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Telugu inscription also found

By T.S. Subramanian

Chennai Nov. 18. A stone tablet with a Telugu inscription assignable to 18th century A.D. has been found close to a 1,000-year-old Tamil inscription at the Alagiya Narasingaperumal temple at Ennayiram village near Villupuram, Tamil Nadu.

The Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai Circle, had discovered an important Tamil inscription, dating back to the Chola king Rajadhi Raja I (A.D. 1018 -1054) on the basement wall of a structure at the temple at Ennayiram.

This Tamil inscription runs to 28 lines and it has the longest `meikeerthi' / `prasasthi' (that is titles and exploits) of a Chola king. The Hindu published a report on this on November 7, 2003.

Adjoining this Tamil inscription is the granite slab with two lines of inscription in Telugu. The two lines read `Alagiya Singaru Perumalu/Obayyani sada seva'.

According to ASI epigraphists, the palaeographic characters of the Telugu inscription obviously refer to the Alagiya Narasingaperumal temple and how the local chieftain Obalaya gave a gift to the temple (for its maintenance). The stone tablet was kept along the basement wall during additional construction in the temple complex.

According to the epigraphists, the Obalaya chieftain belonged to the Aravidu dynasty. This chieftain ruled around the Ginjee area. The small town of Ginjee is situated about 18 km from Ennayiram. The Obalaya chieftains were tax collectors during the late Vijayanagara period. A descendant of these Obalayas made a donation to the temple. It was inscribed on the granite slab and kept along the basement wall.

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