123-year-old well stone inscription found in Virudhunagar

MADURAI: An ancient inscription has been found at Mallankinaru in Virudhunagar district, mentioning the donation of a stone well to the villagers 123 years ago.

On a road from Mallankinaru to Kalkurichi, near the memorial of former Minister V Thangapandian, the inscription was discovered on the upper portion of a square-shaped well built with stones by Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation President V Rajaguru and its member ‘Noorsakipuram’ S Sivakumar.

Since ancient times, kings, merchants, landlords, village rulers and people have donated and recorded it in inscriptions and copper plates. Above all, water donation was considered very auspicious.

The two-line inscription on the well states that in the Kali Yuga 5002, the month of Masi in the Pilava year, and the English year 1902, Mallankinaru Kuppusamy Nayakkar, son of K Nagama Nayakkar, built this well made of stones as a charity for the use of the people of the village Mallankinaru, Rajaguru explained. Kali, Tamil and English years are mentioned in the inscription.

The temple inscription also states that in 1904, Nagama Nayakkar built a madapalli (temple kitchen) in the Chennakesava Perumal temple of this village, he said. They might have been the rulers of this village at that time, Rajaguru said on Tuesday.

In the 13th century AD, a well with Picottah was dug in Viluppanur for the use of the people during the rule of Kulasekara Pandyan. Such wells and ponds were constructed by individuals to tackle water scarcity across the district during British rule, he noted.

Ulagappan Cheruvaikarar at Narikudi and Karupana Kudumban at Kundukulam constructed the ponds in their villages, and Pethanallu Nayakkar constructed the octagonal well at Solaiseri village, he said.