Mangulam
| Part ofa serieson |
| Jainism |
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MangulamorMankulamis a village inMadurai district,Tamil Nadu,India. It is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) fromMadurai.[1]The inscriptions discovered in the region are the earliestTamil-Brahmiinscriptions.[2][3]
History
[edit]A hill in the region which is known as Mangulam hill or Kalugumalai[4](eagle hill) or Ovamalai,[1]is whereTamil Jainmonks lived in the caves during when their religion flourished in the ancientTamil country.They converted the caves into theirPalli(monastery)[5]and lived here from 3 BCE to the 9th century CE.[3]
Mangulam inscriptions
[edit]Mangulam inscriptions were discovered byRobert Sewellin the caves of the hill in 1882.[6]This was the earliest finding of such kind of inscriptions. In 1906, IndianepigraphistV. Venkayyatried to read the inscriptions and found that it similar to theBrahmi scriptinAshokan edicts,he thought that the inscriptions were inPali language.[7][8]In 1919, epigraphistH. Krishna Sastriidentified few Tamil words in the inscriptions.[8]In 1924,K. V. Subrahmanya Aiyardiscovered that inscriptions are in Tamil with somePrakritloan words in the Brahmi script and concluded that script is Tamil-Brahmi.[6]In 1965,Iravatham Mahadevanrecorded the inscriptions in the caves[2]and dated it to the late 3rd century BCE.[9][10]
There are five caves in the hill of which six inscriptions are found in four caves.[6]These were inscribed duringSangam period,hence it is considered one of the important inscriptions in Tamil Nadu.[11]Archeologists foundsherds,sling stones[1]and an ancient burial site[12]during the excavation in the region. In 2007, Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department excavated the ruins of the Jain prayer halls of Sangam period.[6]The inscriptions are among theprotected monuments in Tamil Naduby theArchaeological Survey of India.[13]
Content
[edit]The inscriptions mentions that workers ofNeṭuñceḻiyaṉ I,aPandyanking of Sangam period, (c. 270 BCE) made stone beds for Jain monks. It further details the name of worker for whom he made stone bed. For example, an inscription shows that Kaṭalaṉ Vaḻuti, a worker (பணஅன்- accountant; he was also related family) of Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ, made a stone bed for the Jain monk Nanta-siri Kuvaṉ.[14]
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The longest inscription at the site, and the earliest known Tamil-Brāhmī inscription. It records the gift by the Pandya king Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ of a monastery to the senior Jain monk Nanta-siri Kuvaṉ. -
Information board by Department of Archaeology, on the left is description about the Mangulam Tamil Brahmi inscriptions and actual translation is on the right. -
Mangulam inscriptions explained. -
Mangulam inscription no.2 explained.
References
[edit]- ^abc"Mangulam".Department of Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu.Retrieved21 February2014.
- ^abIravatham Mahadevan (2003).Early Tamil epigraphy from the earliest times to the sixth century A.D.Harvard University Press.ISBN978-0-674-01227-1.
- ^ab"Kalugumalai".University of Bonn.Archived fromthe originalon 27 February 2014.Retrieved22 February2014.
- ^Gaṇeśa Lālavānī (1991).Jainthology: An Anthology of Articles Selected from the Jain Journal of Last 25 Years.Jain Bhawan.
- ^Prema Kasturi; Chithra Madhavan (2007).South India heritage: an introduction.East West Books (Madras).ISBN978-81-88661-64-0.
- ^abcd"Jaina treasure trove in Mankulam village".The Hindu.1 January 2009.Retrieved22 February2014.
- ^"பழந்தமிழ்க் கல்வெட்டுகள்"(in Tamil). Varalaaru.com.Retrieved23 February2014.
- ^abIravatham Mahadevan."Indological essays — Pulli in the Tamil Brahmi Script".Department of Statistics, Madras Christian College.Internet Archive. pp. 146–147.Retrieved23 February2014.
- ^John D. Bengtson (January 2008).In Hot Pursuit of Language in Prehistory: Essays in the Four Fields of Anthropology: in Honor of Harold Crane Fleming.John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 427–.ISBN978-90-272-3252-6.
- ^R. Umamaheshwari (2018).Reading History with the Tamil Jainas: A Study on Identity, Memory and Marginalisation.Springer. p. 43.ISBN978-81-322-3756-3.
- ^"An epigraphic perspective on the antiquity of Tamil".The Hindu.24 June 2010.Retrieved23 February2014.
- ^"Jain vestiges".The Hindu.5 July 2004. Archived fromthe originalon 27 November 2004.Retrieved21 February2014.
- ^"Protected Monuments in Tamil Nadu".Archaeological Survey of India.Retrieved25 February2014.
S. No.8 — Ovamalai Kalvettu (inscriptions)
- ^"மாங்குளம் தமிழ்க் கல்வெட்டுக்கள்"(in Tamil).Tamil Virtual University.Retrieved23 February2014.
External links
[edit]
Media related toMangulamat Wikimedia Commons
