Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s3.t1.1

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.