SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The first chapter deals with the relevant geological and geographical features of the Tirunelveli district and gives an account of the ancient centres of civilisation as revealed by archaeology. Some important references to the oldest history of the area found in Sangam literature, in Greek and Latin literature and in Chinese works, and a short account of the important archaeological monuments dated between the seventh and tenth centuries A.D. are also included. The chapter ends with a brief survey of the extant sources for this study. This is followed in the second chapter by a survey of the political and dynastic history of the Colas, the Cola-Pandyas, the Pandyas and other related dynasties of South India between the tenth and thirteenth centuries A.D., as derived from a study of the inscriptions of Tiruvalisvaram and other South Indian sites, and Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Sanskrit literary texts. The third chapter, dealing with the administration and economic life of the area between A.D. 850 and A.D. 1300, gives special reference to local administration in the Pandya country. The social and religious conditions of the period as gleaned from the inscriptions of Tiruvali?varam in the Tirunelveli district of Madras and other related records are reviewed in the fourth chapter. The fifth chapter gives the texts in transcriptions and translations of the inscriptions from Tiruvalisvaram. They range in date between the tenth and thirteenth centuries A.D. and are engraved in Tamil, Grantha and Vatteluttu scripts. These inscriptions are in Tamil.