Early South Indian Palaeography c13.2

c13.2

The earliest inscriptions in the Tamil country are found engraved in the natural caves and caverns in the generally inaccessible heights and slopes of some of the hills in the districts of Tirunelveli, Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Tiruchirappalli and Coimbatore and a few in the North Arcot and Chingleput districts in the Madras State. One is found in the Nellore district of the Andhra Pradesh. With some dressing the caves were made fairly fit for human habitation. Not very far from the bustle and noise of the inhabited areas, and yet solemn and quiet, these places were obviously resorted to by religious people who wanted seclusion and calmness for leading a life of contemplation and religious exercise. Some of the caves are found to exist amidst picturesque surroundings and provided with stone beds carved out of rock and water convenience ; all of them appear to have served as ideal resorts for the serious and religious minded few devoted to a life of seclusion, high thinking and simple living. The period that may be assigned to the lithic records found in these natural caverns and caves is the second century B. C. to the first century A. D.