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Newly discovered Tamil inscriptions from the Tambaram area
Madras Christian College Magazine, v. 42, 1973
Gift Siromoney

Recent Advances

It was believed till recently that the earliest stone inscriptions in the Tamil language belonged to the early seventh century A.D., the time of the Pallava monarch Mahendra I. Some of his inscriptions written in the Grantha script can be seen at Pallavaram in the cave temple now used as a Muslim place of worship.1 The Grantha script was used to write Sanskrit, often in preference to the Nagari script. Today Nagari is used to write Hindi as well as Sanskrit, and some letters of the Grantha script are used as special letters in Tamil. For example in the word "raja'' the sound 'ja' is denoted in Tamil by a Grantha letter since there is no Tamil equivalent.

Inscriptions in a script resembling Asokan Brahmi were noted around Madurai at the beginning of this century but they could not be deciphered at that time. Eight years ago, Mr Iravatham Mahadevan of the Indian Administrative Service established that these inscriptions were in the Tamil language in the Brahmi script and that some of the inscriptions belonged to the second century B.C. The only Brahmi inscription in our region is at Mamandur near Kanchipuram and it is assigned to a period about 300 A.D.2

During the last three years Mr R. Nagaswamy of the Department of Archaeology of Tamilnad has brought to light stone inscriptions of a period prior to that of Mahendra Pallava I, in the North Arcot district.3 These inscriptions are found on memorial stones in the Vatteluthu script, a script hitherto believed to belong mainly to the Pandya country around Madurai.

Tamil inscriptions have been found not only in other Indian states such as Orissa, Kerala, Mysore and Andhra but also abroad. About 150 years ago, a bell was discovered in New Zealand with writings in Tamil.4 The bell is probably from a shipwreck and the writing is about 200 years old. In the fifties, a Tamil inscription was discovered in South China with some Chinese writings on the same stone. The writing belongs to the thirteenth century A.D. Tamil inscriptions5 have been noted from Burma, Sumatra and Siam but this fact is not widely known here.

Tamil Inscriptions in the Tamil Script

The earliest stone inscription in the Tamil script is found at Vallam near Chinglepet and it belongs to the early seventh century A.D.There the dot over the pure consonants can be clearly seen. During the Chola period the practice of marking the dot over the consonant was discontinued making it difficult for us to decipher the words. However the Tamil script of the Chola period is fairly easy to read if one makes an effort. It is strange that centres of learning all over Tarnilnad remain ignorant of the interesting inscriptions in their vicinity.

A small group of students of the Department of Statistics has shown keen interest in copying and reading the Tamil inscriptions in the Tambaram area. To begin with, they perfected the method of taking estampages of inscriptions. This method of copying is quite simple. The stone on which an inscription is found is first cleaned with brush and water. A large piece of wet paper is then placed on the stone. The wet paper is gently pushed into the depressions by tapping gently with a big brush. Then a black paste, made of lamp black, gum arabic and Indian ink, is applied on the surface of the paper with a roller. The paper is allowed to dry on the stone before it is removed. The estampage comes out as white letters on a black background on the paper.

The student team consisting of R. Chandrasekaran, Abdul Huq and R. Srinivasan have made interesting discoveries during the last few months. They have brought to light new inscriptions6 hitherto unnoticed by scholars and have enriched our historical knowledge of the area around Tambararn. The readings of the inscriptions given in this paper are tentative.

New Inscriptions from Pammal

At Pammal, not far from the leprosy clinic run by the Students Christian Movement of our college, there is a ruined Siva temple with stone slabs from an earlier Vishnu shrine. On the basement of the temple there are two Chola inscriptions not hitherto noticed one is dated in the reign of Tribhuvana Chakravarti Sri Raja Raja Deva and the other, in the reign of Vira Rajendra.

The inscription (MCC 1972/03) of Raja Raja (III) is incomplete. It refers to an endowment for burning a lamp at the Vishnu temple of Azhaga Perumal at Pammal. The inscription mentions that the village of Pammal belonged to Surathur Nadu. It may be interesting to note that Surathur Nadu was the territorial division probably named after Tiruchuram and that Tiruchuram happens to be the old name of the apsidal Chola temple near Pallavaram which is now called Tirusulam. The word manraadi in the inscription refers to a shepherd who took charge of temple cattle. The inscription also refers to a group of chieftains called the Neelakangarayans who were very active during the thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries.7

The second inscription (MCC I972/ 02) is dated in the 35th year of the reign of Vira Rajendra Chola. If Vira Rajendra is Rajendra III, the king who succeeded Raja Raja III, then this is probably the latest reported inscription8 of the reign of Rajendra III, the last of the Chola kings. The inscription is complete and refers to an endowment of land by one Panchanadhivaanan Neelakangarayan and its exemption from taxes. The endowment is made to the temple of Azhaga Perumal by the Sri Vaishnavas. Of special interest is the fact that this inscription refers to Tambaram which is also called Gunaseelanallur. The inscription locates Tambaram in Surathur Nadu of Puliyur kottam of Jeyankonda Chola mandalam. Tambaram is referred to here as Taampuram or perhaps, it should be read as Taamapuram or even Dharmapuram, because these three different forms would be written in precisely the same way in the ancient Chola Tamil Script.

The astronomical data given in this inscription appears to be erroneous. However if one omits the month, the rest of the data on the tithi, the nakshatra, the paksham and the day of the week are consistent, and the date of the inscription can be reckoned9 as November 3, 1280. This date agrees with the 35th regnal year of Rajendra III the last of the Chola kings, and the inscription would thus be the last of the reported Chola inscriptions.

There is a similar difficulty with respect to an inscription (323 of 1911) of Vira Rajendra at Madambakkam. The astronomical data are not consistent but if the Nakshatra is ignored then the Madambakkam inscription can be assigned to May 22, 1279, the 34th year of Rajendra III.

In these inscriptions the lands belonging to a Siva temple are called Devadhaanam and those belonging to a Vishnu temple Tiruvidaiaattam. Perhaps the terms Durgaipatti and Pidaripatti refer to lands belonging to a Durga temple. Kadamai and aayam refer to taxes in general and kudimai to taxes other than the land tax. The inscription gives a list of different taxes including one for village watchmen.

New Inscriptions from Perungalatur

Three incomplete Chola inscriptions were found at Perungalatur which is about a mile from the Standard Motor Factory which is south of Tambaram. In regard to the name of Perungalatur the word kalam in Tamil could mean either a battle field or a threshing floor for paddy. One might be tempted to derive the name from some great battle fought here in days gone by, since Perungalatur is quite near Manimangalam where Narasimha Pallava I defeated the Chalukyan monarch, Pulikesin II. However the newly discovered inscriptions (MCC 1972/05, 06, 07) on the basement of the Agathisvara temple give the old name of the village as Perunkulatur that is, the village of the big tank. Judging from the style of writing, the inscription may be assigned to the reign of Raja Raja III. Two of the inscriptions refer to the endowment of a single cow the proceeds of which were to be used for burning an evening lamp in the temple. According to the inscriptions, the village belonged to Nedungunra Nadu. Nedungunram is now a small village east of the Standard factory and the tall hillock after which the village is named can be seen from the college sports fields.

All the Chola inscriptions begin with an auspicious phrase svasti sri. The lamp for which the endowment is made is referred to as sandhi vilakku -- a lamp used at the time of worship in the evening (or morning) at the period of twilight. This is different from the nundaa vilakku, the perpetual lamp. The shepherd who takes charge of the cow is expected to bring ghee as fuel for the lamp. When the cow yields calves one calf has to be set apart to replace the first cow when it gets old. By this system the lamp was to be burnt for years on end, or as the inscription says 'as long as the sun and moon last'. The names of the donors are also given in each inscription.

Inscriptions from Vandalur and Selaiyur

Vandalur was another place visited by the students. They copied a late inscription from an apsidal Vishnu temple. The inscription (MCC 1972/04) may be assigned to the 7th or the 8th century. It was once surmised that Vandalur was the ancient Vandainagar mentioned in Kalingathuparani, a twelfth century work in Tamil. A verse (535) in Kalingathuparani refers also to Mahabalipuram, Kanchipuram and Mylapore as Mallai, Kanchi and Mayilai respectively.11 The ancient Vadanainagar has also been identified with a village called Vanduvaancheri near Kumbakonam since Vaduvaancheri is referred to as Vandavanjeri in an inscription.12

But how is Vandalur referred to in our inscription ? We read the name of the village as Vendalur or Veyndalur. This reading considerably weakens the claim that Vandalur was once the ancient city of Vandainagar,

One can easily see the difference between this late inscription and the early inscriptions of the Chola period. The inscription begins with the auspicious phrase subamasthu instead of svasti sri and Sunday is referred to as somavaarati naal, instead of naayatru kilamai. The name of the year is mentioned as sitharata, but neither the regnal year of the king nor the Saka year are mentioned. The inscription records that Vandalur was a town and that it was ruled by one Naagama Naik. The inscription confirms an earlier grant of land for daily worship and for burning a lamp. The lamp is referred to as pakal vilakku or the lamp that burns during the day. The tank near the village is referred to as otteri and there is a village called Otteri very close to Vandalur. The burning of a lamp and the worship were to be continued for as long as the sun and the moon existed. There is a long list of curses directed against those who might hinder this work.

The inscription (MCC 1972/08) from Selaiyur village is from a slab fixed near the small tank in the village. In the inscription, the village is referred to as Seylaiyur (or Selaiyur) and not Solaiyur or Silaiyur, as has sometimes been suggested. The inscription can be assigned to the nineteenth century. It may be interesting to note that in this inscription there is a decree which prohibits the use of water from the temple tank for irrigational purposes. There is a word tirumaaligai which may refer to a palatial mansion or just a big house. But no further details about the building are available. There are a few poorly preserved late inscriptions in Selaiyur village which have yet to be read.

Tirukachur is a small village near Singaperumal Koil, some 25 kms. from Tambaram. There are two inscriptions in the Thyagaraja temple that refer to Tambaram as Taampuram which was read by some earlier scholars as Dharmapuram. One of the inscriptions (MCC 1972/01) was copied about 40 years ago by the government epigraphist and is recorded in the Annual Report of Epigraphy. The report gives a brief summary, but we give here the full text of the inscription.

This is a Telugu Choda inscription of the thirteenth century. The chieftain Viraganda Gopala Deva calls himself a tribhuvana chakravarti (the emperor of the three worlds). From the astronomical data given in the inscription the date can be fixed as June 12, 1293. The inscription refers to the timvaaikelvi an officer who takes down the oral orders of the king. It registers a gift of land to the temple at Tirukachur by one Nilakangarayan, also called Panchanathi Vaanan Arunagiri Perumal. The title Kangarayan and Vaanan may refer to the descent of the donor from the Ganges and the Banas. The temple is referred to as tiruvaalakoil. One of the residents of Tambaram mentioned is Anmaandai and the words aram and dharmam mean the same thing. The inscription ends with the phrase Sri Maheshvarar Rakshai indicating that the endowment was associated with the Maheswaras, or the devotees of Siva. In the same place there is another inscription (only part of which is available for copying) which also refers to Tambaram.


The Text of the Inscriptions
MCC Serial No. 1972/01.
District: Chinglepet.
Taluk: Chinglepet.
Village: Tirukachur. 
Language: Tamil.
Script: Tamil.
Dynasty: Telugu Choda.
King: Sri Viragandagopala.
Year of ascension to the throne: Second.
Date: 13th century A.D.
Reference: No. 50 of 1932-33, Annual Report of Epigraphy.
Place: on the outer wall of the southern prakara of the Thyagaraja temple.
Inscription: complete.



MCC Serial No. 1972/02.
Village: Pammal.
Language: Tamil.
Script: Tamil.
Dynasty: Chola.
King: Sri Vira Rajendra.
Year of ascension to the throne: 35.
Date: 13th century A.D.
Place: Dilapidated Siva temple in Pammal near the SCM leprosy clinic. On the western side.
Inscription: complete.



MCC Serial No. 1972/03.
Village : Pammal.
Language : Tamil.
Script : Tamil.
Dynasty : Chola.
Name of King: Sri Raja Raja Deva.
Year of ascension to the throne : 11 .
Date: 13th century A.D.
Place : Dilapidated Siva temple at Pammal near the SCM leprosy clinic. On the northern side.
Inscription : incomplete.



MCC Serial No. 1972/04.
Village : Vandalur.
Language : Tamil.
Script : Tamil.
Dynasty : Naik.
Date: 8th century A.D.
Place : on the apsidal Vishnu temple.



MCC Serial No. 1972/05.
Village : Perungalatur.
Language : Tamil.
Script : Tamil.
Dynasty : Chola.
Name of the king : Sri Raja Raja Deva.
Year of ascension to the throne : 6.
Date: 13th century A.D.
Place : on the south basement of Agathisvara temple.
Inscription : incomplete.



MCC Serial No. 1972/06.
Village : Perungalatur.
Language : Tamil.
Script : Tamil.
Dynasty : Chola.
Name of King : Sri Raja Raja Deva.
Year of ascension to the throne : 6.
Date: 13th century A.D.
Place: on the west basement of Agathisvara temple.
Inscription : incomplete.



MCC Serial No. 1972/07.
Village: Perungalatur.
Language: Tamil.
Script: Tamil.
Dynasty: Chola.
Name of king: Sri Raja Raja Deva.
Date : 13th century A.D.
Place: on the west and south sides of the basement of Agathisvara temple.
Inscription: incomplete.



MCC Serial No. 1972/08.
Village: Selaiyur.
Language: Tamil.
Script: Modern Tamil.
Date : eigth century A.D.
Place: on a stone slab near the temple tank.
Inscription: incomplete.



NOTES
1. Gift Siromoney, Early history of the Tambaram area, MCC magazine, xxxvi, March 1967, 47-49.
2. Iravatham Mahadevan, Corpus of Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions, in Seminar on Inscriptions, ed. R. Nagaswamy, Madras, 1966.
3. R. Nagaswamy, Chengam Nadukarkal (Tamil), Madras, 1972.
4. Trans. N.Z. Institute, iv, 468-469.
5 Handbook, The Second World Tamil Conference, Madras, 1968.
6. Gift Siromoney and M. Lockwood, New inscriptions from the Tambaram area, The Sunday Standard, Madras, February 4, 1973.
7. K. V. Raman, The Early History of the Madras Region, Madras, 1957.
8. The latest reported inscription of Rajendra III belongs to his 33rd regnal year. See K. A. Nilakanta Sastry, The Colas, Madras, 1937.
9. L. D. Swamikannu Pillai, An Indian Ephemeris, Madras, 1922.
10. T. N. Subramaniam, South Indian Temple Inscriptions, Madras, 1954.
11.

12. Karunakara Thondaimaan, the commander of the Chola army is referred to in Kalingathuparani (v. 328) as Vandaiman Thondaimaan, the lord of Vandai. An inscription of Kulothunga Chola I refers to him as one who possesses Vandazhanjeri. We give here part of the inscription (No. 862 of South Indian Inscriptions, Vol. IV, 1923) which reads as

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