An example of the Vatteluttu script from an inscription by Rajaraja Chola I at the Brihadisvara temple in Thanjavur.

Vatteluttu was an ancient writing system used for writing Tamil language between the second and the seventh centuries CE. It replaced an older Tamil-Brahmi script based on the brahmi writing system. It was also used in Kerala to write in Tamil as well as in proto-Malayalam and Malayalam. Rajaraja Chola I ascended the Chola throne in July 985 C.E. Raja Raja the Great, as he is known in history reigned for 29 years, and conquered the whole of southern India and the Chola empire expanded as far as Sri Lanka in the south, and Kalinga (Orissa) in... The Brihadisvara temple (also spelled Brahadeeswarar temple) is an ancient Hindu temple located at Thanjavur in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. ... Thanjavur (தஞ்சாவூர் in Tamil), formerly known as Tanjore, is a city in Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. ... Tamil (தமிழ் ) is a classical language and one of the major languages of the Dravidian language family. ... The Tamil Brahmi script, unlike standard Asokan Brahmi, distinguished between pure consonants and consonants with an inherent vowel marker Tamil-Brahmi was an early script used to write Tamil characters. ... Brāhmī refers to the pre-modern members of the Brahmic family of scripts, attested from the 3rd century BC. The best known and earliest dated inscriptions in Brahmi are the rock-cut edicts of Ashoka. ... Kerala ( ; Malayalam: കേരളം, — ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... Malayalam (മലയാളം ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ...

The modern Tamil characters originated in a Brahmanical adaptation of the old Grantha letters corresponding to the so-called Vatteluttu, or 'round hand', an alphabet once in vogue throughout Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ...