Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s21.t1.16

c23.s21.t1.16

An exceptionally interesting gold ring from Karur depicts the motif of a young prince battling a rearing lion.⁵ The prince can be identified as Bharata, the son of Dushyanta and Śakuntalā, who was famous for his prowess in subduing lions and other wild animals from a very young age. The ring has also an inscription in Tamil-Brāhmī characters of ca. 1st century B.C. consisting of the name *ti yā ṉa* (*tiyaṉ*), a personal name derived from the asterism *tishya*. Apparently a pictorial pun is depicted on the ring indicating that Tiyaṉ, the owner of the ring, belonged to the Bharata (Ta. *paratar*) clan. The glossary of inscriptional terms appended to the *South Indian Temple Inscriptions* has the entry 'bhāratavar: probably, *paratavar*, fishermen'.