[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Archaeology, epigraphy and coins](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy) › [Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D.](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003) › c27.s30 # Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c27.s30: 7.27 Case Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c27.s30 - **Language:** English ## Contents - [c27.s30.t1 7.27.1 First case (nominative)](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t1) — 5 parts - [c27.s30.t2 7.27.2 Second case (accusative)](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t2) — 2 parts - [c27.s30.t3 7.27.3 Fourth case (dative)](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t3) — 9 parts - [c27.s30.t4 7.27.4 Sixth case (genitive)](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4) — 20 parts - [c27.s30.t5 7.27.5 Zero-genitive](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t5) — 5 parts - [c27.s30.t6 7.27.6 Seventh case (locative)](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t6) — 5 parts ### 7.27 Case ### [c27.s30.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.1) Case expresses the semantic relation of a noun or a pronoun to the other words in the sentence. There are eight cases (\*vēṟṟumai\*) in Tamil numbered first to eighth. Case relations are indicated by the addition of suffixes (\*urupu\*) or postpositions. The first, second, fourth, sixth and seventh cases occur in the Corpus. ### 7.27.1 First case (nominative) ### [c27.s30.t1.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t1.1) The stem without any case-marker is deemed to be in the nominative case. The vast majority of nouns in the Corpus are in the nominative case; e.g., ### [c27.s30.t1.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t1.2) \*makaṉ\* 'son' 20.2 ### [c27.s30.t1.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t1.3) \*makaḷ\* 'daughter' 66.3 ### [c27.s30.t1.4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t1.4) \*kal\* 'stone' 61.15 ### [c27.s30.t1.5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t1.5) \*aṟam\* 'charity' 76.4 ### 7.27.2 Second case (accusative) ### [c27.s30.t2.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t2.1) There is only one occurrence of the accusative, which has \*-a\* as the case-suffix: ### [c27.s30.t2.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t2.2) \*itta\* 'this' (in accusative case) 13.3 Cf. LT \*itai\* / \*ittai\* \< \*itu\* / \*iḫtu\* 'this one' \*-ai\* is the accusative suffix in LT, though \*-a\* is also mentioned as such in \*Tol.\* (\*Col.\* 109-110). See Commentary for discussion. ### 7.27.3 Fourth case (dative) ### [c27.s30.t3.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t3.1) The dative case suffix is \*-ku\* with the meanings 'to, for'. The following are the occurrences in the Corpus: ### [c27.s30.t3.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t3.2) \*kuv-aṉ-kē\* 'to Kuvaṉ' 1.2.c (-\*kē\* \< \*ku\* + \*ē\*, emphatic particle). ### [c27.s30.t3.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t3.3) \*ko(ṭ)ṭal-ku\* 'for carving' 12.2 ### [c27.s30.t3.4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t3.4) \*mēṟcēri-ku\* 'for Mēṟcēri' 112.2 ### [c27.s30.t3.5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t3.5) \*teṉ-ku\* 'southern' (lit., 'to the south') 49.5.a ### [c27.s30.t3.6](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t3.6) Cf. \*teṟku\* 'south' where the dative suffix \*-ku\* denoting direction gets fused with the stem . ### [c27.s30.t3.7](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t3.7) \*mattirai-kē\* 'of Matirai' 38.1 ### [c27.s30.t3.8](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t3.8) The dative suffix \*-ku\* occurs in the possessive-locative sense; the emphatic particle \*-ē\* indicates that all the persons belong to the same place. See Commentary (38.1). ### [c27.s30.t3.9](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t3.9) Tamil legends on the Sātavāhana portrait coins employ the dative suffix \*-ku\* for the genitive. See section 5.15.3 for discussion. ### 7.27.4 Sixth case (genitive) ### [c27.s30.t4.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.1) Three suffixes of the genitive case occur in the Corpus: \*-a\*, \*-ā\* and \*-iṉ\*. ### [c27.s30.t4.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.2) \*\*-a:\*\* This is the most frequent genitive suffix in the Corpus occurring seven times. It is also attested in LT, but with much less relative frequency. See Commentary (19.3). ### [c27.s30.t4.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.3) \*ciḻivaṉ-a\* 'of Ciḻivaṉ' 19.3 ### [c27.s30.t4.4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.4) \*cēnta-a\* 'of Cēntaṉ' 28.1.b ### [c27.s30.t4.5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.5) \*ti(ṭ)ṭi-il-a\* 'of Tiṭṭi-il' 33.1 ### [c27.s30.t4.6](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.6) \*pāṉkā(ṭ)ṭa\* (\*pāṉkāṭu\* + \*a\*) 'of Pāṉkāṭu' 8.1 ### [c27.s30.t4.7](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.7) \*vira\* (\*vīra\*)-\*a\* 'of Vīraṉ' 79.1.c ### [c27.s30.t4.8](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.8) \*veṇ\*(\*veṇ\*) \*-a\* 'of Veṇ' 20.3 ### [c27.s30.t4.9](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.9) \*vēḷ-a\* 'of Vēḷ' 32.1.c ### [c27.s30.t4.10](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.10) Cf. also \*nanta-a-siri-\* (1.2.a-b) and \*mācakōṭu\* (\*mācu\* + \*a-\*) (120.1) where \*-a\* appears to be an attributive suffix. ### [c27.s30.t4.11](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.11) \*\*-ā:\*\* This genitive suffix occurs thrice in the Corpus ### [c27.s30.t4.12](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.12) \*kuvirā\* (\*kuviraṉ\* + \*ā\*) 'of Kuviraṉ' 23.1 ### [c27.s30.t4.13](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.13) The PNG suffix \*-aṉ\* is elided and the genitive suffix \*-ā\* is joined to the stem. ### [c27.s30.t4.14](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.14) \*na(l)li-y-ūr-ā\* 'of Nalliyūr' 65.1 ### [c27.s30.t4.15](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.15) \*nalli-y-ūr-ā\* 'of Nalliyūr' 66.1 ### [c27.s30.t4.16](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.16) The genitive suffix \*-ā\* is not attested in LT. However, it occurs in Old Kannada where it is considered to be older than \*-a\*. See Commentary (66.1). ### [c27.s30.t4.17](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.17) Cf. also \*mutā\* (61.1) and \*mūtā\* (62.1) (\*mutu\* / \*mūtu\* + \*ā\*) 'senior, elder' where \*-ā\* appears to be an adjectival suffix. ### [c27.s30.t4.18](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.18) \*-iṉ\*: This occurs as the genitive suffix thrice. ### [c27.s30.t4.19](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.19) | \*aritiṉ\* (\*ariti\* + \*iṉ\*) | 'of Ariti' | 34.2 | | \*kuṇāviṉ\* (\*kuṇā\* + \*v\* + \*iṉ\*) | 'of Kuṇā' | 89.1 | | \[\*kō\*\\*\]\*viṉ\* (\*kō\* + \*v\* + \*iṉ\*) | 'of the chief' | 88.4 | ### [c27.s30.t4.20](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t4.20) Cf. also \*patiṉ-ūr\* (\*pat-iṉ-\*) (30.1) where \*-iṉ\* is an attributive suffix. ### 7.27.5 Zero-genitive ### [c27.s30.t5.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t5.1) The so-called zero-genitive construction also occurs in the Corpus in cases where the mere juxtaposition of nouns indicates genitive or possessive case relation. ### [c27.s30.t5.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t5.2) | (e.g.) \*neṭuñcaliyaṉ paṇa-aṉ\* | 'servant of Neṭuñcaliyaṉ' | 1.5-6 | | \*neṭiñcaliyaṉ sālakaṉ\* | 'sister-in law's husband of Neṭiñcaliyaṉ' | 2.5-6 | | \*iḷañcaṭikaṉ tantai-y\* | 'father of Iḷañcaṭikaṉ' | 2.7-8 | ### [c27.s30.t5.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t5.3) Place names occur before personal names mostly without an overt genitive-possessive suffix. ### [c27.s30.t5.4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t5.4) | (e.g.) \*veḷ-aṟai nikama(t)tōr\* | 'the members of the merchant guild of Veḷḷaṟai' | 6.1-2 | | \*pākaṉ-ūr pēr-ataṉ\* | 'Pērataṉ of Pākaṉūr' | 13.1-2 | ### [c27.s30.t5.5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t5.5) Exceptional cases of place names followed by the genitive suffix \*-ā\* have been noted above. ### 7.27.6 Seventh case (locative) ### [c27.s30.t6.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t6.1) There are no occurrences of locative case suffixes in the Corpus. However, nouns are added as postpositions with locative signification in the following cases: ### [c27.s30.t6.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t6.2) \*-il\*: \*ti(t)ti-il-a\* 'of Tiṭṭi-il' 33.1.b ### [c27.s30.t6.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t6.3) Even though \*-il\* is a locative case suffix with the meaning 'in', it is clearly a noun here as indicated by the genitive suffix \*-a\* following it. It is probable that \*tiṭṭi-il\* 'in Tiṭṭi (a place name)' coalesced into a single word \*tiṭṭi-il\* which then became capable of taking a case-suffix. Cf. \*vēmpi(ṟ)r-ūr\* (\*vēmpu\* + \*il\* + \*tt\* + \*ūr\*) 'a place name' (35.1). The place name Vēmpil is attested in later Tamil inscriptions. See Commentary (33.1 & 35.1). ### [c27.s30.t6.4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t6.4) \*-uḷ\*: \*uṟaiyuḷ\* 'in the abode (of ascetics)' 60.2.b ### [c27.s30.t6.5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30.t6.5) Cf. \*uṟai\* (n.) 'abode'; \*uḷ\* (n.) 'in, inside'. The compound coalesces into a single word \*uṟaiyuḷ\* 'abode of ascetics' in LT. --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s30) · Pramāṇa