Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c26.s12: 6.12 Medial vowel notations in pottery inscriptions
Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c26.s12
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- c26.s12.t1 6.12.1 At sites in Tamil Nadu — 12 parts
- c26.s12.t2 6.12.2 From sites outside Tamil Nadu — 6 parts
6.12 Medial vowel notations in pottery inscriptions
c26.s12.1
There is a striking contrast between stone and pottery inscriptions in Tamil-Brāhmī in the matter of medial vowel notations. While the TB-I notation is more ancient and more frequent in the cave inscriptions, the TB-II notation appears to be the dominant style in pottery inscriptions from the earliest period. The TB-I notation also occurs in pottery inscriptions from the earlier levels, but relatively in much fewer numbers. The TB-III (*puḷḷi*) notation occurs rarely in pottery inscriptions. These conclusions are based on a preliminary survey of inscribed pottery.⁴
c26.s12.2
⁴ See Map II, Tables 1.4 & 1.5 and Figs. 1.19 to 1.21.
6.12.1 At sites in Tamil Nadu
c26.s12.t1.1
(i) *Arikamedu:* Only 5 out 66 pottery inscriptions from this site follow the TB-I notation,¹ and the remaining except one are in the TB-II notation. One inscription with distinctly late palaeographic features of about the 3rd century A.D. depicts the *puḷḷi*.²
c26.s12.t1.2
¹ I. Mahadevan 1996a: Nos. 5.1, 5.24, 5.25, 5.26 and 5.31.
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² Ibid. No. 5.28. Note especially the late form of *ṟ* with the *puḷḷi* in this inscription.
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(ii) *Uraiyur:* Only 4 out of 20 pottery inscriptions from this site are in the TB-I notation³ and all the remaining are in the TB-II notation. No pottery inscription with the *puḷḷi* has been reported from this site.
c26.s12.t1.5
³ K.V. Raman (ed.) 1988: Fig. 24: Nos. 3 & 10 (Pl. 16 & 19.11) and probably Fig. 24: Nos. 4 & 9 (Pl. 19.5 & 19.9).
c26.s12.t1.6
(iii) *Kodumanal:* Out of 170 pottery inscriptions from this site, only 7 are in the TB-I notation⁴ and 6 more with mixed TB-I & II notations.⁵ All the remaining legible Tamil inscriptions are in the TB-II notation except in one case where the occurrence of a *puḷḷi* is doubtfully reported.⁶ Both TB-I and II notations occur in Periods I and II (ca. 200 B.C.-150 A.D.) at this site.⁷
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⁴ Y. Subbarayalu 1996: Nos. 3, 23, 24, 78, 127, 166 & 169.
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⁵ Ibid. Nos. 6, 17, 38, 40, 88 & 113.
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⁶ Ibid. No. 39.
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⁷ Personal communication from Y. Subbarayalu.
c26.s12.t1.11
(iv) *Other sites in Tamil Nadu:* A pottery inscription recently found from excavation at Teriruveli (Ramanathapuram District) has the legend *koṟṟaṉ* in which both basic consonants are marked by the *puḷḷi*.⁸ The inscription may be assigned to ca. 2nd century A.D. on palaeographic evidence.
c26.s12.t1.12
⁸ Unpublished. I have seen the pottery inscription in the collections of TNSA at Chennai.
6.12.2 From sites outside Tamil Nadu
c26.s12.t2.1
(i) *Salihundam* (Andhra Pradesh): The Tamil inscription on pottery found at this site is partly in the TB-I notation.⁹
c26.s12.t2.2
⁹ See sections 1.13.8 and 4.19.6 (iv).
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(ii) *Ports on the Red Sea Coast of Egypt: Quseir al-Qadim and Berenike*
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Two pottery inscriptions from Quesir al-Qadim¹⁰ and one more from Berenike¹¹ on the Red Sea coast of Egypt follow the TB-II notation.
c26.s12.t2.5
¹⁰ See section 1.13.9 (ii).
c26.s12.t2.6
¹¹ Ibid.