Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s25: 4.22 Culture
Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s25
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Contents
- c23.s25.t1 4.22.1 Art — 5 parts
- c23.s25.t2 4.22.2 Music and dance — 3 parts
4.22 Culture
4.22.1 Art
c23.s25.t1.1
A gold ring of truly remarkable artistic merit was discovered in 1990 by chance from the dry bed of the Amaravathi river at Karur.¹ It has been assigned on stylistic grounds to ca. 2nd century A.D. The flat face of the ring has an oval incuse in which a pair of *mithuna* figures (amorous couple) of extraordinary grace and beauty are engraved in *intaglio* (Fig. 4.4). As Nagaswamy describes:²
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¹ No. 14, Table 1.8. I saw this exquisite gold ring at the South Indian Numismatic Conference at Thanjavur in January 1991, where it was exhibited by a dealer in antiquities. When I went to Karur in March that year in search of the ring, it had disappeared into the 'underground' art market. It is now reportedly in a private collection. See my earlier account of the episode in the Foreword in R. Nagaswamy 1995.
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² R. Nagaswamy 1991a & b; 1995: pp. 66-69, Pl. facing p. 66.
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The absolutely perfect proportions of the figure, the concept of symmetry as delineated in the legs, face and body, the flowing limbs, the composition and use of space, the remarkably agreeable contours, mark this as one of the most outstanding pieces of Indian art.
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I may add that one could see the influence of Greco-Roman lapidary in the portrayal which is still essentially South Indian in its ethos and idiom. As far as I know, this is the only known example of the 'royal art' (as distinguished from 'folk art') to have survived from the Caṅkam Age.
4.22.2 Music and dance
c23.s25.t2.1
An inscription at Arachalur (No. *85*, ca. 4th century A.D.) refers to the composing of musical notations by Tēvaṉ Cāttaṉ. The adjoining inscriptions (Nos. *86* & *87*) provide two charts consisting of the syllables *ta*, *tā*, *tē* and *tai* (No. *86*) and *kai*, *ta* and *tai* (No. *87*) arranged symmetrically in a square format, each with five rows and columns. The charts appear to contain syllables uttered in music accompanying dance.
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The Arachalur musical inscriptions are the earliest epigraphic records of the achievements of ancient Tamils in the fine arts of music and dance. These inscriptions are much earlier than their famous counterparts at Kudumiyamalai and nearby sites.³ The Arachalur inscriptions are also earlier than *Cilappatikāram* (ca. 6th century A.D.) which contains detailed descriptions (amplified in the commentary by Aṭiyārkkunallār) of music and dance in ancient Tamil country.
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³ *Pallava Inscrs.* Nos. 22, 23, 25, 30 and 31, ca. 7th century A.D. The ascription of these musical inscriptions to Mahendra Pallava has been questioned in recent years.
Linked texts (1)
- Cilappatikāram — Iḷaṅkō Aṭikaḷ, Tamil