A rare panel depicting capital punishment and two 13{+t}{+h}Century Tamil records of Pathinenvishayam , a mercantile group, have been found by research scholars of Dr. M. Rajamanikkanar Centre for Historical Research, Tiruchi, from a dilapidated temple at Kunruvarankottai, a remote village about 5 km from Vattalakkundu on the Usilampatti Road.
Dr. Kalaikkovan and M. Nalini, Associate Professor, Seethalakshmi Ramasami College, with the help of John Karuppaiya, an orthopaedic surgeon of Vattalakkundu, undertook an explorative study at the village after being informed of the presence of a fragment inscription found on the damaged wall of the temple by Sankaranarayanan of Madurai. During the study, they found another inscription at the basement of the temple and the sculptural panel.
In a release, Dr. Kalaikkovan said the panel depicted a bull elephant trampling an individual and a team of dancers are seen celebrating the punishment. The individual who is lying down with outstretched hand is crushed by the elephant with its trunk around his neck. The dance team has two percussionists and a dancer, all men. The dancer showing katakhamuka mudra in his left hand is holding an arched stick (‘chendu’) in his right hand. His head is adorned with a fan like gear and has large studs and bangles. The drummers have long empty ears and headgear.
Although such sculptures have been found by scholars of the centre elsewhere such as the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Madurai, the presence of the celebrating team makes this a find rare, Dr. Kalaikkovan said.
According to Dr. Nalini, the fragment inscription on the wall mentions a gift made by the mercantile group Pathinenvishayam in the form of tax on their east-bound commodities to two temples for worship and offerings.
One kasu per bundle was paid to a Siva temple where as half kasu was paid to the Vishnu temple. A partially buried basement inscription was a royal order that records a tax-free gift of land along with a pond to the temples. It identifies the village as Keluntakam alias Desivilankupattanam that was under Nerkuppainadu. Both the records and the sculpture may belong to 13{+t}{+h}or 14{+t}{+h}Century on palaeographical grounds and stylistic features.
A detailed study of the area and the excavation of the buried parts of the temple may provide more information on the medieval mercantile village Keluntakam, the release said.
