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Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c20.s8: 1.8 Discovery of Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions

Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c20.s8

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1.8 Discovery of Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions

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Unlike in the case of Tamil-Brāhmī inscriptions, the discovery of Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions did not cause much excitement. They were immediately recognised as in an 'archaic' form of the Vaṭṭeḻuttu script. However, the decipherment and proper dating of the inscriptions had to await the accumulation of adequate inscriptional material for comparative study in more recent years. The following is a brief description of the Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions (ca. 5th and 6th centuries A.D.) included in this volume.⁵ They are considered here not in the chronological order of discovery, but according to the type of monuments on which they are engraved.

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⁵ Nos. *101-121*.

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Figure 1.13. Drip ledge: a prominent feature of the caves (Tiruvadavur). Note inscriptions above and below the drip ledge.

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Figure 1.14. Stone beds: with inscriptions (Mettuppatti). Some inscriptions disfigured by later overwriting.

1.8.1 Cave shelters

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(i) *Sittannavasal-B

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The lower cave at Sittannavasal where these inscriptions¹ occur, is situated at the deeper end of a narrow waterworn ravine and is rather inaccessible. The floor of the cave has been completely eroded, leaving only jagged, sharp-edged boulders with hardly any place even to stand. No stone beds are seen. On the rock wall inside the cave, seven Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions are deeply engraved in bold characters. However, the rock is soft, permanently damp and covered with thick moss, making it very difficult to copy the inscriptions.² They appear to record the names of the donors; the longest inscription refers to the collective gift of the cave shelter by a village. The inscriptions which may be assigned to ca. 5th century A.D. on palaeographic grounds mark the end of the era of Jaina cave shelters in the Tamil country, which commenced in ca. 2nd century B.C.

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¹ ARE B. 338 / 1992-93 = Nos. *101-107*. See also Figs. 8.44-8.46 (tracings) and Pls. 43-45A (estampages). The inscriptions were discovered by the ASI.

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² There are faint traces of more inscriptions on the rock wall, which could not be traced or copied by our team due to practical difficulties. Some of these are recorded in the eye copies in S. Rajavelu 1995b: pp. 9-12.

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(ii) *Tiruchirapalli-B

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During the unsuccessful search for the lost Tamil-Brāhmī inscription³ on the Rockfort hill at Tiruchirapalli, our team discovered a new Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscription⁴ on the rock wall abutting the narrow passage along the northern face of the hill (Fig. 1.15). We could also secure better copies and suggest improved readings of two other published Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions⁵ engraved on the rocky floor of the passage.

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³ *ARE* 139 / 1937-38 = No. *78*. See also Pl. 35B (estampage).

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⁴ No. *108*. The inscription was located by M. Nalini (Rajamanikkanar Centre for Historical Research, Tiruchirapalli) who was a member of our team. M. Nalini 1993: p. 50.

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⁵ *ARE* 136 [A & B] / 1937-38 = Nos. *109 & 110*. These inscriptions were earlier discovered by the ASI.

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(iii) *Perumukkal

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The cave situated on the hill at Perumukkal (near Tindivanam in Viluppuram District) is notable for the rock carvings⁶ which cover the inside walls. The carvings resemble those at Edakal, Kerala.⁷ The Perumukkal cave, also like the one at Edakal, is not a Jaina establishment and there are no stone beds in it. A short label inscription is incised on a rock wall near the anthropomorphic carvings.

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⁶ A. Thasarathan and B. Kannaiyan (1993: pp. 121-128) who discovered the rock carvings in the cave attribute them to the 'prehistoric period' and describe the figures as the "hieroglyphs of the Tamils which might have been a source for the development of such writings in the Egyptian Pyramids". In a critical review, R. Vasanthakalyani (1994: pp. 23-30) debunks the wildly exaggerated claims of the discoverers; but her dating of the rock carvings in ca. 6th or 7th century A.D. is too late and is perhaps influenced by the presence of the Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscription which is, however, much later than the rock carvings in the cave. See the following note.

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⁷ According to Rajan Gurukkal who has made a comparative study *in situ* of the Edakal and Perumukkal rock carvings, the latter are of more recent origin as they appear to have been made with iron implements, most probably in the Megalithic Period / Iron Age (personal discussion).

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Figure 1.15. Tiruchirapalli Rockfort: Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions. Note the hazardous passage (long, narrow cleft halfway up the hill).

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Figure 1.16. Tirunatharkunru: the *nicītikai* is seen inside the fencing.

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The inscription in Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu characters of ca. 5th century A.D. is much later than the rock carvings in the cave. The label which reads *irācar* 'kings'¹ has apparently been incised by a casual visitor to the cave who regarded the anthropomorphic figures as depicting royal personages.

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¹ No. *111*. See also Fig. 8.48B (tracing) and Pl. 46B (estampage).

1.8.2 Jaina nicītikai inscriptions

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(i) *Tirunatharkunru

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An inscription in the Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu script was discovered by the ASI in 1904 on the bare summit of a rocky outcrop (Fig. 1.16) at Tirunatharkunru near Senji (Gingee) in Viluppuram District.² The text and translation with an eye copy of the inscription were published by Gopinatha Rao in 1908.³ The inscription is an epitaph commemorating the death of Cantirananti, a Jaina monk, after 57 days of fasting.⁴

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² *ARE* 239/1904.

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³ *TAS*. I, 1908 (1988 reprint): p. 339.

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⁴ See No. *116*. See also Fig. 8.51 (tracing) and Pl. 50 (estampage).

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The *nicītikai*⁵ inscription at Tirunatharkunru is an important discovery for several reasons. It is the first of the Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions discovered in Tamil Nadu. It is also the first discovery of a Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscription from the northern region (forming part of the Pallava territories). It is a Jaina record of a type altogether different from the earlier cave inscriptions in the Tamil-Brāhmī script, but closely resembling similar Old Kannada inscriptions in Karnataka.

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⁵ The expression *nicītikai* is interpreted in this study as a 'seat of penance'. See Commentary on Nos. *115* & *116*.

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It is interesting that though Gopinatha Rao could read and interpret the text, he considered that the inscription was in the 'Tamil script',⁶ probably because no Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscription was then known outside the Pāṇṭiya and Cēra territories. Later, Subramanian identified the script as Vaṭṭeḻuttu and inferred that this script was once in use all over the Tamil country.⁷ He assigned the inscription tentatively to ca. 300 A.D., later modifying the date as ca. 400 A.D.⁸ On the basis of comparison with several Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions discovered later, the Tirunatharkunru inscription is now placed in the 6th century A.D.⁹

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⁶ *TAS*. I, 1908 (1988 reprint): pp. 299-316.

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⁷ T.N. Subramanian 1938 (1996 reprint): p. 84.

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⁸ T. N. Subramanian 1957: p. 1555.

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⁹ See section 5.19 (Vaṭṭeḻuttu) and Palaeographic Charts 4, 6 and 8 in Chapter 5.

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(ii) *Paraiyanpattu

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An Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscription in five lines is engraved deeply in bold characters on the bare summit of a rocky outcrop at Paraiyanpattu¹⁰ (near Avalurpet, Senji Taluk, Viluppuram District). It is a Jaina epitaph of the same type as the one found earlier at Tirunatharkunru. The inscription may be assigned to ca. 6th century A.D. from palaeographic evidence. It records the death by religious fasting (*ārātaṇi*) of a disciple of Vaccaṇanti Ācāriyar of Pāṇāṭu.

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¹⁰ *ARE* B 355/1984-85 = No. *115*. See also Fig. 8.50 (tracing) and Pl. 49 (estampage). The inscription was discovered by Pulavar S. Kuppuswamy.

1.8.3 Stelae inscriptions: Arasalapuram and Indalur

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The two stelae inscriptions, one each from Arasalapuram¹ (Viluppuram Taluk and District) and Indalur² (Cheyyur Taluk, Kancheepuram District) are remarkably similar, though the former dates from the 5th century and the latter from the 6th century A.D. judging from palaeographic evidence. They are memorial stones erected by the villagers to honour the fighting cocks which presumably died fighting. The figure of a fighting cock with a brief accompanying inscription in Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu is carved on each of the stelae. The inscriptions corroborate literary references to the sport of cockfight popular in the Tamil countryside.³ These unique memorial stones for fighting cocks are earlier than the numerous herostones in Dharmapuri District and Chengam Taluk in the western region erected to honour the heroes who fell in battle or while fighting cattle rustlers or wild animals.⁴

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¹ The inscription was discovered by Mangai Raghavan and published by S. Rajavelu (1996: pp. 88-89). The stela has now been removed to the Public Works Department office compound at Viluppuram. See No. *112*. See also Fig. 8.49A (tracing) and Pl. 47A (estampage).

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² Discovered by Thamaraikkannan (1979: pp. 120-129). See No. *113*. See also Fig. 8.49B (tracing) and Pl. 47B (estampage).

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³ See Commentary on No. *113*. See also section 4.23.

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⁴ *Chengam Naṭukarkaḷ*. Also see R. Nagaswamy (ed.) 1974.

1.8.4 A unique inscribed object: the Erettimalai Stone

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Erettimalai is a small village near Anthiyur in Bhavani Taluk, Erode District, situated in a forest area near the border with Karnataka. A shoe-shaped smooth granite object (approximately 25 x 16 x 15 cm.) was found in a field in the village.⁵ An Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscription in characters of ca. 5th century A.D. is inscribed in two lines on the object (Fig. 1.17). The size and shape of the object indicate that it was used as a stone stopper to plug the vent of a sluice. A similar stone stopper, more recent and without inscription, is in the collections of the Department of Epigraphy, Tamil University, Thanjavur. The Erettimalai Stone is now preserved in the office of the TNSA at Chennai where I had the opportunity to examine it closely and copy the inscription on it. The inscription describes the object as a stone (stopper) fitted inside the vent of a sluice.⁶

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⁵ Discovered by A. Palaniyappan, a school teacher, and published in Natana Kasinathan 1985: pp. 16-19 (with Pl.) and 1988: pp. 116-118.

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⁶ No. *114*. See also Fig. 8.49C (tracing) and Pl. 48 (estampage).

1.8.5 A rock-cut shrine: Pillaiyarpatti

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The discovery of a cave inscription at Pillaiyarpatti (Tiruppattur Taluk, Sivaganga District) by the ASI in 1935-36⁷ marks a turning point in Vaṭṭeḻuttu palaeography; unlike the earlier inscriptions in natural caves, it is engraved in a rock-cut shrine, the earliest in the Pāṇṭiya territory marking the revival of the Saiva faith. The *ARE* describes the inscription as in 'archaic' Vaṭṭeḻuttu; but the attempt made in the Report to read the text is unsuccessful.¹ The dating of the inscription to the 7th century A.D. seems to be influenced by the belief that no rock-cut shrine in Tamil Nadu could antedate Mahendra Pallava who is credited with introducing rock-cut architecture in this part of the country. However, a palaeographic comparison with Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions discovered subsequently leads to the conclusion that the date of the Pillaiyarpatti inscription is unlikely to be later than the middle of the 6th century A.D.²

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⁷ *ARE 156/1935-36*. See also Fig. 8.52 (tracing) and Pl. 51 (estampage).

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¹ *ARE* 156/1935-36.

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² See discussion in the Commentary on No. *117*.

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I published a revised reading of the inscription in 1965;³ but this has been superseded by the version published by Nagaswamy in 1972.⁴ The inscription records the name of the master mason (*peruntaccaṉ*) who excavated or made improvements to the rock-cut shrine. Thus the cave must be as old as, if not older than, the inscription found engraved on a smooth pilaster.

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³ I. Mahadevan 1965d. (Also in) *Corpus of the Tamil-Brāhmī Inscriptions 1966* (1968): No. 75.

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⁴ R. Nagaswamy 1972d: pp. 79-80.

1.8.6 Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions from outside Tamil Nadu

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The Corpus includes four Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions discovered outside the present borders of Tamil Nadu, three from Kerala and one from Karnataka.

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(i) *Ezhuttukallu

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Ezhuttukallu (literally, 'inscribed stone') is a large boulder of gneiss rock jutting out from the bed of the Cherupuzha river deep inside the Nilambur forest in Malappuram District, Kerala. A two-line inscription engraved deeply in bold characters on this boulder is partly submerged under water and is fully visible only in extreme dry weather.⁵ The inscription was copied in 1958-59 by the Government Epigraphist. The Report noted that the inscription was partly submerged, described it as in "archaic Southern characters" and made an unsuccessful attempt to decipher it.⁶ Narayanan published his reading and interpretation of the inscription in 1972.⁷

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⁵ Earliest notices in W. Logan 1887: vol. II, p. 356; and C.A. Innes 1908 (1951 reprint): p. 446. These sources also describe the gold-washing operations in the Nilambur region.

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⁶ *ARE* B. 281/1958-59. I have seen the unpublished estampage of the inscription in the Directorate of Epigraphy, ASI, Mysore. It has the impression of only the upper line.

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⁷ M.G.S. Narayanan 1972: pp. 317-321 (not illustrated).

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I visited the site in October 1995 with an expert team⁸ to study the inscription *in situ*. Unfortunately, the water level in the stream was high; the lower line with just two characters was submerged (Fig. 1.18), but could be made out as the water was crystal-clear. The inscription is in Tamil written in the Early Vaṭṭeluttu characters of about the 5th century a.d. It records the existence of a dam (*aṇa*) across the stream at the place called Mācakōṭu.¹

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⁸ The team included, besides myself, M.G.S. Narayanan, M.R. Raghava Varier, S. Swaminathan (ASI), and Donald Davis (a student from the University of Wisconsin, U.S.A.).

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¹ See No. *120* illustrated by a direct photograph of the complete inscription taken in extreme dry weather in 1971 by M.G.S. Narayanan (Pl. 53).

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Figure 1.17. Erettimalai: inscribed stone-stopper.

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Figure 1.18. Ezhuttukallu: boulder (middle right) in the river bed with partly submerged inscription.

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I have suggested that the 'dam' was most probably a seasonal structure built of timber to arrest the flow of water to facilitate the gold-washing operations known to have been conducted in the past in the Nilambur region as recorded by Logan and Innes. The dam must have been abandoned in course of time when gold-washing was discontinued due to decreased availability.² The inscription is also interesting from the linguistic point of view. It provides the earliest epigraphic attestation of the pre-Malayalam form *aṇa* (LT *aṇai*) 'dam' as early as in the 5th century a.d.³

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² I. Mahadevan 1999: pp. 1-19.

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³ Ibid.

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(ii) *Edakal-B*

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As mentioned earlier, among the cave inscriptions at Edakal, Kerala, discovered by Fawcett in 1894 and copied by Hultzsch in 1897, there are two Tamil inscriptions in the Early Vaṭṭeluttu script of ca. 5th century a.d.⁴ Hultzsch made two attempts to read one of the inscriptions, but neither was wholly successful.⁵ He declared that the other inscription was "unintelligible" to him.⁶ Both inscriptions, engraved in bold characters and still in an excellent state of preservation, were copied and deciphered by our team which visited the site twice during 1995-96.⁷

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⁴ See section 1.2.2.

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⁵ In Fawcett 1901: Estampage No. 2 = *ARE 121/1897*.

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⁶ Ibid. Estampage No. 3 = *ARE 122/1897*.

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⁷ Nos. *118* & *119*. See also Fig. 8.53 (tracings) and Pl. 52 (estampages).

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(iii) *Tamatakallu*

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The brief inscription on the rim of a herostone at Tamatakallu near Chitradurga town in Karnataka is the northernmost Tamil inscription in Early Vaṭṭeluttu discovered so far.⁸ The herostone depicts three warriors in bas relief with an accompanying Sanskrit inscription in the Early Telugu-Kannada script. The Sanskrit inscription was published earlier by Rice⁹ who apparently did not notice the Vaṭṭeḷuttu inscription engraved inconspicuously on the rim of the herostone. Rajasekharappa who discovered the rim inscription has suggested plausibly that it is the signature of the Tamil mason and scribe who carved the herostone and engraved the Sanskrit inscription on it.¹⁰ This is a unique occurrence as none of the herostones found in the Tamil country have the signature of the mason or scribe on them. The Sanskrit inscription and the Tamil Vaṭṭeḷuttu inscription on the same herostone may be assigned to the beginning of the 6th century a.d. on palaeographic grounds.

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⁸ No. *121*. I. Mahadevan and S. Swaminathan 1996: pp. 9-12 (with Pl.). See also Fig. 8.54 (tracing) and Pl. 54 (estampage).

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⁹ *Epi.Car.* XI (ed. B.L. Rice), Chitaldurg, No. 42.

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¹⁰ B. Rajasekharappa 1995. Unpublished paper in Kannada; also in personal discussions when he conducted S. Swaminathan (ASI) and myself to the site in February 1996.

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[Figure: SITES OF EARLY TAMIL INSCRIPTIONS IN TAMIL NADU (Second Century B.C. - Sixth Century A.D.)]

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Map I. Sites with Early Tamil inscriptions. (Excluding Tamatakallu, Chitradurga District, Karnataka.)

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Map I A. Detail showing concentration of Early Tamil-Brāhmī inscriptions in the Madurai region.

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| Region | Tamil-Brāhmī Inscriptions | | Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu Inscriptions | |
| | Sites | Inscriptions | Sites | Inscriptions |
| Northern | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Southern | 20 | 63 | 2 | 8 |
| Western | 5 | 21 | 3 | 4 |
| Eastern | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Total | 30 | 89 | †11 | †20 |

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† Excluding the Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscription at Tamatakallu in Karnataka.

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Table 1.1. Geographical distribution of Early Tamil inscriptions in the Corpus.

Linked texts (2)