RAMANATHAPURAM
A team of amateur archaeologists of Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation has discovered a 16th century stone inscription of Pandiya era at Kallikudi village in Tiruvadanai block.
Close on the heels of discovering 13th century Pandiya period stone inscriptions near RS Mangalam, the members of the foundation, led by its president V. Rajaguru, a teacher at S.S.A.M. Government Higher Secondary School, Tiruppullani, and coordinator M. Vimalraj, found the stone inscription at the entrance of Srinivasa Perumal Temple at the village.
The inscriptions on the left side wall of the entrance had details of donation of a tank to the temple by Sokkar Andar, a blacksmith, during the period of Pandiya king Srisreevellathevar, Mr. Rajaguru said.
It was evident that the king had ruled this part of the region for more than 27 years. The date on which the donation was made was mentioned in the inscriptions as ‘Panguni 1, Sarvari Tamil year,’ he said.
The inscription had a warning that anyone who tried to destroy the gift would be considered to be committing the sin of killing a ‘karaam pasu’ (native breed of black cow) on the bank of the Ganga and at Sethukarai (the seashore from where Lord Ram was believed to have constructed the Ram Sethu) in Tirupullani, he said.
The sin for meddling with the gift was explained in the ‘ombadai kilavi’ (protection words of the inscription) part and this was akin to the style of stone inscriptions of the Nayak period. The religious veneration of Sethukarai was equated with that of the banks of the Ganga in the inscription, he added.
Mr. Rajaguru said a local artificer had written the inscription as dictated by ‘Mudali’, a government official, and engraved his signature. The inscription was written in 1541 AD, going by the Tamil year mentioned in the inscription and the script style. The inscription also suggested that the Pandiyas ruled this part of the region with Tiruvadanai or Kalayarkoil as its headquarters.
