Grantha

The Grantha script was widely used between the 6th century and the 19th century CE by Tamil speakers in South India, particularly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, to write Sanskrit and classical Manipravalam, and is still in restricted use in traditional vedic schools (veda pāṭhaśālā). It is a Brahmic script, having evolved from the Brāhmī script in Tamil Nadu. The Malayalam alphabet is a direct descendant of Grantha as are the Tigalari and Sinhala alphabets. The rising popularity of Devanagari for Sanskrit and the political pressure created by the Tanittamil Iyakkam for its complete replacement by the modern Tamil script led to its gradual disuse and abandonment in Tamil Nadu in the early 20th century.