Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s3.t1.9

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.