XXIX .  Arachalur (அரச்சலூர்) - 1

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XXIX .  Arachalur (அரச்சலூர்) - 1
85.
A.
L. 1    e1 ḻu ta2 tu ma3 pu ṇa ru ta tā ṉa ma lai ya
L. 2    va ṇa ṇa ka ka ṉa te [va]4 ṉa cā5 [ta ta]6 ṉa
    
B.
L. 1    elḻuttum puṇaruttāṉ7 malai-y
L. 2    vaṇṇakkaṉ8 tē[va]ṉ cā[tta]ṉ
    
அ.
வ. 1    எ ழு த து ம பு ண ரு த தா ன ம லை ய
வ. 2    வ ண ண க க ன தெ [வ] ன சா [த த] ன
    
ஆ.
வ. 1    எழுத்தும் புணருத்தான் மலைய்
வ. 2    வண்ணக்கன் தே[வ]ன் சா[த்த]ன்
Translation
Tē(va)ṉ Cā(tta)ṉ, the Malai-vaṇṇakkaṉ, composed the letters 9 (of the musical notations) also.
Locus
On the middle of the three stone beds in the cave at Āṇṭipāṟai on the Nākamalai hill to the north of the village. Both lines have suffered some damage.
No. of lines
2
Length
47 cm. (each).
Date
ca. 4th century C.E.
Notes
1. The dot within the letter e is the puḷḷi indicating that the vowel is short.
2. The horizontal line seen at the lower end of the letter is a fault in the rock.
3. RN and Krishnan (1974) read p. Note the serifs (headlines) on this and some other letters influenced by the Southern Brāhmī Script.
4. The lower part of the letter is damaged.
5. The letter c is an unusual variant with the loop opening to the right as in Southern Brāhmī.
6. These two letters are damaged.
7. cf. LT puṇarttāṉ. See ETE 2, Commentary (85.2) for interpreting this as a technical expression for composing dance syllables. See 86 & 87.
8. malai-vaṇṇakkaṉ is interpreted as a clan name. See ETE 2, Commentary (85.3).
9. In the adjoining inscriptions (86 & 87) engraved on either side of the present inscription.
Field Notes