Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c21.s8.6

c21.s8.6

The Arachalur cave inscription discovered in 1961 has a clear dot placed inside the character for the vowel *e*.⁵ The significance of the dot as the *puḷḷi* indicating the short vowel *e* was first pointed out by Krishnan in 1973.⁶ The next find of a *puḷḷi* came from a wholly unexpected source, the Tamil-Brāhmī legend on the reverse of the silver portrait coin of Sātakarṇi (2nd century A.D.). The occurrence of the *puḷḷi* in the coin-legend was first pointed out by Sircar.⁷ This was soon followed by the discovery of the *puḷḷi* in the legend of the Andippatti Hoard of lead coins of Cēntaṉ (ca. 3rd century A.D.) by Mohandas.⁸ The next advance came when Jebarajan and Gift Siromoney identified the *puḷḷi* in the Anaimalai cave inscription, overlooked by the earlier investigators.⁹ It is now known that the earliest occurrence of the *puḷḷi* which can be dated is in the coin-legend on the silver portrait coin of Puḷumāvi issued towards the close of the 1st century A.D.¹⁰