Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s23.t4.2

c23.s23.t4.2

The earliest epigraphic reference to Matirai, the capital city of the Pāṇṭiya kingdom, is found in the cave inscriptions. The city is mentioned four times, twice at Mettuppatti (Nos. *24 & 27*, ca. 2nd century B.C.) and twice at Alagarmalai (Nos. *36 & 38*, ca. 1st century B.C.). While the literary form is *maturai*, the preferred inscriptional form is *matirai* even in later inscriptions.