386-year-old inscription of Sethupathi dynasty found on stone in Ramanathapuram
Teachers of Government High School, Kulathur, S Pauldurai and S Ramamoorthi informed V Rajaguru, President of Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation, that Farjith, an alumnus of the School, had told them that there was a stone inscription near his house.
MADURAI: A 386-year-old inscription of the Sethupathi dynasty was found on a stone used for washing clothes at Kulathur in Paramakudi taluk of Ramanathapuram district.
Teachers of Government High School, Kulathur, S Pauldurai and S Ramamoorthi informed V Rajaguru, President of Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation, that Farjith, an alumnus of the School, had told them that there was a stone inscription near his house.
The site and the inscription were cleaned by Kavin Raj Pandian, Priyadarshan, Abhijan and Rithik of Class IX from the Heritage Club of the school.
After having read and examined, Rajaguru on Monday said the inscription features 12 lines -- ‘Udaiya nayan thazhavayan sethupathi kaatha thevar’ erected a sluice in Sevvirukkai Nattu Kulathur on Shaka era 1560. Tamil year ‘Vegudhaniya’ month Avani 5 was also mentioned in the inscription. Its current year is 1638 AD and belongs to the period of Thalavayan Sethupathi alias Sadaikka Thevar II.
“In Mudalur, there is an inscription stating that the king established a tank and a weir (low-head dam) in 1637 AD. Since only two inscriptions and three copper plates belonging to his period have been discovered so far, this new inscription is another strong source for the history of this king. He was known to have paid great attention to irrigation,” Rajaguru said.
Sasikumar, a resident of the village, said that many stones were lying in the weir area of the tank and the stone with the inscription was brought seven years ago and used for washing clothes.
Citing these, Rajaguru placed a demand through the school’s Heritage Club to preserve the ancient inscription.