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Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c20.s14: 1.13 Pottery inscriptions

Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c20.s14

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1.13 Pottery inscriptions

1.13.1 Introduction

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Until almost the middle of the last century, cave inscriptions were the only records known in the Tamil-Brāhmī script. This circumstance gave rise to the presumption that Tamil-Brāhmī was employed by the Buddhist or Jaina monks who came from outside the Tamil country and were not quite conversant with the local language. It implied that Tamil-Brāhmī inscriptions did not represent the standard or the spoken Tamil of the day. All this changed with the discovery of pottery inscriptions first at Arikamedu between 1941-44 and later from many more ancient sites spread all over the Tamil country. At present, there are 20 sites, 14 of them excavated and the remaining explored, which have yielded hundreds of pottery inscriptions in Tamil written in the Tamil-Brāhmī script (Table 1.⁴, Map II).¹ The inscriptions have been dated by various methods including stratigraphy, associated artefacts and palaeographic evidence from ca. 2nd century B.C. to 3rd century A.D. The practice of writing on pottery seems to have been given up by about the end of the 3rd century A.D.

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¹ See S. Rajavelu and G. Thirumoorthy 1995 for a succint account of sites and excavations.

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Yet another dimension to the study of Tamil-Brāhmī has been added with the discovery of pottery inscriptions from sites outside the Tamil country as at Salihundam (Andhra Pradesh), Jaffna (Sri Lanka) and the ancient ports on the Red Sea coast of Egypt (Quseir al-Qadim and Berenike).

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While pottery inscriptions are fragmentary when compared to cave inscriptions, they are, in general, more securely dated and provide a glimpse into the secular character of ancient Tamil society. I shall argue in a later chapter that pottery inscriptions indicate widespread literacy in all strata of the Tamil society in the Tamil-Brāhmī period.²

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² See section 4.24 on literacy in early Tamil society.

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Select pottery inscriptions from various sites are illustrated in Figs. 1.19 to 1.21. A catalogue of these inscriptions with readings and references to sources is appended in Table 1.5.

1.13.2 Arikamedu

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Arikamedu, also known as Vīrampatnam,³ is on the east coast four km. south of Pondicherry on the south bank of the Ariyankuppam river near its confluence with the sea. The site has been excavated four times, first by a French team in 1941-44, then by Mortimer Wheeler in 1945, again by the French in 1947-50 and most recently by Vimala Begley during 1989-92.⁴ The importance of Arikamedu in determining South Indian chronology lies in the fact that it was an 'Indo-Roman trading-station', and imported artefacts from the Mediterranean like amphoras, Arretine ware (terra sigillata), rouletted ware, glass and ceramic items have helped in assigning precise dates to the local culture for the first time.¹ However, the site is a disturbed one and dates based on stratification are not very secure. Wheeler's date for Arikamedu in the first two centuries a.d. has been contested by Vimala Begley who has proposed a wider timespread between ca. 200 b.c. and 300 a.d.²

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³ Derived from *vīrai*, the ancient name of the port, mentioned in early Tamil literature. I. Mahadevan 1970b.

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⁴ See Vimala Begley *et al.* 1996: pp. 3-4 for details of excavations at Arikamedu and the reports on excavations.

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¹ R.E.M. Wheeler *et al.* 1946: sections 4 A (pp. 34-48) and 4F to H (pp. 101-102). Vimala Begley and R.D. De Puma (eds.) 1991: chapters 8 & 9 (pp. 134-156). Vimala Begley *et al.* 1996: chapters 6-8 (pp. 317-387).

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² For chronology of Arikamedu, see section 2.16.1.

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About 66 fragmentary pottery inscriptions have been found at Arikamedu from different excavations.³ Most of them are in Tamil, but a few are also in Prakrit and Sinhala-Prakrit languages.⁴ The inscriptions may be assigned to dates between ca. 2nd century b.c. and 3rd century a.d. mainly on palaeographic evidence.

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³ See the list of pottery inscriptions from Arikamedu in I. Mahadevan 1996a: p. 287. See also Nos. 1 & 2, Table 1.5 and Figs. 1.19 A & B in this vol.

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⁴ The languages of the pottery inscriptions from Arikamedu are discussed in I. Mahadevan 1996a: p. 291.

1.13.3 Uraiyur

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Uraiyur, now a suburb of Tiruchirapalli town on the south bank of the river Cauvery, was the most ancient capital of the Cōḻas and was a flourishing city during the Caṅkam Age. Since it has been under continuous occupation, it is highly disturbed and has very few open spaces. Excavations in limited areas at different locations were carried out by Mahalingam during 1965-69 and a report on them was published by Raman in 1988.⁵

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⁵ K.V. Raman (ed.) 1988.

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The excavations have yielded 20 inscribed sherds from Period I levels.⁶ The inscriptions, mostly fragmentary, are in Tamil and incised on black and red ware, russet-coated painted ware and red polished ware. Rouletted ware assigned to the 1st century a.d. appears in the levels immediately above the inscribed sherds. On the basis of stratigraphy, associated pottery and palaeographic evidence, the inscribed sherds are dated to the 1st century b.c.

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⁶ *Ibid.* chapter 5 by P. Shanmugam (pp. 69-75). See also No. 3, Table 1.5 and Fig. 1.19C in this vol.

1.13.4 Kodumanal

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Kodumanal is now a small village situated on the north bank of the river Noyyal in Perundurai Taluk, Erode District. It was, however, a major industrial and trading centre during the Caṅkam Age and was noted for its manufacture of jewellery from semi-precious stones. It is referred to in Caṅkam literature by its older name *koṭumaṇam*.⁷ It is significant that the site is located just across the river from Padiyur known in antiquity for the export of beryl (aquamarine) stones to Rome. The site is strategically situated commanding the trade routes from the west coast via the Palghat Gap and onward to Karur, Madurai and the east coast. The importance of the site was recognised from surface collection of gems, terracotta figures and ancient pottery.

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⁷ *Patiṟ.* 67 & 74.

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The site has been excavated in three stretches during 1985-86, 1989-90 and from 1996-97, first by a Tamil University team led by Subbarayalu and then by a TNSA team led by Natana Kasinathan. The excavation reports are yet to be published, though some important findings have been reported in various publications.¹ This section is mainly based on Subbarayalu's unpublished manuscripts, 'Report on Kodumanal Excavations' (1988) and 'Illustrated Catalogue of Pottery Inscriptions from Kodumanal' (1996), and a personal communication (1997) on the chronology of the site with special reference to the inscribed sherds.

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¹ K. Rajan 1994: chapter 6 'Excavations at Kodumanal' (pp. 57-89); chapter 9, section on Kodumanal graffiti (pp. 116-122); 1997: chapter 3, section on Kodumanal (pp. 75-90).

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The site comprises a habitation mound and a burial mound (with megalithic graves). The inhabitants of the site in Period I (ca. 200 b.c.-50 a.d.) were principally engaged in the manufacture of gems and iron weapons and implements. The inhabitants in Period II (ca. 50-150 a.d) were mainly agriculturists. The site has yielded large quantities of beads of carnelian and other semi-precious stones. The gemstone industry at this site seems to have come to an end around 100 a.d.

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About 170 inscriptions on pottery, mostly from Period I and incised on russet-coated and black and red ware, have been recovered, the maximum number so far from an ancient Tamil site.² The language of the inscriptions is mostly Tamil; only two or three seem to be in Prakrit and one in Sinhala-Prakrit.³ One of the inscribed sherds with the name *visākī* (fem.) was found inside a megalithic grave.⁴ Two remarkable features of writing at this site are the juxtaposition of Tamil-Brāhmī letters and megalithic symbols within the same inscriptions⁵ and a very distinctive angular or rectilinear style of writing seldom found at other sites.

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² ARE B. 306-475/1993-94. Y. Subbarayalu: Catalogue of Pottery Inscriptions from Kodumanal 1996 (unpublished). More inscriptions have been found in further seasons of work by the TNSA at this site. See also No. 4, Table 1.5 and Fig. 1.20A in this vol.

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³ No. 34 in Sinhala-Prakrit in Subbarayalu's Catalogue has been published in I. Mahadevan 1996c: No. 7.

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⁴ No. 1 in Subbarayalu's Catalogue. For details of the discovery, see K. Rajan 1994: pp. 75-76.

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⁵ K. Rajan 2001: pp. 1-18. See also Fig. 5.13 in this vol.

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It is difficult to accept the explanation of the excavators for the style that it is easier to write in straight lines on pottery, since such writing is not found from other sites. The angular writing has to be regarded for the present as the 'signature' of the Kodumanal scribes. This would help us to recognise pottery inscriptions from Kodumanal at other sites.⁶

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⁶ E.g., a pottery inscription from Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, is written in this style (R.A.E. Coningham *et al.*, 1996: pp. 73-97, No. 16,472). The 'distinctive angularity' of the letters has been noted by the authors (p. 85, Fig. at p. 84). See especially Nos. 12 and 115 in Subbarayalu's Catalogue for very close parallels. I suggest that the inscribed sherd reading *ti mu ḷa* (prob. for *tamiḻa*) or the scribe who incised it came from Kodumanal, perhaps in the course of the gem trade. The date (190 b.c.) assigned to the Anuradhapura sherd on the basis of stratification falls within the range known at Kodumanal.

1.13.5 Alagankulam

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Alagankulam is now a small village near Ramesvaram on the east coast, situated on the north bank of the river Vaigai. In ancient times, the river must have joined the sea at this point, but at present, the sea has receded and the river no longer empties into it. However, judging from the quantity of articles made from chank and semi-precious stone beads found here, there is no doubt that Alagankulam was once a thriving sea and river port connecting Madurai, the capital of the Pāṇṭiya kingdom, with the sea. A remarkable graffito on pottery found at the site depicts realistically a 'large Roman ship'¹ calling at the port. It proves conclusively that Alagankulam took part in the trade with Rome in Classical times.

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¹ Lionel Casson 1997. See also Fig. 4.3 and section 4.20.4 (v) in this vol.

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The importance of the site was recognised from surface finds of rouletted ware, semi-precious stone beads, etc. Regular excavations by the TNSA commenced in 1986 led by Nagaswamy and later by Natana Kasinathan. Only preliminary reports on the excavations and the inscribed sherds have been published so far.²

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² R. Nagaswamy 1991c: pp. 247-254, Pl. 25.1 & 2; 1995: pp. 70-81. A. Abdul Majeed *et al.* 1992.

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A total of 25 pottery inscriptions³ were found from the site in five seasons of work during 1986-96. A few of the inscriptions were surface finds and the rest came from excavations. Most of the inscriptions are in Tamil written in the Tamil-Brāhmī script. Among the noteworthy finds are those mentioning *patumāṟ-kōtai* (Patumaṉ Kōtai),⁴ apparently a Cēra prince judging from his name, and the personal names *kuviraṉ*⁵ (< *kubēra*) and *cātavēta*⁶ (< *jātavedas*). One of the three Sinhala-Prakrit inscriptions⁷ found at the site (virtually overlooking Sri Lanka on the other side of the narrow straits) is influenced by Tamil orthography (*cā mu ta ha* for Sinh. Pkt. *śamudaha* 'of Samuda' (< *samudra*); another Sinhala-Prakrit inscription, a surface find, reads *saga*⁸ apparently referring to the Buddhist *saṃgha*.

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³ 15 inscribed sherds from Alagankulam have been published in Natana Kasinathan 1997: pp. 69-72, Pls. II-VII. He has dealt with 9 more inscriptions in a later paper (unpublished). Subsequently, one more pottery inscription was picked up from the surface at the site.

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⁴ See No. 5, Table 1.5 and Fig. 1.20B. See also section 4.5.5.

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⁵ Natana Kasinathan 1997: No. 14. See also section 4.19.2 (iii) in this vol.

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⁶ Ibid. No. 13 (with a different reading). See also section 4.19.3 (iv) in this vol.

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⁷ A. Abdul Majeed *et al.* 1992: p. 13, No. 3.

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⁸ Unpublished. I have seen the sherd in the collections of TNSA, Chennai. The occurrence of the rare *sa* in lieu of the more frequent *śa* is noteworthy.

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As Northern Black Polished (NBP) ware and a punch-marked coin were found at the lowest levels, and Roman coins of late 4th /early 5th centuries A.D. at the upper levels, the site must have flourished between ca. 3rd century B.C. and 5th century A.D.⁹ However, the pottery inscriptions found at the site fall within a narrower range between ca. 2nd century B.C. and 1st century A.D. judging from palaeographic evidence.¹⁰

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⁹ These are the dates proposed in R. Nagaswamy 1991c: p. 274, Fig. 1.

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¹⁰ This is based on my study of the originals in the collections of TNSA, Chennai.

1.13.6 Other excavated sites with pottery inscriptions

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Apart from the four major sites discussed above, ten other excavated sites have yielded relatively fewer pottery inscriptions (Table 1.4, Map II). Among these sites, Kanchipuram,¹ Karur,² Korkai³ and Poompuhar (Kāviri-p-pūm-paṭṭiṇam)⁴ have the potential to yield much greater number of pottery inscriptions than discovered so far. Kanchipuram and Karur have had the same problems as Uraiyur, namely continuous occupation and heavily built-up areas with little room left for large-scale excavations. Still it is rather surprising that Kanchipuram and even Poompuhar (with relatively more open spaces) have not yielded pottery inscriptions in Tamil. The only inscribed sherd found at Kanchipuram⁵ is in Prakrit, and the one from Poompuhar⁶ is in Sinhala-Prakrit. The pottery inscriptions in Tamil in the Tamil-Brāhmī script found in the excavations at Alagarai,⁷ Kovalanpottal,⁸ Poluvampatti⁹ and Vallam¹⁰ have been published (without illustrations except in the last case). Inscriptions from the recently excavated sites at Maligaimedu and Teriruveli are yet to be published.¹¹

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¹ *IAR 1953-54*, 1962-63, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1974-75 and 1975-76. K.V. Raman 1987: pp. 61-72.

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² R. Nagaswamy 1981d: pp. 337-339; 1995: chapters 2 & 3 (pp. 63-69). K. Sridharan and K. Arjunan 1992. See also No. 6, Table 1.5 and Fig. 1.20C in this vol.

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³ R. Nagaswamy 1970: pp. 50-54.

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⁴ *IAR 1962-63*, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1970-71, 1972-73, 1973-74 and 1974-75. K. V. Raman 1968: pp. 238-240.

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⁵ Inscribed sherd published without illustration in *IAR 1969-70*: pp. 34-35. I. Mahadevan 1997a: pp. 238-240 (with illustrations and corrected reading). The Pkt. legend reads *pusa-lakhita* ... (< *pushya-rakshita/-lakshita*).

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⁶ Natana Kasinathan 1998: pp. 152-154 (Fig. at p. 153). S. Rajavelu 1999: p. 154 (with corrected reading). This interesting Sinh. Pkt. inscription reads: *abi maga-ttō* 'from Princess Maga (< Skt. *māghā*). Influence of Tamil orthography is seen in the doubled *-tt-*.

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⁷ T.V. Mahalingam 1970. The inscribed sherd is not mentioned in this excavation report, but in T.V. Mahalingam 1968: pp. 42-43(not illustrated).

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⁸ *IAR 1979-80*.

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⁹ Ibid.

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¹⁰ Y. Subbarayalu 1984: pp. 1-98, Fig. 26, Pl. XII.

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¹¹ In the collections of TNSA, Chennai. One of the inscriptions from Teriruveli refers to *neṭuṅki[!li*], probably a Cōḻa prince. See section 4.4.2 for discussion.

1.13.7 Other explored sites with pottery inscriptions

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Stray finds of pottery inscriptions have been reported from surface explorations or by chance at Attur,¹² Jambai,¹³ T. Kallupatti and S. Pappinayakkanpatti,¹⁴ Odaikalpalaiyam,¹⁵ and Sivakasi¹⁶ (Table 1.⁴, Map II). Two more unpublished inscriptions recently found on the surface at Poluvampatti¹ are noteworthy as the only ones found so far in the Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu script (ca. 5th century A.D.).

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¹² Unpublished. In the collections of TNSA Museum, Karur.

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¹³ Photograph in the report on exploration at Jambai by K. Selvaraj 1981( unpublished), TNSA Library, Chennai.

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¹⁴ Two inscribed sherds from each of these two sites found around 1996 during fieldwork by V. Selvakumar, Deccan College, Pune (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation).

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¹⁵ Unpublished. In the collections of TNSA, Chennai.

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¹⁶ Inscribed sherds found during exploration in the villages of Karaseri, Visvanatham, Tiruttangal and Anaikuttam near Sivakasi. *Dinamani*, Chennai, Sep. 25, 1990 (with photographs).

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¹ Unpublished. In the collections of TNSA Museum, Coimbatore.

1.13.8 Tamil-Brāhmī pottery inscriptions from sites outside Tamil Nadu

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Salihundam, Andhra Pradesh

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Salihundam, a Buddhist site in Srikakulam District, Andhra Pradesh, has yielded 69 inscribed sherds dating between ca. 3rd-2nd century B.C. and 4th-5th century A.D.² The inscriptions are in Prakrit in the Southern Brāhmī script with one notable exception. The unique inscribed sherd is a fragment of a rouletted ware dish of fine fabric found at surface level³ and said to be similar to Type 1a pottery at Arikamedu. The sherd has been assigned to ca. 3rd or 2nd century B.C. by the excavator who has offered two or three alternative readings of the inscription,⁴ According to my revised reading, the text is *na ku lā na* (*nakulan*), a masculine personal name (Nakulaṉ) in Tamil⁵ after one of the Pāṇḍava brothers. The orthography is influenced by the Bhattiprolu style as may be seen from the apparent lengthening of *lā*. The inscription may be dated to ca. 1st century B.C. from palaeographic evidence. The inscription was incised probably by a Tamil monk or pilgrim at the site.

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² R. Subrahmanyam 1964: pp. 43-45, 83-90, Pls. XLVII-LIX.

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³ Ibid. Fig. 13, No. 3a; Pl. XLVII, top left.

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⁴ Ibid. p. 44, No. 3a; p. 83, No. 1.

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⁵ I. Mahadevan 1994b: p. 145, Pl. 10. The language is not Prakrit as the reading requires a basic consonant in final position. The language is also not Old Telugu as the expected *-anṟ* ending does not occur. Tamil satisfies all the criteria including orthography. The medial vowel notation is a mixture of the TB-I & II systems as in the Alagarmalai inscriptions (especially, Nos. 38-45, ca. 1st century B.C.). See sections 6.5 to 6.8 on medial vowel notations in Tamil-Brāhmī. The use of dental *n* instead of alveolar *ṉ* has parallels in the Jambai inscription (No. 59, ca. 1st century A.D.).

1.13.9 Tamil-Brāhmī pottery inscriptions outside India

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(i) *Jaffna, Sri Lanka

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The population of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, has been Tamil-speaking since time immemorial and it is not surprising that Tamil-Brāhmī pottery inscriptions occur there contemporaneously with the Tamil country. Several inscribed sherds have been discovered during exploration of villages in the Poonagari region of Jaffna.⁶ One of the inscriptions reads *vēḷāṉ*, a clan name related to *vēḷ*.⁷ Most of the other sherds are too fragmentary, but the occurrence of the diagnostic Tamil-Brāhmī letters *ḻ* *ḷ* *ṟ* and *ṉ* leaves no doubt that the language of the pottery inscription is Tamil.⁸ The sherds have been tentatively assigned to ca. 2nd century B.C. pending regular excavations of the sites.

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⁶ P. Pushparatnam 1993: pp. 36-42, Figs. 27, 30-34; 2000a: pp. 12-13, Table 1; 2001: pp. 85-97, Figs. 1 & 2. I. Mahadevan 1994b: p. 139, Pls. 4 & 5.

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⁷ See No. 7, Table 1.5 and Fig. 1.21 A.

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⁸ See also sections 5.12.1 (f), 2(c), 3(c) and 4(c) for the occurrence of these Tamil-Brāhmī letters in loanwords in the Sinhala-Brāhmī cave inscriptions of Sri Lanka.

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(ii) *Roman settlements on the Red Sea coast, Egypt

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(a) *Quseir al-Qadim

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Excavations in a Roman settlement at this ancient port on the Red Sea coast of Egypt brought to light two inscribed sherds in Tamil written in the Tamil-Brāhmī script.¹ The inscriptions read ***ka ṇa ṉa*** (***kaṇṇaṉ***) and ***cā ta ṉa*** (***cāttaṉ***). The occurrence of the Tamil nominal ending *-aṉ* in the personal names leaves no doubt about the identification of the language and the script. The inscriptions may be dated to ca. 1st century A.D. on palaeographic evidence.² It is significant that both the personal names are also found in pottery inscriptions of the same period from Arikamedu.³ An ostrakon inscription was earlier found at this site on the surface.⁴ The inscription is in Prakrit written in the Southern Brāhmī characters of ca. 2nd-3rd centuries A.D.

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¹ D. S. Whitcomb and J.H. Johnson 1979 : Pl. 27j; 1982: Pl. 61.O. I. Mahadevan 1994b: pp. 136-155, Pls. 7 & 8.

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² See No. 8, Table 1.5 and Fig. 1.21 B.

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³ I. Mahadevan 1996a: Nos. 5.22 & 5.25.

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⁴ R. Salomon 1991: pp. 731-736.

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(b) *Berenike

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The excavations of a Ptolemaic-Roman settlement at this ancient port on the Red Sea coast of Egypt in 1995 yielded an inscribed amphora fragment dated by stratigraphy to 60-70 A.D.⁵ The inscription is in Tamil and written in the Tamil-Brāhmī script. The reading is ***ko ṟa pū mā ṉa*** (*korra-pūmāṉ*) 'Korra(n), the chieftain'.

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⁵ I. Mahadevan 1996b: pp. 205-208, Pl. 9.1 and Fig. 9.2.

1.13.10 General characteristics of pottery inscriptions

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(i) *Languages and scripts

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The vast majority of the pottery inscriptions from ancient Tamil sites are in Tamil written in the Tamil-Brāhmī script. Relatively much fewer inscribed sherds are in Prakrit in the Southern Brāhmī script. The pottery inscriptions in Prakrit occur mostly in cities, ports and industrial or trading centres. A unique pottery inscription from Arikamedu dated to ca. 1st century A.D. is in Hybrid Sanskrit written in the Northern Brāhmī script.⁶ A small but significant group of pottery inscriptions is in the Sinhala-Prakrit language written in the Early Sinhala-Brāhmī script (ca. 2nd century B.C. to 1st century A.D.).⁷ These inscriptions occur at the ports of Arikamedu and Alagankulam and the inland site of Kodumanal which had trade relations with Sri Lanka. The pottery inscription from Kanchipuram is probably in Pāli.⁸ Pottery (terra sigillata) stamped in Latin in the Roman script occurs at Arikamedu.⁹

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⁶ R.E.M. Wheeler *et al.* 1946: p. 112, Fig. 46.3, Pl. XLI.3. I. Mahadevan 1973: pp. 60-64, No. I, Fig. 1. A.H. Dani 1986: pp. 73-74. His reading *yakhamitrasya* in Hybrid Sanskrit is followed here.

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⁷ I. Mahadevan 1996c: pp. 55-68, Inscriptions 1-7, Figs. 1-7.

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⁸ For discussion, see I. Mahadevan 1997a: pp. 238-240.

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⁹ R.E.M.' Wheeler *et al.* 1946. pp. 34-40, Pl. XXIII.

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(ii) *Palaeography and orthography

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Palaeography of the pottery inscriptions is considered along with that of the stone inscriptions in Chapter 5,¹ where the special palaeographic forms which occur in the pottery inscriptions are illustrated in Palaeographic Chart No. 7. The orthographic features of the pottery inscriptions are considered along with those of the stone inscriptions in Chapter 6.²

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¹ See sections 5.9 to 5.14.

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² See section 6.12.

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(iii) *Contents

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While considering the language and contents of the Tamil-Brāhmī stone inscriptions throughout this study, parallels have been drawn with similar features occurring in the pottery inscriptions.

Linked texts (5)