Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c25.s18.2

c25.s18.2

**Symbol A:** This is the most frequent symbol occurring ten times in nine inscriptions from three sites.⁵ The symbol is mostly placed at the end of the inscriptions except once when it occurs also in the middle.⁶ The symbol looks somewhat like a 'crab' with a pair of 'claws'; in one of the variants, the 'feet' are not shown;¹ but the other would appear to have six 'feet', three on either side, though the incompletely preserved symbols in the inscriptions have only three to five 'feet'.² Symbol A occurs paired with symbol B in two inscriptions (Nos. *12* & *13*) at Kongarpuliyankulam. It is remarkable that these two symbols also occur together in the same sequence (although separated by another symbol in the middle) on a potsherd from Kodumanal (Fig. 5.12).³ Symbol A also occurs paired with yet another symbol on a potsherd from Uraiyur.⁴