Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s7.t12: 4.6.12 The village assembly
Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s7.t12
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4.6.12 The village assembly
c23.s7.t12.1
As short inscription at Mudalaikulam (No. **35**, ca. 2nd century B.C.) reads:
c23.s7.t12.2
vēmpir-ūr pēr-ay-am cētavar
'Vēmpiṟṟūr constructed (*cētavar*) the large tank (*pēr-ayam*)'.
c23.s7.t12.3
What is remarkable about the inscription is that the predicate *cētavar* (LT ceytavar) 'they who made' is in the plural indicating that the subject of the sentence (*ūr*) refers not to the village as such, but to assembly of the village, also known as *ūr* in later Tamil inscriptions. The text has thus to be understood as follows:
c23.s7.t12.4
'the assembly (*ūr*) of Vēmpil (Vēmpiṟṟūr) constructed the large tank'.
c23.s7.t12.5
If this interpretation is accepted, we have in this inscription the earliest lithic record of a village assembly in the Tamil country. *vēmpiṟṟūr* (*vēmpil-tt-ūr*) may be identified with Vēmbaṟṟūr of later Tamil inscriptions and modern Vempattur in Ramanathapuram District (see Table 4.³).