Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c28.s2.t2.5

c28.s2.t2.5

| **ILL.** | Tracing: Fig. 8.30. Estampage: Pl. 28. |
| **Locus** | The upper inscription on the brow of the cave. L. 1 is worn very thin due to weathering. L. 2 is damaged in the middle due to flaking of the stone. The upper inscription seems to have been engraved later than the lower inscription (No. ***61***) when the height of the drip ledge was increased. See section 1.4.1. |
| **No. of lines** | 4 |
| **Length** | L. 1:112 cm.; L. 2:107 cm.; L. 3:126 cm.; L. 4: 94 cm. |
| **Date** | ca. 2nd century A.D. |
| **Publ.** | *ARE* B. 297/1963-64 (with Pl.). *IM*:57/1966. *HTS*:15.1(pp. 57-62); RN:16.1 (pp. 66-74); RPS:39 (pp. 163-197). I. Mahadevan 1971: pp. 73-106. K.G. Krishnan 1981a: pp. 24-30. |
| **Notes** | |
| 1. | The first letter *mū* was identified by Natana Kasinathan (RN). |
| 2. | Three letters have been lost here due to flaking of the stone. |
| 3. | *mūtāmaṇṇaṇ* is construed as *mūtā* + *amaṇṇaṇ*. Cf. *mutā amaṇṇaṇ* (No. ***61***). |
| 4. | Cf. *yāṟṟūr* (Nos. ***61*** & ***63***). The present form may be an abbreviation of the place name. |
| 5. | The lost letters have been restored from the evidence of the near-identical passage in the adjacent inscription (No. ***61***). |
| 6. | *irumpuṟai* is a variant of *irumpoṟai*. This variant occurs on some of the copper coins of the dynasty found at Karur (Fig. 1.22C). Cf. n.5, No. ***61***. See section 4.3.2. |
| 7. | [i*] supplied from the context. See n.4, No. ***61***. |
| 8. | *aṟuppitta*. |