Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c20.s5.t1: 1.5.1 Arachalur: musical notations
Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c20.s5.t1
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1.5.1 Arachalur: musical notations
c20.s5.t1.1
The other most outstanding discovery of the period comes from Arachalur. The musical notations in the Arachalur cave inscriptions,⁴ assigned to ca. 4th century A.D. on palaeographic grounds, are the earliest epigraphic evidence for the cultivation of music and dance in the Tamil country.⁵ The inscriptions are also important from the palaeographic point of view as they mark the end of the Tamil-Brāhmī period and anticipate the emergence of the Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu script from Tamil-Brāhmī during 5th-6th centuries A.D.
c20.s5.t1.2
⁴ *ARE* B. 280-282 / 1961-62 = *Nos. 85-87*. See also Fig. 8.41 (tracing) and Pls. 40 & 41 (estampages).
c20.s5.t1.3
⁵ The interpretation was first suggested by T.N. Ramachandran (1962), with further improvements by R. Nagaswamy (1972d) and K.G. Krishnan (1973-74b).