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BnF INDIEN 432: A Tamil Alphabet

The source of all the pictures of INDIEN 432 is BnF

BnF INDIEN 432 (ex- Tamoul 432; Cabaton, Catalogue sommaire, 1912, p. 61; Figs. 12) is a bundle of 22 palm leaves (295 x 20/25 mm1) with two faceted cover wooden planks, probably original, that is, not made on purpose at the BnF, like for other bundles.

Fig. 1 — BnF INDIEN 432, tied bundle — Courtesy of BnF

Fig. 2 — BnF INDIEN 432, untied bundle — Courtesy of BnF

Cabaton dates the manuscript to 1835, but nowhere are mentioned the reasons for this date. The exact provenance is unknown.

A thread passes through the single hole of the leaves and is sealed. The lead seal (Fig. 3), has the letter “B” in the centre on both sides, with the labels “BIBLIOTHEQUE N[ATIONA]LE” on the recto and “MANUSCRITS” on the verso.

Fig. 3 — BnF INDIEN 432, BnF lead seal — Courtesy of BnF

The manuscript is in a good state of preservation. The folios are in the right order. The leaves are not particularly well prepared. The handwriting is not particularly neat.

The distribution of the 22 ff. of INDIEN 432 is as follows:

    • 1 blank front guard folio.
    • 20 ff. foliated in Tamil numerals in the left margin, with Arabic numerals later added below. There is 1 line per page as the letters are big (Fig. 4).
    • 1 blank back guard folio, with the Arabic numeral “21” added in ink in the left margin.

Fig. 4 — BnF INDIEN 432, f1r, f2r, f3r — Courtesy of BnF

The Tamil alphabet is given as follows:

  • The series of initial vowels (f1).

Note the peculiar form of āytam (, ஃ in modern Tamil script), which looks like a modern kū (Fig. 5), while another glyph, similar but different, is used for the letter kū (Fig. 6).2

Fig. 5 — BnF INDIEN 432, f1v, āytam — Courtesy of BnF

Fig. 6 — BnF INDIEN 432, f3r, letters ku கு and கூ — Courtesy of BnF

  • The series of the 18 consonants with a vocalisation, that is, ka, a, ca, ña, a, a, ta, na, pa, ma, ya, ra, la, va, a, a, a, and a (f2).
  • The series of the 18 consonants (ka, a, ca, ña, a, a, ta, na, pa, ma, ya, ra, la, va, a, a, a, a), given successively, each with the different options for the vowel following the consonant and, as final sign, the consonant with puḷḷi (ff. 3–20). 1 folio per consonant, that is, e.g.:

(f3r) ka kā ki kī ku kū ke [i.e. , as the manuscript does not use puḷḷi] kai
(f3v) ko [i.e. ] kau k·

The manuscript has been used. As already mentioned the original Tamil foliation has been “translated” in Arabic-numeral foliation. Furthermore, the same hand has supplied, below the Tamil letters, Latin transcriptions in ink (with indication of the length of the vowels). This was done most probably by/for a French speaker, as shown, e.g., in the ka series (f3r), where kakā கா ki கி kī கீ are transcribed as că, cā, quĭ, quī (Fig. 7). This later hand also added commas between the individual letters as the alphabet is given in scriptio continua.

Fig. 7 — BnF INDIEN 432, f3r, letters ka கா ki கி கீ — Courtesy of BnF

As for paratexts, we find at the beginning of the manuscript the formula குருபாதந் துணை kurupātan tuai, “The feet (pātam < Skt. pāda) of the Master (kuru < Skt. guru) are the support” (Fig. 8).

Fig. 8 — BnF INDIEN 432, f1r, left margin — Courtesy of BnF

The script has some interesting features. The manuscript does not use double-curled kompu ே to distinguish ō from o and ē from e, but, for some letters, a distinction is made through another device. A supplementary loop seems to indicate that the vowel is long, but only for ṟō றோ (Fig. 9) and ṉō னோ (Fig. 10). This device is probably based on the analogy of the distinction made between initial o and initial ō or between u and ḷū (Fig. 11).

Fig. 9 — BnF INDIEN 432, f19v, letters o றொ and ṟō றோ — Courtesy of BnF

Fig. 10 — BnF INDIEN 432, f20v, letters o னொ and ṉō னோ — Courtesy of BnF

Fig. 11 — BnF INDIEN 432, letters o ஒ and ō ஓ (f1v),u ளு, ḷū ளூ (f18r) — Courtesy of BnF

Emmanuel Francis

Chargé de recherche CNRS (CEIAS-UMR 8564, EHESS-CNRS, Paris)

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  1. The leaves are broader in their middle than at their edges. []
  2. See also BnF INDIEN 528. []

OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Emmanuel Francis (November 14, 2019). BnF INDIEN 432: A Tamil Alphabet. Texts Surrounding Texts. Retrieved April 25, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/uxyk


Emmanuel Francis

Chargé de recherche CNRS (CEIAS-UMR 8564, EHESS-CNRS, Paris)

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