Grantha script
| Grantha script 𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥 | |
|---|---|
 The 'Grantha' Alphabet in modern typeface | |
| Script type | |
Period | 7th century CE – present (excluding Pallava Grantha) |
| Direction | Left-to-right  |
| Languages | Tamil and Sanskrit |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | Egyptian
|
Child systems | Malayalam Tigalari Thirke Saurashtra Dhives Akuru Sinhala |
Sister systems | Tamil, Old Mon, Khmer, Cham, Kawi |
| ISO 15924 | |
| ISO 15924 | Gran (343), Grantha |
| Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Grantha |
| U+11300–U+1137F | |
| Brahmic scripts |
|---|
| The Brahmi script and its descendants |
The Grantha script (Sanskrit: 𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥𑌲𑌿𑌪𑌿, romanized: granthalipi; Tamil: கிரந்த எழுத்து, romanized: Granta eḻuttu; Malayalam: ഗ്രന്ഥലിപി, romanized: granthalipi) is a classical South Indian Brahmic script, found particularly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Originating from the Pallava script, the Grantha script is related to Tamil and Vatteluttu scripts. The modern Malayalam script of Kerala is a direct descendant of the Grantha script. The Southeast Asian and Indonesian scripts such as Thai and Javanese respectively, as well as South Asian and Sri Lankan scripts such as Tigalari and Sinhalese scripts respectively, are derived or closely related to Grantha through the early Pallava script.
The Tamil purist movement of the colonial era sought to purge the Grantha script from use and use the Tamil script exclusively. According to Kailasapathy, this was a part of Tamil nationalism and amounted to regional ethnic chauvinism.