Grantha letter sa

It is the Grantha consonant sa, with a built-in “a” vowel. In Grantha, a vowel sign can replace that vowel, while a virama (a mark that removes it) leaves the consonant without a vowel. In a cluster, neighboring letters can change how it joins on screen. A lone 𑌸 is a letter sample, not a complete Sanskrit word.

Earlier Grantha forms are attested in inscriptions made under the Pallava rulers from the fourth century CE; recognizable later forms developed after the thirteenth century CE. In South India, Grantha let writers record Sanskrit sounds not distinguished in the Tamil script used in those texts. The script also appears on public inscriptions and in palm-leaf manuscripts.

Why does Grantha appear beside Tamil?

The scripts often served different language roles. Grantha commonly wrote Sanskrit while Tamil script wrote Tamil, but real documents mix them. In Manipravalam, a literary blend of Tamil and Sanskrit, Grantha letters can mark Sanskrit words inside Tamil passages. Mixed scripts also appear in inscriptions, manuscript commentary, marginal blessings, and colophons (closing notes about a work or its scribe).

Grantha is historically connected to Brahmi, an early Indian script, through forms used under the Pallavas. Its western Arya-eluttu branch is part of the history of Malayalam writing.