Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c28.s2.t18.38

c28.s2.t18.38

| **ILL.** | Tracing: Fig. 8.42. Estampage: Pl. 42. |
| **Locus** | On the ceiling of the cave locally known as Rājākkaḷ Pāṟai on the rocky outcrop near Ayyaṉārkuḷam; neatly engraved and well-preserved except for the loss of one letter in the middle line due to flaking. See section 1.6.2. |
| **No. of Lines** | 3 |
| **Length** | L. 1: 32 cm.; L. 2: 35 cm.; L. 3: 29 cm. |
| **Date** | ca. 2nd cent. AD. |
| **Publ.** | *The New Indian Express*, Chennai, December 21, 2000 (with Pl.). C. Chandravanan and Senthil Selvakumaran 2002: pp. 1-3 (with Pl.). |
| **Notes** | |
| 1. | The two inscriptions (Nos. *88* & *89*) at this site, discovered when this volume was ready for the press, have been placed at the end of the Tamil-Brāhmī section of the Corpus. |
| 2. | 4th letter in L. 2 is lost due to flaking of the stone. |
| 3. | *paḷḷi* is written with doubled - *ḷḷ*-; but cf. *paḷi* (for *paḷḷi*) in the adjacent inscription (No. *89*) of about the same period. |
| 4. | *kaṭikai* < *ghaṭikā* (Skt.) 'assembly of learned persons or institution of higher learning or the place of such assembly or institution'. See Commentary for discussion. See also section 4.6.13. |
| 5. | The lost letter is restored from the context as probably *kō*. |
| 6. | The translation of *kō* as 'chief' is necessarily tentative, as it is based on the restoration of a lost letter. |