Sanskrit portion: Mythical genealogy The inscription begins with a Sanskrit portion that invokes the God
Shiva, and describes the mythical lineage of the Pandya kings, naming the sage
Agastya as their family priest. It also gives the following account of the dynasty's origin: At the end of the previous
kalpa (age), a king named Pandya ruled the coastal region. At the beginning of the present
kalpa, this king was reborn as
Budha, the son of the
Moon. Budha's son
Pururavas introduced the dynasty's emblem - a pair of fish, and shared his throne and taxes with
Indra. Pururavas' descendant
Maravarman was a patron of the learned, who conquered several enemies and gave away heaps of gold. Maravarman's son Ranadhira was an able ruler like his ancestors, and Ranadhira's son Maravarman (II) alias Rajasimha was a powerful, prosperous, truthful and learned ruler. The enemy king Pallavamalla ran away from the battlefield when faced with Rajasimha, wondering if the Pandya king was Shiva,
Vishnu, or
Indra. Rajasimha generously distributed his wealth among the
brahmanas, beggars and temples. He married the daughter of the Malava king, and their son was the next ruler, Jatila. (Sastri identified Malava with modern
Mala-nadu.) Jatila alias Parantaka was almost equal to
Skanda, the son of Shiva.
Tamil portion: Historical context The Tamil portion begins with the description of a past event, and goes on to describe the achievements of the issuer king's ancestors: Narkorran (
Tamil Lexicon: Naṟkoṟṟan), a
brahmana and a headman of
Korkai, completed a
Vedic sacrifice at Velvikudi (Vēḷvikkuṭi), with support of the Pandya king Palyaga Mudukudimi Peurvaluti (Palyāka Mutukuṭumi Peruvaḻuti). The inscription defines the boundaries of the Velvikudi village with reference to landmarks such as vegetation, ponds, mounds, and other villages such as Payal and Kulandai; however, the modern identity of Velvikudi is uncertain. Both Korkai and Velvikudi were located in a subdivision called Paganur-kurram, which had fertile agricultural fields. Based on a petition from the brahmanas of the Paganur-kurram, the king granted the village to Narkorran. Subsequently, a
Kali king named Kalabhran (identified with the
Kalabhras) conquered the whole Pandya country, including Velvikudi. After some time, the Pandya king
Kadungon recaptured his ancestral territory from the enemies. Kadungon's son was
Avani Sulamani Maravarman, whose son was
Seliyan Vanavan Sendan. The next king in the line,
Arikesari Asamasaman Maravarman, won a battle at Pali by driving into a herd of war elephants; defeated the ocean-like army of Vilveli at Nelveli; destroyed the
Paravar who did not seek refuge with him; annihilated the race of the people of Kurunadu; won a battle at Sennilam by driving into a herd of war elephants; defeated the king of Kerala several times at the strongly-fortified town of
Puliyur; performed
hiranyagarbha and
tulabhara gift-giving ceremonies; and protected the brahmanas and the infirm. Seliyan Sendan's son
Sadaiyan (Caṭaiyaṉ), the lord of
Konga, bore the titles Tenna-Vanavan, Sembiyan, Solan and Madura-Karunatakan. Sadaiyan won a battle at Marudur; defeated Ayavel in the battles at Sengodi and Pudankodu; and destroyed the
maharathis at Mangalapuram. He stamped the symbols of bow, tiger and fish on
Mount Meru (these are the symbols of the Chera, Chola and Pandya countries; thus, the inscription suggests that he held supreme authority over the Chera, Chola and Pandya territories). Sadaiyan's son
Ter-Maran defeated the enemies at Neduvayal, Kurumadai, Manni-Kurichchi, Tirumangai, Puvalur, and
Kodumbalur. He defeated the Pallava king at Kulumbur, capturing the enemy's elephants and horses. He defeated his enemies at Periyalur, crossed the Kaviri (
Kaveri River), and subdued the Mala-Kongam country. He reached
Pandi-Kodumudi, and worshipped Pashupati (
Shiva). He established a marital alliance with the Gangaraja. He performed the gift-giving ceremonies
gosahasra (gift of cows),
hiranyagarbha, and
tulabhara. He relieved the distress of those who studied the Vedas, and repaired the fortifications at Kudal,
Vanji and
Kozhi. Ter Maran's son Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan (the issuer king, also known as Jatila Parantaka) was a respected, merciful and militarily powerful king, who loved the learned people (
pandita-vatsala), and equalled
Manu. He was like death to his enemies (
parantaka), like
Partha in wielding the bow, and like
Kinnara in music. He defeated the
Kadava ruler at Pennagadam, forcing the enemy king to flee to the forest. He also won a battle against the
Ay Vel chieftain.
Tamil portion: Grant The Velvikudi inscription provides the earliest extant reference to the establishment of a
Brahmadeya (land grant to a
brahmana) in the Tamil-speaking region. It records Nedunjadaiyan's renewal of a grant made by his purported ancestor, the ancient Pandya king Palyaga Mudukudimi Peurvaluti. The inscription states that during the third year of Nedunjadaiyan's reign, a man arrived at the Pandya capital Kudal (Kūṭal or
Madurai), and complained that Velvikudi had not been returned to Narkorran's descendants after the end of the Kalabhra interregnum. The king asked the complainant to prove the antiquity of the grant, which the complainant did. The king then granted the Velvikudi village to Kamakkani Narchingan (Kāmakaṇi Naṟchiṅgaṉ) alias Suvaran Singan, the headman of Korkai. The headman kept the one-third of the village for himself, and distributed the remaining part among fifty other brahmanas.
Sanskrit portion: imprecatory verses The Sanskrit portion at the end names Mangalaraja Madhuratara of Karavandapura as the executor (
ajnapti) of the grant. It describes him as a
vaidyaka, a master of the
shastras, a poet and an orator. This portion ends with four
Vaishnavite imprecatory verses (cursing those who violate the grant deed).
Tamil portion: Colophon The Tamil portion at the end states that the inscription was engraved by the order of the king himself, and names the engraver as Yuddhakesari (or Chuttakesari) Perumbanaikkaran. The engraver was allotted a house site, a
wet field and a dry field. == Historicity ==