Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c20.s8.t1.2

c20.s8.t1.2

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.