RARE SCRIPT: One of the 13th century inscriptions which was found at the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple at Thuvarankurichi. —
TIRUCHI: Two 13th century inscriptions have been found at the Meenakshisundareswarar temple at Thuvarankurichi. The Pandya inscriptions were found during a field study carried out by research scholars of the Dr. M. Rajamanickkanar Centre for Historical Research, Tiruchi, under the guidance of M. Nalini, Reader in History, Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College, according to R. Kalaikkovan, Director of the centre. One of the two inscriptions refers to Alagaperumal Chokkanar alias Thuvarapathi Velar, who had held sway in the region during 13th and 14th centuries. The inscription records his gift of five ‘ma’ (a unit of land measure) to people who played music at the temple during the reign of a Pandya king Kulasekara Deva. A piece of land allotted to musicians, known as “uvachar” then, was mentioned in the inscription either as ‘uvachar kani’ or ‘uvachar peru.’ The other inscription records the gift of land known as ‘kudikadu’ along with a pond named as ‘Konguvelar Kulam’ to the temple. It says that Manikka Nadalvan, a local chieftain, and Siva Brahmanas of the temple had accepted the gift. It also throws light on a monthly festival celebrated with pomp. Dr. Kalaikkovan said the new finds had helped to understand territorial division of Thuvarapathi and provided information about Velar chiefs. Almost all inscriptions at the temple had been found in fragments due to repeated renovations. A study of the fragments including the ones on the compound wall, led to the discovery of the two new inscriptions. The temple is currently being renovated through the efforts of K. Arumugam and R.M. Sethuraman, president, Isaivelalar Sangam of Marungapuri Union.