Tiruchy: A six-member history research team including R. Akila, assistant professor of history at the Arignar Anna government arts college in Musiri, and M. Nalini, head of the department of history, Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College, Tiruchy, have copied three new inscriptions, including one from an early Pandya period from the Sri Adimuleswara temple at Thiruppalaithurai near here a few days back, said Director, Dr R. Kalaikkovan, Dr M. Rajamanikkanar Centre for Historical Research, who had gone through the new finds.
In a release on Monday, Dr R. Kalaikkovan said, "nearly 28 inscriptions had been copied from the temple as early as 1907 and 1908. Since only a few texts were available, a thorough study of all existing inscriptions was made. During their study, three new inscriptions and uncopied portions of two earlier copied records, were found in the temple. Saivaite Thirugnana Sambandar had also sung in praise of the temple."
Dr R. Kalaikkovan further said that the earliest of the new find dated back to the period of Varaguna Maharaja (781 CE), an early Pandya ruler from Madurai.
The king had gifted around 40 gold coins to the temple authorities to daily light a lamp in front of the presiding deity. The gift was maintained as corpus and the interest accrued was to be used to light the lamp with ghee, measured by the temple standard measure termed 'Narayanazhi'.
Several such inscriptions of the same king were found in and around Tiruchy. A fourth regnal year inscription of Uttamachola (973-74 CE) inscribed on all the four sides of the lower segment of a pillar at the Maha Mandapam of the temple highlighted the sale of one 'ma' of land by the assembly of Uttamasili Chadurvedimangalam to the temple authorities, to celebrate the festival, Dr R. Kalaikkovan, added.
The leftover portion of the two earlier copied records also throw some light on the irrigation facilities that existed at Uttamasili Chadurvedimangalam and Palaitturai during the early Chola rule.
A portion of another inscription showed that sabha members who demanded tax from the owners of tax-free lands were liable for punishment, and the elders of the society could collect a suitable fine from them and remit the same to the royalty, said Dr R. Kalaikkovan.
The department of epigraphy has been informed about the new findings, he added.
