Tigalari alphabet
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Tigalari |
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A Sanskrit manuscript
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| Type | |
| Languages | Sanskrit, Tulu |
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Time period
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c. 1200-present |
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Parent systems
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Brahmi alphabet
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Sister systems
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Malayalam script Dhives Akuru Sinhalese script |
Tigalari (Sanskrit: तिगळारि लिपि, Kannada: ತಿಗಳಾರಿ ಲಿಪಿ ,Tigaḷāri lipi) is a southern Brahmic script used in the Coastal and Malenadu regions of Karnataka, also prevalent in Kasaragod district of Kerala. It evolved from the Grantha script. It bears high similarity and relationship to its sister script Malayalam, which also evolved from the Grantha. It was mainly used by Tulu-speaking Brahmins like Shivalli Brahmins and Kannada speaking Havyaka Brahmins and Kota Brahmins to write Vedic mantras and other Sanskrit religious texts. Sanskrit is the main language of the script. But some Kannada and Tulu works are also available. It is currently not used to write the Kannada and Tulu languages as they use the Kannada script for documentation. Tigalari was proposed for inclusion in Unicode in 2011.
Thousands of manuscripts have been found in this script such as Vedas, Upanishads, Jyotisha, Dharmashastra, Purana and many more. Most works are in Sanskrit. However, some Kannada manuscripts are also found such as Gokarna Mahatmyam etc. The popular 16th-century work 'Kaushika Ramayana written in Old Kannada language by Battaleshwara of Yana, Uttara Kannada is found in this script. Mahabharato of 15th century written in this script in Tulu language is also found. But earlier to this several 12th-13th century Sanskrit manuscripts of Madhvacharya are also found. The Honnavar in Uttara Kannada District is known for its Samaveda manuscripts. Other manuscripts like Devi Mahatmyam, from the 15th century and two epic poems written in the 17th century, namely Sri Bhagavata and Kaveri have also been found in Tulu Language.
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