Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c28.s8.t11: XLI. Ezhuttukallu

Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c28.s8.t11

Language
English

XLI. Ezhuttukallu

c28.s8.t11.1

**120.1 *mācakōṭu*** (P.) lit., 'dark or mist/cloud-covered hill'.

c28.s8.t11.2

Cf. (inscr.) *mācca-k-kōṭṭu* 'of Māccakkōṭu (village)' (*Kaṉṉiyākumari-k-kalveṭṭukaḷ* IV: No. 91/1969, 16th cent. A.D.).

c28.s8.t11.3

**a. *māca-*** (*mācu* + *a*) from *mācu* (n.) 'darkness, cloud' (D. 4781); *-a* is the attributive suffix.

c28.s8.t11.4

Cf. LT *mācu* 'cloud' (*Piṅkala.* 58); *māci* 'mist, cloud' (*TL*).

c28.s8.t11.5

**b. *kōṭu*** (n.) 'mountain' (D. 2049); a frequent suffix to place names in hilly regions.

c28.s8.t11.6

Cf. LT *kōṭu uṟaṉtu eṭutta koṭuṅkaṇ iñci* 'the curving rampart raised high contrasting with a hill' (*Patiṟ.* 16:1); *kōṭu* 'mountain peak' (*Tivā.* 861; *Piṅkala.* 498; *Cūṭā.* 5:12).

c28.s8.t11.7

Cf. (inscr.) *muyiṟi-k-kōṭu* 'Muciṟi' (E. Hultzsch 1894-95, *EI.* III: pp. 66-69, Cochin Plates of Bhāskara Raivarman, ca. 10th cent. A.D.).

c28.s8.t11.8

120.2 *nīr=aṇavāy* (noun phrase) 'mouth of a dam across a watercourse'.

c28.s8.t11.9

**Sandhi:** *nīr* + *aṇavāy* > *nīṟaṇavāy.*

c28.s8.t11.10

The inscription is engraved on a boulder lying in the bed of a stream (see Fig. 1.18). It is likely that there was once a dam here to arrest the flow of water to facilitate gold-washing operations conducted in the river. See section 1.8.6(i).

c28.s8.t11.11

**a. *nīr*** (n.) lit., 'water' (D. 3690a), here, a 'watercourse'.

c28.s8.t11.12

Cf. LT *aṟu nīr-p-paiñcuṉai* 'the mountain-spring without water (in the summer)' (*Aka.* 1:12); *nīr* 'water' (*Tivā.* 54; *Piṅkala.* 57; *Cūṭā.* 11:28).

c28.s8.t11.13

Cf. (inscr.) *nīr nilaṉum* 'watered (wet) lands also' (Pulankurichi Inscrs. I. 14, ca. 5th cent. A.D.); *nīr nilamum* id. (*Pallava Inscrs.* No. 17: Line 48, ca. 6th cent. A.D.).

c28.s8.t11.14

**b. *aṇa*** (n.) 'dam'. Cf. Ta. *aṇai*, Ma. *aṇa* 'dam' (D. 122).

c28.s8.t11.15

Cf. LT *ceruviṉ aṇai* 'bund (ridge) of the field' (*Naṟṟ.* 340:8); *aṇai* 'bund' (*Tivā.* 882; *Piṅkala.* 610; *Cūṭā.* 5:18).

c28.s8.t11.16

As the inscription is in (the present-day) Kerala, *aṇa* is likely to be a pre-Malayalam form, the earliest attested in an inscription. However, sporadic vowel alternation *ai* > *a* is met with in the Ta. Br. inscriptions from other regions also as in *kuṟa* (for *kuṟai* ) (11.1), *itta* (for *ittai*) (13.3), *matira* for *matirai* (27.1), etc.

c28.s8.t11.17

**c. *vāy*** (n.) Ta. 'mouth' ; Ma. 'opening' (D. 5352).

c28.s8.t11.18

Cf. LT *akal vāy-k-kuṇṭu cuṉai* 'the deep mountain spring with a wide opening' (*Kuṟun.* 59:2); *vāy* 'place' (*Tivā.* 1011; *Piṅkala.* 719; *Cūṭā.* 5:65).

c28.s8.t11.19

Cf. (inscr.) *perumpiṭuku kāliṉ... talai vāyum* 'the sluice-head of the channel named Perumpiṭuku (*Pallava Inscrs.* No. 46: Lines 79-80, 7th cent. A.D.); *vāy-t-talai* 'head-sluice of a channel' (*SITI.* III. 2:Glossary).

Linked texts (9)