Virudhunagar district, which has many places of historical importance, has risen to prominence in Tamil Nadu’s archaeological map recently, thanks to the excavations being done at Vembakkottai on the banks of the Vaippar by the State Department of Archaeology.
In March 2022, while inaugurating the first phase of excavations at the site, Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, who also handles the Department of Archaeology, had said there could be exciting findings as the site appeared to be around 3,000 years old.
Displayed at on-site museum
The findings from the site over the past two years, many of which are showcased at an on-site museum opened by the State government, seemed to prove the Minister’s remarks. While the limelight is on Vembakkottai, it is also worth highlighting a few other recent archaeological findings from Virudhunagar district, particularly those that throw light on the prevalence of Samanam or Jainism, the relics of which have already been found at many places around Madurai.
Vaippatrankaraiyin Varalatru Thadam (The historical traces on the banks of the Vaippar), a recently published collection of articles based on the eponymous conference organised by the Virudhunagar district administration, has documented these findings.
The most important among them is the discovery of a site at Pulloor, a village near Kariapatti, which is believed to have housed a Samana palli (a Jain school or centre of learning) in the 8th Century to 10th Century CE. Though only a few inscriptions, besides a pile of stones, have survived at the site, these inscriptions give valuable insights.
According to an article written by R. Udhayakumar, of the Madurai-based Pandya Nadu Centre for Historical Research (PNCHR), at least four inscriptions have been found at the site, all of which speak of the goats donated for making ghee from their milk to light lamps at the school. Two of them highlight the period in which the donations were made.
A name for over 1,000 years
According to the article, one of the inscriptions mentions that 50 goats were donated during the fourth regnal year of a Pandyan ruler named Maran Sadaiyan, which the author says was in the late 8th Century. The inscription also identifies the place as Venbunaatu Tirupulloor, indicating that the village has partially retained its name for more than 1,000 years.
Another inscription in the Vattezhuthu script refers to a donation of 25 goats made by one Palathuraikudi Gopalan during the 12th regnal year of Raja Raja Chola, which was 997 CE. Mr. Udhayakumar says in his article that this indicated that Jainism received the patronage of the Pandyas as well as the Cholas.
Also called Perumpalli
Apart from these two inscriptions, there were at least two more that recognise the donation of goats made by two individuals. One of them identifies the school as Perumpalli. The article says the discovery of the existence of this school will place it as the second biggest Jain centre of learning that functioned in Virudhunagar district. The other one was at Kurandi.
Vaippatrankaraiyin Varalatru Thadam also documents the recent discoveries of Jain sculptures in a few other villages in the district. For instance, in Irunchirai village, a sculpture of Mahavira, carved on a two-foot-high stone, was found near the Muniyandi temple. The statue of a Thirthankara was found in P. Pudupatti. This has now been moved to the government museum in Virudhunagar. Another statue of a Thirthankara was found in Sennilaikudi village in Tiruchuli taluk. A statue, believed to be that of Mahavira, was discovered in Kichanaickenpatti village near Sivakasi. A three-foot-high statue of a Thirthankara was found in Keezh Idaiyankulam village. All these statues are believed to be from the 10th Century to 11th Century CE.
C. Santhalingam, a Madurai-based archaeologist and secretary of the PNCHR, who played an important role in bringing out the collection of essays, says all these findings indicate that Jainism thrived with patronage in that period. Though Jainism declined with the emergence of the Bhakti movement, it subsequently saw a revival. “We do not see sculptures from early Jains. That seemed to have happened only after this period of revival,” he says.
More efforts needed
Stressing the need for more efforts to make such discoveries, he says it is important to preserve the findings. “The present approach seems to be to move these sculptures to the government museums. However, what could be better is to preserve them at places where they are found,” he says. For instance, the statue found in Keezh Idaiyankulam is placed on a new pedestal and maintained properly. “There are a good number of Tamil Jains, particularly from places like Tindivanam, who want to visit these places and contribute to their preservation,” he points out.
By preserving these sculptures and inscriptions at the sites where they are found, the historical importance and continuity of these places will also be preserved, along with the artefacts, Mr. Santhalingam says.
