Tiruppur Archaeological enthusiasts have discovered a block of stone with a few lines of inscription in the Tamil Vatteluttu script, which is estimated to date back to the 11th century, near Kangeyam in Tiruppur district.
Two members from the Tiruppur-based Virarajendran Archaeological and Historical Research Centre namely S. Ravikumar and K. Ponnusamy identified the stone block, which is around 90 cm tall, at the Madhyapurisvarar Temple in Paranjervali village near Kangeyam.
Mr. Ravikumar, who is the centre's director, said that the villagers found the block while cleaning the temple's well recently and that they visited the temple on April 8 this year upon receiving information regarding the inscription. After confirming that the inscription was in Vatteluttu script, the duo sought the assistance of historian Y. Subbarayalu to decipher the 17 lines of inscription found on the stone block, he said.
The inscription mentions the name of Vikrama Chola, who ascended the throne in 1004 CE and was the third Konattu Kongu Chola ruler. As the inscription mentions his 34th regnal year, the year in which the inscription was likely to have been created was calculated to be 1038 CE, according to Mr. Ravikumar. The name of Vikrama Chola's father, Kokkalimoorkan, is found before the king's name in the inscription.
It also mentions the name of Paranjervali village as Paranjerpali. "The word 'pali' indicates that Jain monks stayed in this village during this period," Mr. Ravikumar said.
Following the deciphering, it was evident that the inscription was incomplete, he said. However, based on similar inscriptions bearing the name of Vikrama Chola that were discovered in and around Kangeyam in the past few years, this Paranjervali inscription could have likely been a record about a donation made by a benefactor to a temple, he said.
