An inscription discovered on a stone block in Kanakkanendhal, Kariapatti taluk of Virudhunagar district has indicated that Pandya king Jatavarman Kulasekara Pandya co-ruled with his younger brother Maravarman Sundarapandya I up to 1217 CE. Experts said that this is an important discovery, as according to previous records, Kulasekara Pandya was succeeded by his younger brother Maravarman Sundarapandya I in 1216 CE.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Madurai Government Museum curator M. Maruthu Pandiyan said that the inscription was recently discovered by a group of scholars headed by D. Thirumalraja, assistant professor from the Department of Sociology, Tamil Nadu Open University. Later, the inscription was copied and deciphered by the curator, B. Asaithambi, archaeological officer, State Archaeological Department. Archaeologist C. Santhalingam also helped in deciphering the inscription.
Reading out the estampage of the inscription, Mr. Pandiyan said that during the 28th regnal year of Kulasekara Pandya, a wetland which raised paddy was donated to a Siva temple in Kalkurichi village of Virudhunagar district. “According to previous records, Kulasekara Pandya ruled between 1190 CE and 1216 CE. But this inscription shows that his ruling period has been increased by one year and shows that he has ruled up to 1217 CE,” he said.
Also, according to earlier records, Maravarma Sundarapandya I succeeded his brother in 1216 CE and ruled till 1238 CE. “But this inscription now proves that Kulasekara Pandya co-ruled with his brother up to 1217 CE. So one can assume that Kulasekara Pandya ruled the Pandya country up to 1217 as a co-ruler with his younger brother Maravarman Sundarapandya I, who was coronated in 1216 CE,” said Mr. Santhalingam.
The other interesting aspect is that the inscriptions are engraved in Tamil language in poetry form, said Mr. Pandiyan. “The inscription begins with ‘Sri Anna mennu nadai’, which is also found in inscriptions found in Ponnamaravathi dated to Maravarman Sundarapandya I,” he said. He also said that the inscription compares Kulasekara Pandya with Karna from Mahabharata for his liberal donations.