16th century inscription reveals Pandyan kingdom extended till Ramnad

The inscription was discovered by V Rajaguru, president of the Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation, when he was working with the coordinator of the foundation, R Vimalraj, at the Srinivasa Perumal Temple. The inscription was found on the left side of the temple entrance. The inscription mentions that one Theekollar Sokkar Andar had constructed a pond facing the temple and had donated it to the people of Kallikudi. The inscription was installed in the 27th regnal year of Pandyan king Sriseevalla Devar on the first day of the Tamil month Panguni in the Tamil year Sarvari. 

The inscription states that one who destroys the pond would have committed the sin of killing a black cow on the banks of Ganges and on the shores of Sethu, indicating that the Sethu region was held on a par with the Ganges by the Pandyan kings. However, what is striking in the inscription is the regnal year and the name of the Pandyan king. 

Speaking to DT NEXT, Rajaguru said that after the invasion of the Delhi Sultanate, the Pandyan kings lost a big part of their dynasty and were pushed further south. After the Nayakar kings started ruling from Madurai, the Pandyans ruled only from Tenkasi, now in Tirunelveli district. However, the inscription at Kallikudi throws light on the Pandyan kings ruling parts of Ramanathapuram district as well.

In the inscription, the name of the king is mentioned as Sriseevalla Devar and though there was a king with the same name in Tenkasi, the Pandyan king in Tenkasi ruled for just nine years, while Sriseevalla Devar was in power for 27 years, according to the inscription. So, the two Pandyan kings were different. This shows that another set of Pandyan kings had ruled the Ramanathapuram region with either Thiruvadanai or Kalayarkovil as their headquarters. The inscription is highly significant as it makes it clear that Pandyan kings had also ruled the Ramanathapuram region, said Rajaguru.