The village Negamum at Pollachi was once a flourishing trade centre according to a stone inscription found at its nearby village Pattanam
Coimbatore:
Several places around Coimbatore are mere villages of less importance today. But, the glory they enjoyed in the remote past puts one in surprise, when the late epigraphist D. Sundaram decipheredthe stone inscriptions found there.
“The village Negamum at Pollachi was once a flourishing trade centre according to a stone inscription found at its nearby village Pattanam. The word Negamum, which is a corruption of Nigamum, literally means A Guild of Merchants “explained Sundaram, who deciphered the text of an epigraph found there.
Sundaram also informed that the village Pattanam was converted into a Nanadesipattanam (A trade town) by six Aadhichettys( Merchants) in 1747. Moreover, the chieftain, who ruled the place, made a great number of merchants settle there and appointed soldiers to them for security against dangers like murder and robbery.
“Such settlements of traders were called Anjinaanpukalidam in Tamil†he added.
Sundaram developed a passion for history, after he read the historical novels penned by yesteryear famous Tamil writer Sandilyan while he was a student at Avinashilingam Chettiar Board High School at his native town Avinashi. Later on, by reading books written by eminent historians like Mayilai Seeni Venkatasamy, Nadana Kasinathan and many others, he mastered the art of deciphering stone inscriptions.
However, after his retirement as a Senior Accounts Officer from the Bharath Sanchar Nigam Limited, he obtained a Diploma in Epigraphy from PSG College of Arts and Science and was in search of stone inscriptions in the Kongu region.
His discovery of a rare Nadukal (Hero stone) at Pattanam throws light on the remnants of the ancient Tamil tradition of Mother Goddess worship.
“After informed by history enthusiast Rudhran from Devanampalayam, I found the hero stone among the bushes at Nallattipalayam Pirivu near Negamum. The memorial, which depicts a woman with her child, is something new from many other hero stones so far discovered in Coimbatore “said Sundaram, adding that it was very rare to come across hero stones with images of women.
However, the epigraphist pointed out that ancient Tamils practised Mother Goddess worship and erected Masaththi Kals (Hero stones for the women, who died in their husbands’ pyre).
Describing the images engraved on the memorial dating back to 18th century A.D, Sundaram pointed out:
“As the memorial portrays two bulls attacking the woman on both sides, we could assume that she must have been killed by the animals. The hero stone could have been erected on the untimely death of a pregnant woman, who was deserted by her husbandâ€
Sundaram discovered another stone inscription at Kurunalli Palayam in Sulakkal at Pollachi. The epigraph provides a message that certain agricultural lands at Kurunalli Palayam were donated to Amanalingeswarar Temple at Devanampalayam, a nearby village.
“But, the stone inscription, which dates back to 14th century A.D, mentions the name of the village Kurunallipalayam as Kuruneeli†said Sundaram.
Besides connoting female deities like Parvathi and Durga, the suffix Neeli in the word Kuruneeli signifies also a female devil!
Several places around Coimbatore are mere villages of less importance today. But, the glory they enjoyed in the remote past puts one in surprise, when the late epigraphist D. Sundaram decipheredthe stone inscriptions found there.
“The village Negamum at Pollachi was once a flourishing trade centre according to a stone inscription found at its nearby village Pattanam. The word Negamum, which is a corruption of Nigamum, literally means A Guild of Merchants “explained Sundaram, who deciphered the text of an epigraph found there.
Sundaram also informed that the village Pattanam was converted into a Nanadesipattanam (A trade town) by six Aadhichettys( Merchants) in 1747. Moreover, the chieftain, who ruled the place, made a great number of merchants settle there and appointed soldiers to them for security against dangers like murder and robbery.
“Such settlements of traders were called Anjinaanpukalidam in Tamil†he added.
Sundaram developed a passion for history, after he read the historical novels penned by yesteryear famous Tamil writer Sandilyan while he was a student at Avinashilingam Chettiar Board High School at his native town Avinashi. Later on, by reading books written by eminent historians like Mayilai Seeni Venkatasamy, Nadana Kasinathan and many others, he mastered the art of deciphering stone inscriptions.
However, after his retirement as a Senior Accounts Officer from the Bharath Sanchar Nigam Limited, he obtained a Diploma in Epigraphy from PSG College of Arts and Science and was in search of stone inscriptions in the Kongu region.
His discovery of a rare Nadukal (Hero stone) at Pattanam throws light on the remnants of the ancient Tamil tradition of Mother Goddess worship.
“After informed by history enthusiast Rudhran from Devanampalayam, I found the hero stone among the bushes at Nallattipalayam Pirivu near Negamum. The memorial, which depicts a woman with her child, is something new from many other hero stones so far discovered in Coimbatore “said Sundaram, adding that it was very rare to come across hero stones with images of women.
However, the epigraphist pointed out that ancient Tamils practised Mother Goddess worship and erected Masaththi Kals (Hero stones for the women, who died in their husbands’ pyre).
Describing the images engraved on the memorial dating back to 18th century A.D, Sundaram pointed out:
“As the memorial portrays two bulls attacking the woman on both sides, we could assume that she must have been killed by the animals. The hero stone could have been erected on the untimely death of a pregnant woman, who was deserted by her husbandâ€
Sundaram discovered another stone inscription at Kurunalli Palayam in Sulakkal at Pollachi. The epigraph provides a message that certain agricultural lands at Kurunalli Palayam were donated to Amanalingeswarar Temple at Devanampalayam, a nearby village.
“But, the stone inscription, which dates back to 14th century A.D, mentions the name of the village Kurunallipalayam as Kuruneeli†said Sundaram.
Besides connoting female deities like Parvathi and Durga, the suffix Neeli in the word Kuruneeli signifies also a female devil!