Stone inscription reveals practise of marriage between trees

Thavasimuthu, renowned epigraphist from Sathankulam in Thoothukudi district, found the inscription inside the Chidambara Pillayar Temple at Pannamparai. Speaking to DTNext , he claimed that though people come to the temple to offer daily prayers, the stone inscription was noticed at the entrance, only during his recent visit to the temple. The stone inscription is a very small. It is just one feet tall and one and half feet in breadth. There are five lines in the inscription. It has been mentioned in the inscription that in 1943, people of Pannamparai had arranged for a marriage between a peepal and a neem tree seeking rain. 

The epigraphist said that the inscription not only shows the belief of the people that existed in those days but also the importance given to trees. It also shows that neem and peepal trees were an integral part in the lives of Tamil people then, said Thavasimuthu. If such beliefs had prevailed among the people decades ago, it goes without doubt that they had given a lot of importance to grow and preserve trees. 

Speaking about the temple Thavasimuthu claims that the temple was actually a very old one. Earlier, there might have been separate temples for Shiva,  Parvathi and Murugan too. But what has stood the test of times is just the Vinayagar temple. The details of the land donated to the temple 200 years before were also found in another inscription in the nearby Sudalai Madasamy temple. This inscription too was discovered  by the epigraphist. Thavasimuthu had earlier found out small shallow pits used to play Pallanguzhi, a traditional game played by the Tamils, belonging to Sangam era at Pannambarai rocks. Another milestone referring to Pannambarai as one of the key location in the trade route was also discovered.