Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s3.t1: 4.2.1 Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ

Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s3.t1

Language
English

4.2.1 Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ

c23.s3.t1.1

The existence of the Pāṇṭiya kingdom in the middle of the 3rd century B.C. is attested by the edicts of Asoka.² The next earliest epigraphic reference to a king of the Pāṇṭiya dynasty, not too long after Asoka, is contained in two of the earliest Tamil-Brāhmī cave inscriptions (Nos. *1* & *2*) at Mangulam near Madurai, assigned to early 2nd century B.C. on palaeographic and linguistic evidence.

c23.s3.t1.2

² *CII*. I: second rock edict at Girnar and other sites (p. 185).

c23.s3.t1.3

The Mangulam inscriptions record the grant of a monastery to Nanta-siri (Nanda-śrī), a senior Jaina monk. The donor in the first inscription (No. *1*) is Kaṭalaṉ Vaḻutti-y (Vaḻuti) described as the 'servant' of Neṭuñcaḻiyaṉ (Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ). The donor in the second inscription (No. *2*) is Caṭikaṉ who is described, in a curiously roundabout manner, as 'the father of Iḷañcaṭikaṉ, the husband of the sister-in-law of Neṭiñcaḻiyaṉ (Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ)'.

c23.s3.t1.4

The dynastic name 'Pāṇṭiya' is not mentioned in the inscriptions. But there can be no reasonable doubt on this score, considering that the name Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ occurs only in the Pāṇṭiya dynasty and that one of the donors, probably a vassal or kinsman, is named Vaḻuti, another characteristic dynastic name of the Pāṇṭiyas. The unusual manner of invoking a rather distant relationship to Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ by the donor of the second inscription clearly implies that the former was a very important personage, most probably the reigning Pāṇṭiya king, judging from his name. The close proximity of Mangulam, the site of the inscriptions, to Madurai, the capital city of the Pāṇṭiya kingdom, makes it all but certain that these are indeed records of the Pāṇṭiya king of the time.

c23.s3.t1.5

Two Pāṇṭiya kings named Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ are known to us from Caṅkam literature.

c23.s3.t1.6

I. Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ 'who overcame the Aryan armies'.¹
II. Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ 'the victor at Talaiyālaṅkāṉam'.²

c23.s3.t1.7

¹ *Puṟa.* 183 colophon; *Cilap.* 23: *Kaṭṭurai* 17-18.

c23.s3.t1.8

² *Puṟa.* 18 & 19 colophon. Hero of *Maturai-k-kāñci* (see colophon).

c23.s3.t1.9

It has been suggested that Neṭuñ-/Neṭiñ-caḻiyaṉ of the Mangulam inscriptions may be identified with either of them.³ However, we know from the well-established 'Gajabāhu synchronism' that Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ I was a contemporary of Cēraṉ Ceṅkuṭṭuvaṉ and Gajabāhu I of Sri Lanka and hence must be assigned to the 2nd century A.D.⁴ Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ II was a contemporary of Māntarañ-cēral Irumporai and lived still later.⁵ The early palaeography and archaic orthographic and linguistic features of the Mangulam inscriptions indicate a much earlier date (ca. 2nd century B.C.). The proposed identification is thus unlikely. It seems more likely that Neṭuñ-/Neṭiñ-caḻiyaṉ of the Mangulam grants lived much earlier than his namesakes and descendants celebrated in Caṅkam literature.

c23.s3.t1.10

³ K.V. Raman 1977: p. 37.

c23.s3.t1.11

⁴ The 'Gajabahu synchronism' is based on the statement in *Cilappatikāram* (30: 160-166) that Gajabahu, king of Sri Lanka, attended the worship of Kaṇṇaki instituted by Cēraṉ Ceṅkuṭṭuvaṉ. The date of Gajabahu I is known from Sri Lankan sources to be in the 2nd century A.D. (C.W. Nicholas and S. Paranavitana 1961: pp. 79-80).

c23.s3.t1.12

⁵ Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ, the victor of Talaiyālaṅkāṉam, also defeated Māntarañ Cēral Irumporai in battle (*Puṟa.* 17). As the latter is not among those celebrated in the decades of *Patiṟṟuppattu*, he belonged presumably to a later generation.

Linked texts (5)