. / Iravatham Mahadevan.
Van Pelt Library CN1173.T35 E27 2003
Available
- Format:
- Book
- Series:
- Harvard oriental series ; 62.
- Harvard oriental series ; v. 62
- Language:
- English
- Tamil
- Subjects (All):
- Inscriptions, Tamil--India--Tamil Nadu.
- Inscriptions, Tamil.
- Inscriptions, Tamil--Translations into English.
- Tamil language.
- Excavations (Archaeology).
- Tamil Nadu (India)--Antiquities.
- Tamil Nadu (India).
- Excavations (Archaeology)--India--Tamil Nadu.
- India--Tamil Nadu.
- Genre:
- Dictionaries.
- Physical Description:
- xxxix, 719 pages : illustrations, maps ; 29 cm.
- Place of Publication:
- Chennai, India : Cre-A ; Cambridge, MA : The Dept. of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University ; Cambridge, Mass. : Distributed by Harvard University Press, 2003.
- Language Note:
- Text of inscriptions in Tamil, transliterated Tamil, and English translation; commentary in English.
- Summary:
- This book presents the earliest South Indian inscriptions (ca. second century B.C. to sixth century A.D.), written in Tamil in local derivations of the Ashokan Brahmi script. They are the earliest known Dravidian documents available and show some overlap with the early Cera and Pandya dynasties. Their language is Archaic Tamil, with a few borrowings from Prakrit and influences of old Kannada, both resulting from the early presence of northern Jainism. The widespread occurrence of pottery inscriptions indicates that the Tamil-Brahmi script had taken deep roots all over the countryside, leading to the cultured society visible in the classical Tamil poetry of the Cankam (Sangam) texts of the early centuries C.E. The work includes texts, transliteration, translation, detailed commentary, inscriptional glossary, and indexes.
- Notes:
- "Inscriptional glossary"--P. [643]-655.
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Local Notes:
- Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Alumni and Friends Memorial Book Fund.
- ISBN:
- 0674012275
- OCLC:
- 53122699
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