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Nagaswamy</center></div><br></a><a href="preface.html"><div class="contents">Preface....</div></a><a href="foreword.html"><div class="selected">Foreword....</div></a><a href="introduction.html"><div class="contents">Introduction....</div></a><a href="chapter01.html"><div class="contents">Numismatic finds, Inscrib....</div></a><a href="chapter02.html"><div class="contents">Roman Coins....</div></a><a href="chapter03.html"><div class="contents">Punch Marked Coins From K....</div></a><a href="chapter04.html"><div class="contents">Satavahana Coins....</div></a><a href="chapter05.html"><div class="contents">Square Chera Coins....</div></a><a href="chapter06.html"><div class="contents">Square Chola Coins From K....</div></a><a href="chapter07.html"><div class="contents">Pallava Coins....</div></a><a href="chapter08.html"><div class="contents">Coin Moulds....</div></a><a href="chapter09.html"><div class="contents">Karur Archaeological Exca....</div></a><a href="chapter10.html"><div class="contents">Karur Antiquities....</div></a><a href="chapter11.html"><div class="contents">Alagankulam, An Indo Roma....</div></a><a href="chapter12.html"><div class="contents">Epigraphical Evidence....</div></a><a href="chapter13.html"><div class="contents">Satyaputra Inscription....</div></a><a href="chapter14.html"><div class="contents">Literary Evidence....</div></a><a href="chapter15.html"><div class="contents">Romans In Tamilnad....</div></a><a href="chapter16.html"><div class="contents">Impact Of Roman Art....</div></a><a href="chapter17.html"><div class="contents">Chera Karur....</div></a><a href="chapter18.html"><div class="contents">Epic Age: Silappadhikaram....</div></a><a href="chapter19.html"><div class="contents">Pallava Age....</div></a><a href="chapter20.html"><div class="contents">Chola Age....</div></a><a href="chapter21.html"><div class="contents">Sekkilar....</div></a><a href="chapter22.html"><div class="contents">Arunagirinathar....</div></a><a href="chapter23.html"><div class="contents">Karuvur Puranam....</div></a><a href="chapter24.html"><div class="contents">Karur: Modern....</div></a><a href="chapter25.html"><div class="contents">Poetic Karur....</div></a><a href="bibliography.html"><div class="contents">Select Bibliography....</div></a></td> <td width="70%" bgcolor="" valign="top"> <div class="head1"> <font size="+2">Foreword</font><br></div><br><div class="text"> <font size="+1"> Iravatham Mahadevan </font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> When Dr. Nagaswamy asked me to write a foreword to his valuable study on the archaeology and history of Karur, the ancient Chera capital, I readily agreed as it gives me an opportunity to reminisce about our shared experiences in the discovery and interpretation of the inscription of the Sangam age. The foreword is intentionally anecdotal, revealing the human side of archaeology not normally seen in the dry-as-dust academic papers. </font> </div> <div class="ptitle"> <font size="+1">I</font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> My emotional involvement with Karur began on the cool sunny afternoon of 1st February 1965, when I first climbed the Amnattar hill at Pugalur very near Karat, to have a close look at the Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions discovered there much earlier, but left unread as they were said to be 'mostly damaged' and 'as the rock was very much weather-beaten'. In the mellow light of the setting sun, the long four-line inscription engraved on the southern rock-face stood out; and it was not too difficult to make out the bold characters even though they had worn paper-thin over the centuries. </font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> As I began spelling out aloud the names Ko Adan Cellimmporai, Kadungo and (I)lango, I realised with utter astonishment that I was indeed looking at a Chera inscription of the Sangam Age. When I published it shortly thereafter (The Hindu, 7 March 1965). I wrote, perhaps a trifle too lyrically. "The Tamil kings of the Sangam Age have at last come into the lime light of history and archaeology from the twilight of fables and ballads". You will read in this volume Dr.Nagaswamy's analysis of the implications of this discovery for the chronology of the Sangam Age in general, and the history of Karur in particular. </font> </div> <div class="ptitle"> <font size="+1">II</font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> Dr. Nagaswamy had a very similar experience years later when he was looking at the Jambai record of Atiyaman Nedamen Anci, one of the most celebrated heroes of the Sangam Age, and a contemporary of the Irumborai rulers of the Pugalur inscriptions. I can even now recall vividly his excited voice over the telephone one early morning in October 1981 informing me about the telegram received from Selvaraj, his student, announcing the discovery of a Tamil Brahmi inscription at Jambai near Tirukkoyilur in South Arcot District, As Dr. Nagaswamy was rushing to the site I wished him god speed and remarked jocularly that he might have stumbled on an Asokan Rock Edict. As it turned out I was not too far off the mark. Dr. Nagaswamy did discover the title Satiyaputo at Jambai known earlier from the second Rock Edict of Asoka. This finding clinched once for all the identification of Satiyaputa with the Adiyamans of the Tamil Country. </font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> There can hardly be any doubt that the Jambai record of Atiyaman Neduman Anci read by Dr. Nagaswamy is one of the most important epigraphical discoveries in Tamilnadu and ranks with those of the Chera inscriptions at Pugalur and Nedunjeliyan's inscriptions at Mangulam, all belonging to the Sangam Age. I was then working in the Indian Express. I invited Nagaswamy to contribute two articles explaining the significance of the discovery, one in English to be published in all the editions of the Indian Express (Indian Express, Sunday Magazine, 7 October 1981) and the other in Tamil (Dinamani 12 Oct, 1981). One would have thought that such a major discovery would have been hailed by Epigraphists. That is not what happened. </font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> A whispering campaign through foot notes citing foot notes was set afoot casting doubts on the 'authenticity' of the Jambai inscription. How could a Sanskrit expression like Satiyaputo occur in a Tami!-Brahmi record? And why is the dental n used instead of the correct alveolar n in the inscription.? </font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> Neither objections can stand scrutiny. Apart from the well-known occurrences of numerous Prakrit loan-words in the Tamil-Brahmi care inscriptions discovered earlier (and published by me in the corpus of the Tamil-Brahmi Inscriptions in 1966 in a volume edited by Dr. Nagaswamy), we now have the Prakrit grammatical form Utayana-sa occurring in the newly-discovered Mettupatti inscription and a similar expression Peruvaluti-sa occurring in one of the bi-lingual coin legends on an early Pandyan coin. As regards the second objection, Tamil epigraphists know only too well that the use of the dental for the alveolar n is one of the commonest errors in Tamil inscriptions. The examples are too numerous to need citation. </font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> I became so concerned with these unfair criticisms that I decided to visit the site once again for more detailed investigations. With the co-operation of the District Collector of South Arcot, I convened a meeting of Jambai on 14th December 1991, attended by the Tahsildar, the village revenue officials and some prominent citizens. The Tamilnadu State Department of Archaeology was represented by Thim. Kulandaivelan. (Dr.M.D.Sampath of the ASI, Epigraphy Branch, was to have attended, but got held up in Delhi). At this meeting, Appavu, the retired Talayah of the village listed that he took Selvaraj to see the inscription in 1981. Appavu had known the inscription since his boyhood as he used to take rest in the cavern when grazing his cattle nearby. Two other villagers also corroborated the testimony and stated that they had also often visited the cavern with the inscription. All the three volunteered to make sworn affidavits duly attested by the Revenue Officials. </font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> And then the clinching evidence turned up. A Senior PWD Engineer who was present on the occasion, made arrangements to remove the top-soil from the two caverns situated opposite to each other. The cavern opposite with one with the inscription was found to have now rock-beds, a large broad one near the entrance and a smaller one in the middle of the cavern. The existence of the rock beds proves Jambai association with the Jambai caverns. This discovery I note, has given the final quietus to an avoidable controversy. </font> </div> <div class="ptitle"> <font size="+1">III</font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> When I was serving as the Editor, Dinamani, Dr. Nagaswamy walked into my room one day in November 1987 with obvious excitement bringing with him the first known Chera coin with an inscription. The coin-legend reads Kol-i-p-purai in characters similm to those found in the Chera inscriptions at Pugalur. I was very happy with the discovery as it confirmed my earlier readings of the Chera names at Pugalur. (Where both the forms Porai and Purai are found). Dr. Nagaswamy's article describing the coin was immediately published (Dinamani, 15th November 1987). More recently some more inscribed coins of the Cheras of the Sangam Age have been found at Karur and Published by R.Krishnamurthy and A.Seetharaman. These finds are described by Dr. Nagaswamy in detail in this volume with critical assessments of their paleography and chronology. </font> </div> <div class="ptitle"> <font size="+1">IV</font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> At the South Indian Numismatic Conference held at Thanjavur in January 1991, a coin-dealer from Karur exhibited a unique golden signet ring featuring a mithuna couple of extraordinary grace and beauty. One could see in this truly remarkable work of art the influence of the Graco-Roman lapidary en the portrayal which is still essentially South Indian in its ethos and idiom. As far as I know, this is the only known example of the 'royal art' of the Sangam Age (as distinguished from the 'folk art'). I arranged to have the ring photographed and wax impressions taken and invited Dr. Nagaswamy to publish the find (Dinamani 16, March 1991; Indian Express 17, March 1991). </font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> By this time it was becoming known in the scholarly circles in Tamilnadu that the market was getting 'flooded' with coins, seals and rings picked up from the 'dry' river bed of Amaravathi at Karur. I had seen many of them, and quite a few were published in the dailies. I decided to investigate the phenomenon and visited Karur on the 16 February 1991, accompanied by Dr. Chitra Viji, the well-known art historian. We arrived there quite early in the morning; but even earlier Dinamani had hit the newsstands carrying the article by Dr. Nagaswamy illustrated by a magnificent enlarged colour reproduction of the Mithuna couple on the ring. The effect on the local bullion and coin dealers was sensational. The Mithuna ring which we had particularly wanted to see and, if possible, acquire, disappeared underground and the coin dealer nowhere to be found. It is sad to contemplate that due to avarice a truly precious work of art of the Sangam Age has been lost to Tamilnadu. You can read in this volume Dr.Nagaswamy's evocational description of this find. </font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> The day at Karur was not wholly wasted. As we strolled along the Jawahar Bazaar, the main marketing centre of Karur, we could see in the glass cases of a few sarat shops, literally hundreds of coins of the Early period belonging to the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas; many Roman coins in gold, silver and copper; and later coinage by the Pallavas etc. We were told all of them had been picked up from the river bed. </font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> We then walked along the dry bed of the Amaravathi river. We could see several small groups of tribals digging shallow pits and panning for coins and gold pieces. On an impulse I asked one of them to dig at a point chosen by me at random. A shallow circular pit was dug to a depth of about one metre where water level was reached. Out of this pit came in the next few minutes a square copper coin of the Cheras with the elephant and bow and arrow symbols, a copper Roman coin and a gold ring made of wire! </font> </div> <div class="ptitle"> <font size="+1">V</font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> As Dr. Nagaswamy has pointed out in this volume, there is now overwhelming evidence from coins, inscriptions, seals, rings etc. that Karur was without doubt the ancient capital of the Cheras during the Sangam Age Dr. Nagaswamy has traced the history of Karur from the earlier times to the modem period, utilising the data from his own archaeological excavations and on the basis of epigraphic, numismatic and literary evidence. The story told by him is all the more fascinating as the narrator himself has played a leading part in unravelling the lost glory of Karur. </font> </div> <div class="ptitle"> <font size="+1">VI</font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> I do not propose to deal with the contents of the volume in further detail as my purposes is to introduce the book. All the same I would permit myself one comment. I do not accept Dr. Nagaswamy's contention that the Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions are not earlier than 1-2 centuries A.D. The paleography of the script, near-identical with that of Asokan edicts, and the recent stratigraphic evidence of the inscribed sherds especially from the recent excavations at Arikamedu and Kodumanal indicate that Brahmi reach the Tamil country in the Late Megalithic - Early Historical Period and was adopted to the Tamil Language shortly there after some time towards the end of the third century B.C. or the commencement of the second century B.C. I am content to let the evidence speak for itself. </font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> Dr. Nagaswamy is a rare combination of Sanskritist and Tamil scholar, archaeologist and historian, with an enviable skill for communicating his enthusiasm and knowledge to others. One more book from his pen is most welcome. </font> </div> <div class="text"> <font size="+1"> Iravatham Mahadevan, Madras, 20th December 1994 </font> </div> </td> <td width="5%" valign="top" bgcolor="lightgrey"></td></tr> </table> <table align="right"><tr width="100%"> <td align="right"><a href="../../page1.html">Home</a></td> <td><a href="#begining">Top</a></td></tr> </table> </body> </html>