Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s4.t1.5

c23.s4.t1.5

Though Ātaṉ is a recurring name in the Cēra dynasty, this name is borne by only one ruler in the Irumporai line. Further, the prefixed attributes *peru-* and *iḷa-* in the names of the next two generations of princes in the inscriptions are also found likewise in *Patiṟṟuppattu*. The evidence can be interpreted as indicating that Peruṅkaṭuṅkōṉ assumed the royal title Peruñcēral Irumporai when he ascended the throne, and that when Iḷaṅkaṭuṅkō ascended the throne in his turn, he assumed the royal title Iḷañcēral Irumporai. According to tradition, the Caṅkam poets, Pālai Pāṭiya Peruṅkaṭuṅkō and Marutam Pāṭiya Iḷaṅkaṭuṅkō, are identified with these two princes.² On the whole, the evidence is cogent that the Irumporai princes mentioned in the Pugalur inscriptions are the same as those celebrated respectively in the 7th to 9th decades of *Patiṟṟuppattu*.