Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c20.s3.t1.13

c20.s3.t1.13

The Alagarmalai cave (Fig. 1.⁶) has 13 Tamil-Brāhmī inscriptions, the largest number from a single site. One of the inscriptions is engraved on a stone bed on the floor and the others on the brow of the cave. The inscriptions may be assigned to ca. 1st century B.C. on palaeographic evidence. They record the endowment made by a group of merchants and other donors, all from Maḍurai. The merchants are identified as traders in salt, sugar, iron implements and textiles. One of the donors is a goldsmith. Among the others are an accountant (described as the 'chief of scribes'), a Jaina nun and probably a Pāṇṭiya prince. The Alagarmalai inscriptions provide important evidence for the support extended to the Jaina monasteries by the merchant communities in this period.