MADURAI: A 16th-Century stone inscription was discovered at Velangudi village near Narikudi in Thiruchuli taluk on Tuesday by historians associated with Pandyanadu centre for Historical Research in Madurai.
Speaking about the stone inscription, C Santhalingam, secretary of Pandyanadu Centre for Historical Research said that the inscription belongs to the period of Krishna devaraya's reign over Vijayanagara kingdom (1503 - 1529 C.E) in south India with Hampi as the capital.
"On his pilgrimage to Rameswaram, it is said that Krishna Devaraya stayed in Madurai for some days, where he instituted a special pooja on the day of his natal star punar poosam at Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple. He gave out around 500 coins for the pooja to the people of a village named Thanichiyam alias Thirgnanasampantha nallur near Sholavanthan. The king also built a mandapam at Alagarkovil and installed a life-size portrait on one of the pillars of the mandapam, which is now seen behind the Rakachiamman shrine," added Santhalingam.
He further stated that "The inscription on the stone remarked that the village of Velangudi, where the record was found, was donated to the Chaturvedhi Brahmins (vidwa mahajanas) by Thimmana Nayaka, possibly a local head of the region. The village was also included in Sundara Pandya valanadu, prefixed with Pokkorasan Velangudi and again named as Chennava Nayaka puram.
The prefix Pokkarasan may denote Bukka, the king who established the Vijayanagar empire with HariHara, at Hampi during 1336 CE. Velankudi was gifted to the learned Brahmanas who were well-versed in the four Vedas. The inscription ends with an imprecation that one who denies the donation will face the consequences for the sin of killing a milchy cow at the bank of Ganges. Below the inscription, an umbrella, a purna kumba and a flagpost are also engraved."
According to sources, another insightful piece of information inscribed on the stone was that "An irrigation channel named Pokkarasar , originating from Vaigai River at Thiruppachethi, provided water to Velagundi back in the day. However, now the channel has encroached and there is no water being released to the village. Since the engraving was exhumed, the local people of the village are taking effective steps to relocate the channel and retrieve their old assets and lifestyle. The inscription will enable us to trace the ancient history of Velangudi."