Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s12.t3.1

c23.s12.t3.1

The era of natural cave shelters came to an end during this period. The Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions at Sittannavasal-B and Tiruchirapalli-B (Nos. *101-107* & *108-110*, ca. 5th century A.D.) are the last of the Jaina cave shelters in the earlier tradition. A new type of Jaina monuments appears in the Tamil country in the 6th century A.D. in the form of the *nicītikai* inscriptions at Paraiyanpattu and Tirunatharkunru (Nos. *115* & *116*). These are epitaphs engraved on the bare summit of boulders commemorating the places where Jaina ascetics fasted unto death. Even though these Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions are earlier in date, they clearly belong to the *sallekhana* ('religious fasting unto death') tradition of Karnataka which has more numerous examples than the Tamil country. The *nicītikại* inscriptions represent a fresh wave of influence from Karnataka, though contacts between the Tamil and Kannada Jaina communities existed even earlier in this period as indicated by the inscription at Nekanurpatti (No. *83*, ca. 4th century A.D.).