The Pandyan Kingdom from the Earliest Times to the Sixteenth Century c11.7.4

c11.7.4

It is strange that this man should have waited for seven generations after the Pāṇḍyan restoration to reclaim the grant and at that late day should start by quarrelling with the king over the matter (*ākrōdhikka*). What followed must be related in the words of the grant ‘என்று நின்றவன் விஞ்ஞாப் பியஞ்செய்ய நன்றுநன்றென்று முறுவலித்து நாட்டானின் பழமையாதல் காட்டிநீ கொள்கவென்ன, நாட்டாற்றன் பழமையாதல் காட்டினானங்கப் பொழுதேய்.’ Evidently the king does not seem to have at first taken the petitioner seriously; he laughed at his impudence and perhaps thought it an easy way of dismissing the petition by demanding a proof (நாட்டு) of the original gift and of the antiquity of the petitioner's rights; but strangely enough, the proof was produced then and there, and the king forthwith renewed the gift. The difficulty lies in our inability to understand நாட்டு in the passage cited above.¹ But most probably it was only a general term for satisfactory evidence. And the evidence that was produced in this case was most likely a written document which had just been found by the petitioner on the strength of which he made bold to press his suit in the manner indicated.