Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s6.t5.1

c23.s6.t5.1

A pottery inscription, deeply incised in bold, stylised characters of ca. 1st century A.D., was found in the recent excavations at Alagankulam.⁴ The inscription reads *pa tu mā ṟ kō tai* (Patumaṉ Kōtai). The name is clearly that of a Cēra prince or chieftain as judged from *kōtai*, the second part of the name. The first part of the name *patumaṉ* reminds one of Vēḷ Āvi-k-kōmāṉ Patumaṉ, the high-ranking chieftain whose two daughters were married to the two Cēra rulers, Cēral Ātaṉ (of the main line) and Celva-k-kaṭuṅkō (of the Irumpoṟai line) respectively.⁵ He lived in a large palace in Karuvūr.¹ However, as the pottery inscription is fragmentary consisting only of the personal name and has been found in the Pāṇṭiya territory, the name in it cannot be positively identified as that of the famous chieftain of the Cēra country mentioned in the *Patiṟṟuppattu*.