Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s21.t1.2

c23.s21.t1.2

An inscription from Sittannavasal (No. *49*, ca. 1st century B.C.) refers to the gift of a stone bed made collectively by the *iḷayar* (*iḷaiyar*), an ancient martial clan of the Tamil country. In another inscription from Muttuppatti (No. *56*, ca. 1st century B.C.), a member of the clan described as an *eḷamakaṉ* (*iḷamakaṉ*; pl. *iḷamakkaḷ*) figures as a donor jointly with another person who was probably his master (to whom he rendered military service). This arrangement is frequently referred to in later herostone inscriptions where the *iḷamakaṉ* is described as the *cēvakaṉ* 'warrior- attendant'.³