Another Tamil Brahmi inscription stone found in a shambles

Chennai: Tamil Brahmi inscriptions, considered the earliest known writing system in Tamil Nadu, have been found in caverns, caves and on potsherds and in rare instances on memorial stones in ruins. A week ago, a team of heritage experts found one such slab stone with three-line Tamil Brahmi inscriptions dating to the 1st century in Kongapatti, a village in Usilampatti, 37km from Madurai.

Giving a glimpse into the ancient way of life, the script acts as a window to the past. Though the newly-discovered stone slab is in ruins, senior epigraphist S Rajavelu could decipher the inscription. "The line drawings show it is related to a record of donation in connection with a building or a temple," he said, adding that the first and second lines are damaged.

It was with the help of a local school teacher that a team led by rock art expert K T Gandhirajan discovered the ancient inscriptions on the slab stone in Kongapatti. On palaeographical grounds, it is dated 1st century according to Rajavelu. "The square lines in the inscription found in many temples of Tamil Nadu indicate the direction of some edifices. This kind of square symbols have been noticed in Gangaikonda Cholapuram as well," said Rajavelu.

"The remaining letters are engraved deeply and in the first line, the word ‘katta’ could be associated with the square lines appearing at the end of the inscription. In the second line, the word ‘ippittaan’ may be read as ‘edupittan’ or ‘koduppittan’ by a person called ‘Parpan Tava Tantai.’ Only two letters in the third line are readable," said Rajavelu. A tentative reading of the damaged inscriptions, according to him, says the edifice might have been built by Parpana Tantai.

While senior epigraphists have been trying to decipher the damaged letters, officials at the Tamil Nadu state archaeology department said they have taken the estampage of the inscriptions a couple of days ago. "We have experts who can read the Tamil Brahmi inscriptions. But here some letters have been damaged. We have filed a report on the findings. The commissioner of archaeology will release it soon," said an official from the state archaeology department in Madurai.

The memorial stones with Brahmi inscriptions found in Pulimankombai and Thathapatty are considered the oldest ones found in Tamil Nadu. In July, a rare memorial pillar with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions was found on the premises of Ekanathan Mutt in Kinnimangalam, a village near Madurai.

Though Tamil Brahmi inscriptions have been discovered by heritage experts and amateur archaeologists, they are not documented or protected. A year ago, TOI reported the oldest (300 BC) memorial stone with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions d in Tamil Nadu was lying neglected in Thathapatty, a remote village in Dindigul. It still lies covered with vegetation.


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