Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s21.t1.26

c23.s21.t1.26

In an inscription at Mettuppatti (No. **32**, ca. 2nd century B.C.), the donor is described as a *vēḷ*, 'a member of a class of ancient chiefs in the Tamil country' (pl. *vēḷir*). The clan name *vēḷ* also occurs in pottery inscriptions from Arikamedu¹ and Kodumanal.² It is interesting that *vēḷ* occurs as a title in the Early Sinhala-Brāhmī inscriptions, where it is a loanword from Tamil.³