An inscription dating back to the period of King Thirumalai Nayak was discovered at a temple in Avaniapuram here recently.
The inscription which was found engraved on a wall of ‘muhamandapa’ of Sri Kalyana Sundareswara Temple in Avaniapuram corresponds to the year 1634 based on the words used.
B. Athmanathan, assistant secretary, Pandya Nadu Centre for Historical Research in the city along with research scholar R. Udhayakumar discovered the inscription, which was deciphered by the centre’s secretary C. Santhalingam.
“This record was engraved by Muthu Krishnappa Nayak, the younger brother of King Thirumalai. Details such as year, month, date and auspicious time were mentioned on the inscription. This discovery reveals that the present temple was constructed during the period of King Thirumalai Nayak,” a press release from the centre said on Thursday.
Two other engravings were also noticed at the temple.
One of them, dating back to 1886, mentioned the name of Pillayar Palayam, now a part of Avaniapuram.
This record showed that ‘prabhavali’ was donated by Sitharama Iyer from his own fund. His brother’s name, Venkatachala Iyer, was also mentioned.
A metal lamp was donated by Subburam Iyer and its weight was mentioned as 67 ‘ser’, equivalent to 958 grams.
