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Vatteluttu
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<h2 id="etymology">Etymology</h2> <p>Three possible suggestions for the etymology of the term '<i>Vatteluttu</i>' are commonly proposed.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> The term <i>Eḻuttu</i> is literally 'written form' in this context; and affixed here it means 'writing system' or 'script'. </p><p>The three suggestions are: </p> <ul><li><i>Vatte</i> + <i>eluttu</i>; 'rounded script'<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a></li> <li><i>Vata</i> + <i>eluttu</i>; 'northern script'<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a></li> <li><i>Vette</i> + <i>eluttu</i>; 'chiseled script'<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a></li></ul> <h3>Alternate names</h3> <p>The <i>Vatteluttu</i> script was also known as "Tekken-Malayalam" (literally, "Southern Malayalam") or "Nana-mona".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> The name "Nana-mona" is given to it because, at the time when script is taught, the words "namostu" etc. are begun, which are spelt "nana, mona, ittanna, tuva" (that is, "na, mo and tu"), and the writing system therefore came to be known as the "nana-mona" alphabet.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="history">History</h2> <h3>Early <i>Vatteluttu</i></h3> <p><i>Vatteluttu</i> script started developing from <a href="/facts/Tamil-Brahmi/vHmYf1pY">Tamil-Brahmi Script</a> (the late Tamil-Brahmi, 2nd–4th centuries AD<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a>), from around the 4th or 5th century AD.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> This early form is thus sometimes described as a "a transitional variety" of the <a href="/facts/Tamil-Brahmi/vHmYf1pY">Tamil-Brahmi Script</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> </p><p>The <i>Vatteluttu</i> script of 5th–6th centuries AD is called "Early <i>Vatteluttu</i>" script.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a> The earliest forms of the script have been traced to memorial stone and rock inscriptions from this period.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24"><sup>24</sup></a> These include, among others, the famous Pulankurichi rock inscriptions, and numerous inscribed hero stones from Chengam Taluk and the nearby <a href="/facts/Dharmapuri_District/aVsfgRGs">Dharmapuri District</a> in northern Tamil Nadu.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25"><sup>25</sup></a> <i>Vatteluttu</i> is unambiguously attested in a number of inscriptions in Tamil Nadu from the 6th century AD.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26"><sup>26</sup></a> </p> <h3><i>Vatteluttu</i> in the middle phase</h3> <p>By the 7th to 8th centuries, <i>Vatteluttu</i> had developed into a completely separate script from the Tamil-Brahmi Script (and was current all over the Tamil country).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27"><sup>27</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:28" href="#fn:28"><sup>28</sup></a> Some of the inscriptions associated with Pallava rulers from Simhavarman III to Nandivarman (mid-6th to mid-8th century AD) are exclusively in Vatteluttu script.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:29" href="#fn:29"><sup>29</sup></a> It was also patronized by the Pandya and Chera rulers (the later, from mid-9th century in <a href="/facts/Kerala/DMP5u40q">Kerala</a>).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:30" href="#fn:30"><sup>30</sup></a> </p><p>Its use is also attested in north-eastern <a href="/facts/Sri_Lanka/VtTBmysE">Sri Lankan</a> rock inscriptions, such as those found near <a href="/facts/Trincomalee/umXBPT5c">Trincomalee</a>, dated to between c. the 5th and 8th centuries AD.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:31" href="#fn:31"><sup>31</sup></a> </p> <h3>Replacement in the Tamil country</h3> <p><i>Vatteluttu</i> was systematically replaced by the <a href="/facts/Grantha_script/V329dYoU">Pallava-Grantha script</a> from the 7th century AD in the <a href="/facts/Pallava_dynasty/wyt798s7">Pallava</a> court and territory (by simplifying the Grantha and adding symbols from <i>Vatteluttu</i>).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:32" href="#fn:32"><sup>32</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:33" href="#fn:33"><sup>33</sup></a> However, it continued to exist in the Ganga country, the Vanakapadi, and the North kongu country, even though the Grantha-Tamil script was slowly gaining precedence.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:34" href="#fn:34"><sup>34</sup></a> </p><p>The Tamil script supplanted the <i>Vatteluttu</i> in the northern Tamil country from the middle of the 8th century AD.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:35" href="#fn:35"><sup>35</sup></a> It persisted in the southern Pandya country up to the end of the 10th century (till the Chola conquest of the Pandya country and its integration to the Chola administrative system).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:36" href="#fn:36"><sup>36</sup></a> From the 11th century AD (the Chola period) onwards the <a href="/facts/Tamil_script/QAEV8dJ5">Tamil script</a> displaced the Pallava-Grantha as the principal script for writing <a href="/facts/Tamil_language/7I0lHL0d">Tamil language</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:37" href="#fn:37"><sup>37</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:38" href="#fn:38"><sup>38</sup></a> </p><p>In what is now <a href="/facts/Kerala/DMP5u40q">Kerala</a>, <i>Vatteluttu</i> continued for a much longer period than in <a href="/facts/Tamil_Nadu/ouqcjUKE">Tamil Nadu</a> by incorporating characters from Pallava-Grantha Script to represent Sanskrit or Indo-Aryan loan words in early <a href="/facts/Malayalam/YLuvDWd3">Malayalam</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:39" href="#fn:39"><sup>39</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:40" href="#fn:40"><sup>40</sup></a> Early <a href="/facts/Malayalam/YLuvDWd3">Malayalam</a> inscriptions (mid-9th to early 12th century AD) of the medieval Chera rulers are mostly engraved in <i>Vatteluttu</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:41" href="#fn:41"><sup>41</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:42" href="#fn:42"><sup>42</sup></a> The script went on continuously evolving in Kerala during this period and from c. the 12th century onwards.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:43" href="#fn:43"><sup>43</sup></a> </p><p><i>Vatteluttu</i>, in its standard form, is attested in Kerala as late as the 14th century AD.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:44" href="#fn:44"><sup>44</sup></a> The modern <a href="/facts/Malayalam_script/HDsBdkqw">Malayalam script</a>, a modified form of the Pallava-Grantha script, later replaced <i>Vatteluttu</i> for writing the Malayalam language (the Malayalam script had evolved out of Grantha script by the end of the 14th century AD).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:45" href="#fn:45"><sup>45</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:46" href="#fn:46"><sup>46</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:47" href="#fn:47"><sup>47</sup></a> </p> <h3>Legacy</h3> <ul><li><i>Vatteluttu</i> gradually developed into a variant script known as "<a href="/facts/Kolezhuthu/BdraRQcV">Koleluttu</a>" in Kerala. This script was more commonly used in north Kerala. It continued in use among certain Kerala communities, especially Muslims and Christians, even after the 16th century and up to the 19th century AD.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:48" href="#fn:48"><sup>48</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:49" href="#fn:49"><sup>49</sup></a></li> <li>Another script derived from <i>Vatteluttu</i> was the "Malayayma" or "<a href="/facts/Malayanma/JjJgpHAs">Malayanma</a>". This script was more commonly used in southern Kerala. The script is not, however, the one that is ancestral to the modern Malayalam script.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:50" href="#fn:50"><sup>50</sup></a></li> <li>Some records of the state of <a href="/facts/Travancore/7RRoKgwf">Travancore</a> are written in later forms of the <i>Vatteluttu</i> script as late as the 19th century AD.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:51" href="#fn:51"><sup>51</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="letters">Letters</h2> <p>The script continuously went on evolving during its period of existence (in such a way that the date of a record may be fixed approximately by reference to the script alone).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:52" href="#fn:52"><sup>52</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:53" href="#fn:53"><sup>53</sup></a> </p><ul><li>Last quarter of the 8th century – the difference between two similar letters, such as for instance between 'p' and 'v'; and 'ṅ' and 'l' etc., was very markedly shown.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:54" href="#fn:54"><sup>54</sup></a></li> <li>A few centuries later – difficult to distinguish between 'k' and 'c', 'ṅ' and 'l', 'p' and 'v' and so on.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:55" href="#fn:55"><sup>55</sup></a></li> <li>17th-18 centuries – letters 'p', 'v', 'y', and 'n' and sometimes 'l' also, are alike.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:56" href="#fn:56"><sup>56</sup></a></li></ul> <table><tbody><tr><th rowspan="2">Vatteluttu</th><th rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/ISO_15919/LPc6zDEA">ISO</a></th><th colspan="2">Equivalent letter in</th></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/Tamil_script/QAEV8dJ5">Tamil</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Malayalam_script/HDsBdkqw">Malayalam</a></th></tr><tr><td></td><td>a</td><td>அ</td><td>അ</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>ā</td><td>ஆ</td><td>ആ</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>i</td><td>இ</td><td>ഇ</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>u</td><td>உ</td><td>ഉ</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>e</td><td>எ</td><td>എ</td></tr></tbody></table> <table><tbody><tr><th rowspan="2">Vatteluttu</th><th rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/ISO_15919/LPc6zDEA">ISO</a></th><th colspan="2">Equivalent letter in</th></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/Tamil_script/QAEV8dJ5">Tamil</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Malayalam_script/HDsBdkqw">Malayalam</a></th></tr><tr><td></td><td>k</td><td>க</td><td>ക</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>ṅ</td><td>ங</td><td>ങ</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>c</td><td>ச</td><td>ച</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>ñ</td><td>ஞ</td><td>ഞ</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>ṭ</td><td>ட</td><td>ട</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>ṇ</td><td>ண</td><td>ണ</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>t</td><td>த</td><td>ത</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>n</td><td>ந</td><td>ന</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>p</td><td>ப</td><td>പ</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>m</td><td>ம</td><td>മ</td></tr></tbody></table> <table><tbody><tr><th rowspan="2">Vatteluttu</th><th rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/ISO_15919/LPc6zDEA">ISO</a></th><th colspan="2">Equivalent letter in</th></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/Tamil_script/QAEV8dJ5">Tamil</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Malayalam_script/HDsBdkqw">Malayalam</a></th></tr><tr><td></td><td>ṟ</td><td>ற</td><td>റ</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>y</td><td>ய</td><td>യ</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>r</td><td>ர</td><td>ര</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>l</td><td>ல</td><td>ല</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>ḷ</td><td>ள</td><td>ള</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>v</td><td>வ</td><td>വ</td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="unicode">Unicode</h2> <p><i>Vatteluttu</i> script is not yet added to the unicode standard (but proposals have been made to add it).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:57" href="#fn:57"><sup>57</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Tamil_script/QAEV8dJ5">Tamil script</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Pallava_script/Lvu7cmIX">Pallava script</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Malayalam_script/HDsBdkqw">Malayalam script</a></li></ul> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vatteluttu alphabet. <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://www.tnarch.gov.in/epigraphy/inscriptions-vattezhuthu-script">Tamil Nadu Government: Archaeology Department</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Coulmas, Florian (1999) [1996]. "Vatteluttu Script". The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems. Blackwell Publishing. p. 227-28 and 542. ISBN 9780631214816. <a href="9780631214816" target="_blank">9780631214816</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2025). "Tamil Language". Encyclopædia Britannica. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tamil-language" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tamil-language</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Coulmas, Florian (1999) [1996]. "Vatteluttu Script". The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems. Blackwell Publishing. p. 227-28 and 542. ISBN 9780631214816. <a href="9780631214816" target="_blank">9780631214816</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Mahadevan, Iravatham (2003). Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD. Harvard University Press. pp. 210–213. ISBN 978-0-674-01227-1. <a href="978-0-674-01227-1" target="_blank">978-0-674-01227-1</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Coulmas, Florian (1999) [1996]. "Vatteluttu Script". The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems. Blackwell Publishing. p. 227-28 and 542. ISBN 9780631214816. <a href="9780631214816" target="_blank">9780631214816</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003). The Dravidian Languages. Cambridge University Press. pp. 78, 84–85. ISBN 978-1-139-43533-8. <a href="978-1-139-43533-8" target="_blank">978-1-139-43533-8</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Freeman, Rich (2003). "The Literary Culture of Premodern Kerala". In Sheldon, Pollock (ed.). Literary Cultures in History. University of California Press. pp. 441 and 481. ISBN 9780520228214. <a href="9780520228214" target="_blank">9780520228214</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Coulmas, Florian (1999) [1996]. "Vatteluttu Script". The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems. Blackwell Publishing. p. 227-28 and 542. ISBN 9780631214816. <a href="9780631214816" target="_blank">9780631214816</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Coulmas, Florian (1999) [1996]. "Vatteluttu Script". The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems. Blackwell Publishing. p. 227-28 and 542. ISBN 9780631214816. <a href="9780631214816" target="_blank">9780631214816</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. pp. 379-80 and 398. ISBN 9788188765072. <a href="9788188765072" target="_blank">9788188765072</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. pp. 379-80 and 398. ISBN 9788188765072. <a href="9788188765072" target="_blank">9788188765072</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2025). "Tamil Language". Encyclopædia Britannica. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tamil-language" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tamil-language</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. pp. 379-80 and 398. ISBN 9788188765072. <a href="9788188765072" target="_blank">9788188765072</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. pp. 379-80 and 398. ISBN 9788188765072. <a href="9788188765072" target="_blank">9788188765072</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Rao, T. A. Gopinatha. Specimens of Vatteluttu Inscriptions. Travancore Archaeological Series. Vol. XVI (1911 ed.). Government of Travancore. pp. 283–84. <a href="https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.367517/page/n145/mode/2up" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.367517/page/n145/mode/2up</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Mahadevan, Iravatham (2003). Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD. Harvard University Press. pp. 210–213. ISBN 978-0-674-01227-1. <a href="978-0-674-01227-1" target="_blank">978-0-674-01227-1</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Rao, T. A. Gopinatha. Specimens of Vatteluttu Inscriptions. Travancore Archaeological Series. Vol. XVI (1911 ed.). Government of Travancore. pp. 283–84. <a href="https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.367517/page/n145/mode/2up" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.367517/page/n145/mode/2up</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Singh, Upinder (2023) [2008]. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India (2nd ed.). Pearson. pp. 190 and 1037. ISBN 978-93-570-5618-2. <a href="978-93-570-5618-2" target="_blank">978-93-570-5618-2</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>Rajan, K. (2001). "Territorial Division as Gleaned from Memorial Stones". East and West. 51 (3/4): 359–367. JSTOR 29757518. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/29757518" target="_blank">https://www.jstor.org/stable/29757518</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>Mahadevan, Iravatham (2003). Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD. Harvard University Press. pp. 210–213. ISBN 978-0-674-01227-1. <a href="978-0-674-01227-1" target="_blank">978-0-674-01227-1</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Salomon, Richard (2004). "Review: Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD". The Journal of the American Oriental Society. 124 (3). Harvard Oriental Series: 565–569. doi:10.2307/4132283. JSTOR 4132283. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4132283" target="_blank">https://www.jstor.org/stable/4132283</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003). The Dravidian Languages. Cambridge University Press. pp. 78, 84–85. ISBN 978-1-139-43533-8. <a href="978-1-139-43533-8" target="_blank">978-1-139-43533-8</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:23"><p>Singh, Upinder (2023) [2008]. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India (2nd ed.). Pearson. pp. 190 and 1037. ISBN 978-93-570-5618-2. <a href="978-93-570-5618-2" target="_blank">978-93-570-5618-2</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:24"><p>Rajan, K. (2001). "Territorial Division as Gleaned from Memorial Stones". East and West. 51 (3/4): 359–367. JSTOR 29757518. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/29757518" target="_blank">https://www.jstor.org/stable/29757518</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:25"><p>Mahadevan, Iravatham (2003). Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD. Harvard University Press. pp. 210–213. ISBN 978-0-674-01227-1. <a href="978-0-674-01227-1" target="_blank">978-0-674-01227-1</a> <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:26"><p>Coulmas, Florian (1999) [1996]. "Vatteluttu Script". The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems. Blackwell Publishing. p. 227-28 and 542. ISBN 9780631214816. <a href="9780631214816" target="_blank">9780631214816</a> <a href="#fnref:26" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:27"><p>Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003). The Dravidian Languages. Cambridge University Press. pp. 78, 84–85. ISBN 978-1-139-43533-8. <a href="978-1-139-43533-8" target="_blank">978-1-139-43533-8</a> <a href="#fnref:27" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:28"><p>Mahadevan, Iravatham (2003). Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD. Harvard University Press. pp. 210–213. ISBN 978-0-674-01227-1. <a href="978-0-674-01227-1" target="_blank">978-0-674-01227-1</a> <a href="#fnref:28" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:29"><p>Mahadevan, Iravatham (2003). Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD. Harvard University Press. pp. 210–213. ISBN 978-0-674-01227-1. <a href="978-0-674-01227-1" target="_blank">978-0-674-01227-1</a> <a href="#fnref:29" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:30"><p>Mahadevan, Iravatham (2003). Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD. Harvard University Press. pp. 210–213. ISBN 978-0-674-01227-1. <a href="978-0-674-01227-1" target="_blank">978-0-674-01227-1</a> <a href="#fnref:30" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:31"><p>Manogaran, Chelvadurai (2000). The Untold Story of Ancient Tamils in Sri Lanka. Chennai: Kumaran Publishers. p. 31. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=2UZuAAAAMAAJ&q=The+untold+story+of+ancient+Tamils+in+Sri+Lanka" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=2UZuAAAAMAAJ&q=The+untold+story+of+ancient+Tamils+in+Sri+Lanka</a> <a href="#fnref:31" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:32"><p>Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003). The Dravidian Languages. Cambridge University Press. pp. 78, 84–85. ISBN 978-1-139-43533-8. <a href="978-1-139-43533-8" target="_blank">978-1-139-43533-8</a> <a href="#fnref:32" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:33"><p>Singh, Upinder (2023) [2008]. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India (2nd ed.). Pearson. pp. 190 and 1037. ISBN 978-93-570-5618-2. <a href="978-93-570-5618-2" target="_blank">978-93-570-5618-2</a> <a href="#fnref:33" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:34"><p>Mahadevan, Iravatham (2003). Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD. Harvard University Press. pp. 210–213. ISBN 978-0-674-01227-1. <a href="978-0-674-01227-1" target="_blank">978-0-674-01227-1</a> <a href="#fnref:34" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:35"><p>Mahadevan, Iravatham (2003). Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD. Harvard University Press. pp. 210–213. ISBN 978-0-674-01227-1. <a href="978-0-674-01227-1" target="_blank">978-0-674-01227-1</a> <a href="#fnref:35" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:36"><p>Mahadevan, Iravatham (2003). Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD. Harvard University Press. pp. 210–213. ISBN 978-0-674-01227-1. <a href="978-0-674-01227-1" target="_blank">978-0-674-01227-1</a> <a href="#fnref:36" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:37"><p>Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003). The Dravidian Languages. Cambridge University Press. pp. 78, 84–85. ISBN 978-1-139-43533-8. <a href="978-1-139-43533-8" target="_blank">978-1-139-43533-8</a> <a href="#fnref:37" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:38"><p>Rajan, K. (2001). "Territorial Division as Gleaned from Memorial Stones". East and West. 51 (3/4): 359–367. JSTOR 29757518. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/29757518" target="_blank">https://www.jstor.org/stable/29757518</a> <a href="#fnref:38" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:39"><p>Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003). The Dravidian Languages. Cambridge University Press. pp. 78, 84–85. ISBN 978-1-139-43533-8. <a href="978-1-139-43533-8" target="_blank">978-1-139-43533-8</a> <a href="#fnref:39" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:40"><p>Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. pp. 379-80 and 398. ISBN 9788188765072. <a href="9788188765072" target="_blank">9788188765072</a> <a href="#fnref:40" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:41"><p>Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. pp. 379-80 and 398. ISBN 9788188765072. <a href="9788188765072" target="_blank">9788188765072</a> <a href="#fnref:41" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:42"><p>Veluthat, Kesavan. "History and Historiography in Constituting a Region: The Case of Kerala." Studies in People’s History, vol. 5, no. 1, June 2018, pp. 13–31. <a href="#fnref:42" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:43"><p>Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. pp. 379-80 and 398. ISBN 9788188765072. <a href="9788188765072" target="_blank">9788188765072</a> <a href="#fnref:43" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:44"><p>Coulmas, Florian (1999) [1996]. "Vatteluttu Script". The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems. Blackwell Publishing. p. 227-28 and 542. ISBN 9780631214816. <a href="9780631214816" target="_blank">9780631214816</a> <a href="#fnref:44" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:45"><p>Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. pp. 379-80 and 398. ISBN 9788188765072. <a href="9788188765072" target="_blank">9788188765072</a> <a href="#fnref:45" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:46"><p>Freeman, Rich (2003). "The Literary Culture of Premodern Kerala". In Sheldon, Pollock (ed.). Literary Cultures in History. University of California Press. pp. 441 and 481. ISBN 9780520228214. <a href="9780520228214" target="_blank">9780520228214</a> <a href="#fnref:46" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:47"><p>Singh, Upinder (2023) [2008]. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India (2nd ed.). Pearson. pp. 190 and 1037. ISBN 978-93-570-5618-2. <a href="978-93-570-5618-2" target="_blank">978-93-570-5618-2</a> <a href="#fnref:47" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:48"><p>Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. pp. 379-80 and 398. ISBN 9788188765072. <a href="9788188765072" target="_blank">9788188765072</a> <a href="#fnref:48" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:49"><p>Mahadevan, Iravatham (2003). Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD. Harvard University Press. pp. 210–213. ISBN 978-0-674-01227-1. <a href="978-0-674-01227-1" target="_blank">978-0-674-01227-1</a> <a href="#fnref:49" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:50"><p>Freeman, Rich (2003). "The Literary Culture of Premodern Kerala". In Sheldon, Pollock (ed.). Literary Cultures in History. University of California Press. pp. 441 and 481. ISBN 9780520228214. <a href="9780520228214" target="_blank">9780520228214</a> <a href="#fnref:50" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:51"><p>Mahadevan, Iravatham (2003). Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD. Harvard University Press. pp. 210–213. ISBN 978-0-674-01227-1. <a href="978-0-674-01227-1" target="_blank">978-0-674-01227-1</a> <a href="#fnref:51" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:52"><p>Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. pp. 379-80 and 398. ISBN 9788188765072. <a href="9788188765072" target="_blank">9788188765072</a> <a href="#fnref:52" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:53"><p>Rao, T. A. Gopinatha. Specimens of Vatteluttu Inscriptions. Travancore Archaeological Series. Vol. XVI (1911 ed.). 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