Chola-era inscriptions found in Karur district

A stone inscription indicating the practice of documentation of endowments/records on copper plates during Chola period has been deciphered at Sankaranmalai in Karur district.

According to Mani Maran, a Tamil pundit of Sarasvati Mahal Library at Thanjavur, an inspection of stone inscriptions at Sankaranmalai in Sithalavai village panchayat, Krishnarayapuram taluk in Karur District has indicated that Chola kings have not only recorded their endowments and other information on stones but also on copper plates.

A team of epigraphists led by him inspected stone inscriptions found in Sankaranmalai area recently after a two history enthusiasts – Krishnakumar of Tiruppur and Thangaraj of Karur – requested him to explore the history of Ponnar-Sankar by collecting/inspecting the evidences available in the Kongu region.

The stone inscriptions which spoke about the donations/endowments made to the “Sankaramalai Udaiyarkovil” included a phrase that the details about the donation/endowment should be inscribed both on stones and on copper.

Stating that the inscription could have been etched on the 12^th and 18^th year of rule of Kulothunga Cholan, Mani Maran said that line drawings of a bull, two men and a ‘trishul’ and a ‘navakandam’ with a ‘agni kundam’ and a man about to cut his head with a sword, were also found on a stone at the foothill.