Early South Indian Palaeography c14.s8: 8. Sittannavasal

Early South Indian Palaeography c14.s8

Language: English

8. Sittannavasal

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This village about nine and a half miles from the Pudukkottai town is famous for a Jaina rock-out temple on the hill near the village usually assigned to the seventh century, but probably assignable to a later period, and the beautiful fresco paintings in it. At an almost inaccessible height in another part of the hill there is a natural cavern formed of a cleft which divides the overhanging top portion from the rocky floor below. The spot where the cavern lies is generally known as *ēḻaḍipaṭṭam* on account of the seven (*ēḻu*) square holes which are used as steps for reaching the cavern. Seventeen beds are chiselled in the cavern. Some of the stone beds are damaged; but all of them are provided with a raised portion at one end, which was obviously meant to serve as a pillow. Round the top and left side of one of the seventeen beds in the cavern is a Brāhmī inscription,¹ which is in a good state of preservation. There are also found a few inscriptions on the adjoining beds written in early Tamil characters of about the eighth century A.D. They contain the names of six individuals, who were probably mendicants who had resolved to spend the last years of their lives in retired seclusion. The names are *Toḷakunṟattu Kaḍavuḷaṉ*, *Tirunīlaṉ*, *Tiruppūraṇaṉ*, *Tiṭṭaiccaṇaṉ*, *Tiruccattaṉ* and *Śrī Purāṇa-Candiraṉ Niyattakaran Paṭṭakkaḷi*.

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¹ *388 of 1914*; *Rep.*, 1914-15, pt. ii., paras 1 and 2; *Inscriptions of the Pudukkottai State*, Plate I; K. R. Venkatarama Ayyar, *A Manual of the Pudukkottai State*, vol. II, pt. ii, pp. 1092—93.

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Krishna Sastri has read the Brāhmī inscription as follows:

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*E u mi na ṭ [u] ku mu ṭṭha [ū] ra*
*pi ḍa na ta ka vu ṭi ı te na ku*
*ci ṭu pō ci la ı ḷa ya ra ce ya*
*tō a ti ṭa a na ma*

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He thinks that the words *naṭu* and *ūra* might indicate the district and village names respectively.

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Subrahmanya Ayyar treats the letters *ra* of *ūra*, *na* of *iteṉa*, *la* of *pōcila*, *ra* of *iḷayara*, *ya* of *ceyata*, *ta*, *na* and *ma* of *atiṭaanama* (the 10th, 20th, 26th, 30th, 32nd, 36th and 39th letters) as basic consonants, and reads the inscription as follows:

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*Eōmi-naṭu Kumaṭhūr pirānta*
*Kavuḍi Iteṉku Ciṭupōcil Iḷayar ceyta*
*atiṭhaṉam*.²

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² *op. cit.*, pp. 296-8.

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He has also made slight emendations in the above reading. The second letter is read by him as the vowel *o* instead of *u*. The medial *u* of the seventh letter *mu* and the medial *o* of the 33rd letter *tō* have been dropped, and he treats them only as consonant letters with inherent *a*. He further notes: "Here *Eōmi-nāṭu* is the name of a territorial division and *Kumaṭūr* that of a village as clearly indicated by the endings *nāḍu* and *ūr*. *Pirānta* has to be supplied as usual with the final *ṉ* and the permultimate length shortened: it becomes *piraṉtaṉ*, which means "one who was born." *Kavuḍi Iteṉku* is a proper name in the dative case. *Ciṭupocil* may be the name of a village. As in *Pirānta* the penultimate of *Iḷāyar* has to be shortened, its modern equivalent being *iḷaiyar*. To *ceyta* we have to supply *r*.

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The meaning is clearly the following:

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*Ciṭupocil Iḷayar made this adhiṣṭhanam for Kavuḍi Īten who was born at Kumuṭṭūr a village in Eōminaḍu.*"

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He also notes that the long *nā* is clearly indicated in the inscription by a straight horizontal stroke marked on the right side of *na* as distinguished from the inverted 'J' symbol used in the epigraph to denote *ṉa* and after a brief discussion comes to the conclusion that the word *adiṭṭhana* in the record must refer to the monastery where Bauddha-Bhikṣus practised the vows pertaining to their order.

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Narayana Rao has grouped the letters as follows:

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*E'umi-naṭṭa Kumaṭṭ'ūra- piṭṭana*
*ta-kā vuṭi itenāku Ciṭṭapocila*
*Iḷaya-racēyatō atiṭanama*

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—restores the same in Sanskrit as:

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*E'umi-nāṭṭa Kumuṭṭha' ūra piṭakanām*
*traṇakṛte vṛddhi-hitena-kṛtē Simhaḷa-*
*rajyataḥ adhiṣṭhanam*

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and translates it as "An institution of *Kumuṭṭha ūra* in *E'umināṭṭa* from the Kingdom of Ceylon for the protection and with the wish of the increase of the *Piṭakas* (the three baskets or collections of Buddhist scriptures)."

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C. Sivaramamurti reads the label as follows:

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*Eumi naḍu Kumuṭu ūra piṟanta*
*Kavuḍa i I te ṉa kū*
*Ci ṭu po ci la I ḷa ya ra śe ya tā a ti ta a ṉa ma*

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and translates it as:

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*Ciṭupocil Ilayar* made this *adhiṣhṭhanam* for *Kavuḍi Iteṉ* who was born at *Kumaṭṭūr*, a village in *Eominaḍu*.³

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³ *Indian Epigraphy and South Indian Scripts*, p. 158.

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K. R. Srinivasan says about the inscription:

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"The inscription with slight corrections would read:

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*Eōmi naṭṭu (Oyma naṭṭu) Kumaṭṭūr piṟantaṉ*
*kavudi (Kāvidi) Ītenukku*
*Citu pocil Iḷaiyar ceyta adiṭṭanam*

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and translates it as:

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"Unto *Kavidi Iten (Iten* bearing the title of *Kāvidi)* a native of *Kumaṭṭūr* in *Eomi (Oymā) naḍu* (district), the *adiṭṭanam* made by *Iḷaiyar* of *Ciṭṭupocil*".

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⁴ *Inscriptions in the Pudukkottai State*, (English Translation) pt. i, p. 2.

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As pointed out earlier, following the principle adopted in the decipherment and study of the Bhaṭṭiprolu inscriptions the words read as *piṟanta* and *ceyta* by K. V. Subrahmanya Ayyar, treating them as verbs and supplying the final members *n* and *r* respectively, have to be read as *piṟanta* and *ceyta* (the single *ā* symbol added to the consonant making it the consonant with the inherent *a* and not *a* long), the adjectival participle meaning ‘who was born in’ and ‘which was made by’ respectively. That this is the correct method to be adopted for reading this record is indicated by the penultimate letter read as *ṉa*, having one symbol of *ā* long added to it, while the fourth letter read as *nā* has two symbols added to it at the right.

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The eighth letter read as *ṭhū* has a projection to the left at the bottom of the downward stroke indicating the medial vowel *u* short; and this has been tentatively taken as indicating *ū* long, though this is not found elsewhere. The actual reading of the record is:

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*E o mi nā ṭu ku mu ṭhū ṉ ra pi ra n ta*
*Ka vu ṭi i te na ku ci ru po ci la*
*i ḷa ya ra ce ya t* [*ā*] *a ti ṭa a ṉa ma.*

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It has to be read in Drāviḍī as:

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*Eomi nāṭu kumuṭhu ūr piṟanta kavuṭi*
*itenku Cirupocil iḷayar ceyta atiṭa-aṉam.*

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Eōmināḍu has been usually indentified with the teritory round about the modern Tindivanam in the South Arcot district known in ancient times as Oymānāḍu. It has also been suggested that the area bore another name i.e. Erumānāḍu.⁵ But there is no evidence to connect Erumānāḍu with the Tindivanam area. Further the region does not appear to have had much connection with the Śittannavāśal area. In the Ernad taluk of the Kolikoda district in the Kerala State there was a division called Ōmāyanāḍu in which there was a village by name Umaṭṭūr.⁶ It is possible that Kumaṭṭūr mentioned in the inscription under study was the same as Umaṭṭur. If that be so, then it may be taken that the place was in the present Kerala State.

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⁵ *Insriptions in the Pudukkottai State* (English Translation) p. 2.

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⁶ *T.A.S.*, Vol. III, pp. 198-99; See also A. S. Duraisami Pillai, *Chēra-mannar-varalāṟu* (1960), p. 96.

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The word *Kavuṭi* should mean one born in or hailing from a place or territory called *Kavuṭa*. It is not known where this *Kavuṭa* was. It is difficult to identify it with the *gauḍa-deśa* a part of modern West Bengal for two reasons. For one thing it is doubtful if the person who is said to have been born in *Kumaṭhūr* in the *Eomināḍu* in the Tamil country could have come all the way to that place and settled down there at such an early period. For another thing it is very doubtful if the name *Gauḍa* was current at such an early date. Therefore it must stand to reason to identify *Kavuṭa* with some place in the Tamil country itself bearing a similar name. Or can the word be another form of the title *Kavidi*, a title conferred by the *Paṇḍya* kings in the *Śangam* age on some of the *Vēḷāḷas* and leading men.⁷ It was the ancient practice to mention the title denoting caste or profession, father’s name and native place before giving the name of a person⁸ and probably in accordance with that practice the title is given here before the name of the person. But it seems that the word *Kavuṭi* cannot be derived from the word *Kaviti*.

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⁷ See *Tol. Por.* 30. *urai*.

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⁸ The *Tolkāppiyam* lays down the following rule about the practice:

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The word *itenku* is very likely *iten* with the suffix *ku* indicating the fourth or dative case in Tamil added to it. Then it will mean ‘to *Iteṉ*’ in which case *Iteṉ* would become a proper name. The word cannot be the official suffix of a chieftain or ruler (cf. *Ātan*). If it is so taken, it may not be possible to explain how or why an *adhiṣṭhanam* was made for him.

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*Ita* as a proper name appears also in the Ariṭṭāpaṭṭi record. In the Nanaghat inscription of queen *Naganika* we find the word *Ida* where it has been taken as the *Prākṛt* form of Indra or Imdra.⁹ Most probably *Ita* of these Brāhmī records is the same as *Ida* of the *Nanaghat* inscription and has to be taken as standing for Indra. If the word is taken to be a proper name

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⁹ See *Arch. Survey of Western India*, Vol. V. pp. 64 ff.

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*Ūrum peyaru mu ḍai ttōḻir karuviyum*
*yāruñcatti yavaiyavai perumē*
—(*Tol. Marupu.* 74. *pēr.*)

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*Kavuṭi Iteṉku* may be interpreted either as *Iteṉ* hailing from *Kavuṭi* or *Iteṉ*, who bore the title of *Kavuṭi* (*Kāviti*).

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It is possible that *Ciṟupocil* was the name of a place. Very probably it was the ancient name of *Śittaṇṇavāśal* itself. In some inscriptions of a later period the place is referred to as *Śittaṇṇal-Vāyil*, meaning the abode of *Arhats* and *Siddhas*. *Ciṟupocil* may be a still older name. *Pocil* may be derived from the two words *pōcu* (*poccai-hill*) and *il* (abode) meaning the abode on the hill or the word may be derived from the term *vassa* = *vāśal* meaning again an abode or place. Thus the whole word may be taken to mean the hill where the *Siddhas* lived.

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The word *Iḷayar* may be taken to be the name of a person or simply a young person (*Iḷaiyar*). The interchange of *ai* into *a* is usual in the Tamil language.¹⁰

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¹⁰ The term is taken to refer to a forest tribe known as Maḷavar. It is also said that it is from this tribe that Karikāla the great (Cōḷa king) after the conquest of their forest kingdoms seems to have recruited most of his army. (K. N. Sivaraja Pillai *Chronology of the Ancient Tamils*, p. 64 fn; *Inscriptions in the Pudukkottai State*, (English Translation) p. 3. But it is better to take the word as the name of a person, particularly because he is mentioned as Iḷayar of Ciṟupocil, meaning Iḷayar belonging to or hailing from Ciṟupocil, obviously a place.

Linked texts (2)

Tolkāppiyam — Tolkāppiyar, Tamil
Travancore Archaeological Series