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Chera coins - R.Nagaswamy -Roman Karur
1. Numismatic finds, Inscribed Chera Coins
The recent discovery of three inscribed coins and a flood of inscribed seals and antiquities from Karur in Trichy district, Tamil Nadu, calls for a reappraisal of the antiquity of the town, Indo Roman trade, and also the antiquity of Sangam Tamil literature.Three coins of historical interest, with the portrait of the respective kings and the names of the Cheras have been found on the Amaravati river bed at Karur in Trichy district in recent years. The first such coin was brought to light by me in November 1987.(1) The coin has on its obverse a portrait of a king standing with the legend Kolippurai. The second such coin was found in November 1990 with the portrait head of a king resembling very much the portrant coins of the Roman emperors found in large numbers in South India particularly at Karur. A legend reading Makkotai in Tamil-Brahmi characters is found above the portrait head. The coin was noticed by Mr. Krishnamurthi of Dinamalar.(2) The third coin more or less similar to the first but with a slightly variant reading was noticed subsequently by a coin collector.(3) I have already published a detailed note on the first mentioned coin in the local dailies and followed it up with a research article in P.L. Gupta Felicitation volume.(4) Hence a brief account alone is given here. Recently another inscribed coin with the legend Kuttuvankotai has also been noticed by Mr. Krishnamurthi(5).
1. Kollipurai Coin
The coin was gifted by a vessel merchant of Karur along with a number of other coins, to the Karur Museum of the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology, while I served as the Director of the Department. When received, the coin was totally encrusted beyond recognition. When it was cleaned in the Archaeological Laboratory, it was found to have Tamil-Brahmi legend reading Kollipurai. The description of the coin is as follows :
Obverse : Portrait of a king standing majestically beneath a torana with four turrets. In his extended right arm, the king wields a sword with its point planted on the ground. With his left he wields a shield also resting on the ground. To the left of the arch there is a tree issuing from a railing. Around the periphery is the Tamil-Brahmi legend, beginning at 7' O clock, which reads in clockwise direction Ko-L-I-P-Pu-Rai. But for the legend and the script, the portrait would have been mistaken for a Roman soldier.
Reverse : A bow and arrow are shown prominently. At a corner is seen a wavy line inside which are seen two fishes swimming. At the other corner is seen the Meru mountain (the arched hill motif). Below the hill is seen a tank, in which may be seen turtles. In the solitary example I noticed, it looked like an animal, which I identified with hesitation as a tiger. But the subsequent finds of similar coins seem to suggest that it represents turtles within a square tank.
I have shown that the legend occurring on the obverse should be read as two words - Kolli and Purai and stands for Poraiyan, the Chera Lord of Kolli hills. The coin is obviously a commemorative one, issued by the Chera, to celebrate his conqest of Kolli hills. I have identified the Chera with Ko-Perum Cheral Irumporai the conqueror of Tagadur and Kolli hills. I have also assigned the coin to first cent a.d. This will be discussed further in the sequence.
2. Kolli irumporaiyan Coin
Subsequent to my discovery of Kollipporai coin in 1987, another similar coin was reported in 1989, from the river bed of Amaravati in Karur. (By Alakkudi Arumukam Seetharaman reported in Dinamani 17-11-89). On the obverse the coin bears the portrait of the king in full, standing, holding a long spear in his right arm and a square shield on the left. To the left of the king, a tree is seen issuing from a railing. The posture of the king with the spear and shield is clearly in imitation of Roman coins and the portrait looks like a Roman soldier. Along the periphery, beginning at eight O' clock, is a Tamil Brahmi legend reading - clockwise Ko-li-i-ru-m-pu-rai-ya-n. The letters are clear enough. The word has to be split into two as Kolli+Irumpuraiyan, i.e. the Irumporaiyan of the Kolli hills.
On the reverse of the coin there are multiple symbols (a) the first is the bow and arrow (b) the hills with six arches and (c) to the left of the bow are two fishes in a tank. Above them is a demarcating line in angles - probably showing the sea, wherein we find four fishes and three turtles swimming. This is certainly another variety - probably another issue either of the same ruler or one of his successors.
A word must be said about the orthography of the letters. Ko is normal as found in the inscription of the age. The li has an additional horizontal stroke at the tail end with a slight curve, to denote the vowel sign i which would read l + i = li.
In the coin published by me, the l appears without this horizontal stroke for the vowel sign i. There the word is Kol and then the long vowel sign i appears. The reading in that coin is Ko-l-i. But in the later coin the reading appears as Ko-li-i. The second part, is to be read as I-ru-m-pu-rai-ya-n being the name of the Chera occurring as Irumpuraiyan, with the suffix 'an' at the end. Thus this coin makes it more explicit that the issue is that of the Chera, Irumporaiyan, the Lord of Kolli hills.
Mr. Krishnamurthi of Dinamalar has also obtained a similar coin later, which shows Kollippuraiyan coin was minted in large numbers.
Makkotai Coins
Subsequent to my discovery of Kollipporai coin in 1987, another similar coin was reported in 1989, from the river bed of Amaravati in Karur. (By Alakkudi Arumukam Seetharaman reported in Dinamani 17-11-89). On the obverse the coin bears the portrait of the king in full, standing, holding a long spear in his right arm and a square shield on the left. To the left of the king, a tree is seen issuing from a railing. The posture of the king with the spear and shield is clearly in imitation of Roman coins and the portrait looks like a Roman soldier. Along the periphery, beginning at eight O' clock, is a Tamil Brahmi legend reading - clockwise Ko-li-i-ru-m-pu-rai-ya-n. The letters are clear enough. The word has to be split into two as Kolli+Irumpuraiyan, i.e. the Irumporaiyan of the Kolli hills.
On the reverse of the coin there are multiple symbols (a) the first is the bow and arrow (b) the hills with six arches and (c) to the left of the bow are two fishes in a tank. Above them is a demarcating line in angles - probably showing the sea, wherein we find four fishes and three turtles swimming. This is certainly another variety - probably another issue either of the same ruler or one of his successors.
A word must be said about the orthography of the letters. Ko is normal as found in the inscription of the age. The li has an additional horizontal stroke at the tail end with a slight curve, to denote the vowel sign i which would read l + i = li.
In the coin published by me, the l appears without this horizontal stroke for the vowel sign i. There the word is Kol and then the long vowel sign i appears. The reading in that coin is Ko-l-i. But in the later coin the reading appears as Ko-li-i. The second part, is to be read as I-ru-m-pu-rai-ya-n being the name of the Chera occurring as Irumpuraiyan, with the suffix 'an' at the end. Thus this coin makes it more explicit that the issue is that of the Chera, Irumporaiyan, the Lord of Kolli hills.
Mr. Krishnamurthi of Dinamalar has also obtained a similar coin later, which shows Kollippuraiyan coin was minted in large numbers.
Makkotai Coins
A few silver coins, with the portrait head of the King, and a legend in Tamil Brahmi reading Makkotai, have come to light recently.
Obverse: The head of the King resembling Roman portraits is figured in the centre and a legend in Tamil Brahmi reading Ma-k-ko-tai is seen above.
Reverse : Reverse is severely plain.
Mr. R. Krishnamurthi, who first discovered this coin, and published it in "Studies in South Indian Coins" Volume II,(6) has given very useful information on the coins, which may be noted here: (1) These are the first silver coins to be noticed so far, in Tamil Nadu, with the portrait head and legend. (2) They bear close similarities with the Roman portrait coins. (3) They have a diameter of 1.7 c.m. almost equal to that of Roman silver coin of Augustus (1.8 cm) and that they are half the weight of Roman Augustus coins, and (4) the reverse of the coin is plain.
There are other suggestions which Mr. Krishnamurthi has made, that need evaluation.
(1) "That the minting technology is indigenous and ancient". I feel that the very moulding of the portrait and the distribution of the legend, seems to suggest, that it is a technology borrowed from the Romans. Even the metal seems to be the Roman one, reused. It is not unlikely that the Yavana artisans were employed in fashioning and casting these coins. That the Yavanas were fashioning and casting these coins. That the Yavanas were fashioning figures in Tamil Nadu is positively mentioned in Nedunalvadai, a Sangam anthology(7).
(2) Mr. R. Krishnamurthi suggests that "the obverse and reverse were probably minted in two pieces and joined by molten lead paste". We may wait for the finding of such a coin, to confirm this assumption.
(3) Drawing attention to the paleographical similarity to Mankulam inscription, R. Krishnamurthi assigns the Makkotai Coin to 2nd-1st cent b.c. The date of Mankulam inscription itself is not finally settled, and paleographical comparison with just four common letters, which do not show any distinguishing peculiarity, is not a convincing point to date this to pre-christian era. Mr. Krishnamurthi himself points out, that these coins and the Roman coins bear close similarities, and that Roman coins begin to appear only from the first cent a.d. So any date earlier than first cent a.d. is ruled out. Also that the Makkotai issue is later than Kollippurai coin will be shown in the succeeding paras.
(4) On the basis of slight differences in the portrayal of the heads, Krishnamurthi suggests five successive generations of rulers to have issued the coins. This is based on the assumption that (a) all the coins issued by one ruler are identical and (b) Each king issued only one series. On that account, to postulate 125 years span for these issues does not seemto be convincing. Each ruler might have issued different series, depending upon the situation and length of his rule. Secondly even successors could have issued the same type of coins as their predecessors. All that can be said is that they are different issues (Otherwise we have over fifty varieties of square copper coins coming from Karur itself and it for each variety one generation is ascribed we may have to postulate 50 generations leading to more than one thousand years). Regarding the identity of the King, Makkotai, Krishnamurthi has identified him with "Kottampalattu Tunjiya Makkotai". There is a poem in Purananuru collection,(8) sung by this Chera, bemoaning the death of his queen who was consigned to the fire.
There are two other poems in Puram (48 and 49) sung by Poet Poygaiyar. The name of the Chera appeears as Kotai, in both the poems, though the colophon gives him the title 'Kotaimarpan', after the beginning of the poem 48. This Kotai is said to be the chieftain of Tondi. It is not known whether this Kotai is identical with Makkotai.
The poem 172 of Puram sung by Poet Vatama Vannakam Damotaranar, is in praise of Pittan Korran, a commander under the Chera. The same poem also sings the greatness of King Makkotai who can be identified with the Chera, Makkotai. The reference to Pittan Korran, as a chief under the Chera Makkotai, leads us to further study the Sangam literature and arrive at a possible chronology.
At least six poets of the Sangam anthologies are seen singing the greatness of Pittan-Korran.
Karikkannan of Kaviripumpattinam -Puram 171. Maruttuvan Damotaran of Uraiyur - Puram - 170. Vadama Vannakkan Damotaranar - Puram - 172. Katappillai Cattanar of Karuvur - Puram - 168. Alam Peri Cattanar - Aham 200. Marutan Ilanakanar - Aham 77.
Pittan is praised as a great warrior, commander of the archers, a commander under Makkotai, and the chieftain of Kutiraimalai. He is also called Vanavan and Maravan, and as such was probably related to the Chera. These six poets where contemporaries of other kings and chieftains prominent among whom were
1. The Pandya - Nan Maran, who died at Iilavantikai Palli 2. The Pandya - Peru Valuti - who died at Kutakaram (the name Peruvaluti appears also as Maran Valuti in Aham - 77) and 3. Thiru Mavalavan who died at Kurappalli.
It is seen that these rulers were near contemporaries of the following poets, as they have celebrated them in their poems.
Avur Mulam Kilar Aduturai Ma Cattan Alantur Kilar Idaikkadar Aiyur Mudavanar Kovur Kilar Madalan Madurai Kumaran, of Konattu Ericcalur Tayam Kannanar Nakkirar Nal Iraiyanar Nappacalai of Marokkam Nakanar of Vellaikkudi
By collating the patrons sung by these poets, particularly Nakkirar, we find that they were very close in point of time to the famous Chola Karikala(9) the Pandya Netunceliyan(10) the victor of Talaiyalankanam, the chieftain Elini(11) and the patron, Pari(12).
Pittan Korran, and Makkotai were later than the Chera-Kolliporaiyan. Thus Makkotai, the issuer of the coin (bearing the legend Makkotai) is later than Kollippurai-Perunceral Irumporai(13).
It is interesting at this stage to mention that the names Pittan Korran, occur in the Pukalur inscription. I. Mahadevan, who has commented on the inscription(14) holds that Pittan and Korran are father and son and that Korran was the son of Pittan and (2) Korran and Elini (son of Atiyan) are both described as the chieftains of Kutiraimalai, (Puram 158 - 168), it is probable that the place was seized from Atikaiman, and given to a Korran after the sack of Tagadur by Perunnceral Irumporai.
John Marr in his "The eight anthologies" states - "It is more likely, perhaps, that he or forbears helped Perunjeral to defeat Elini, and were given Kudiraimalai in return for help" (p.218). It seems as mentioned by these two scholars that the Chera Makkodai, the overlord of Pittan Korran was posterior to Perumcheral Irumporai. We would therefore hold that the Makkodia coin was issued later than Kollipurai coin but not far removed in point of time. It is also not far removed from such great kings like Karikala Chola and the Pandya Nedunceliyan the Victor of Talaiyalanganam. We must also mention at this stage that the Epigraphical reference to Pittan occurs in Pukalur, near Karur in Tiruchi district. That the Pukalur inscription also mentions Karur is well known. The Kollippurai and Makkodai coins are found in Karur which has a vital bearing on the issue of the capital of the Cheras of the Sangam age.
Kuttuvan Kotan Coin
It is necessary to draw the attention of scholars to the paleography of the legend. There are seven letters on the coin. Thoughone has to be cautious in using paleography in dating the epigraphist will not fail to recognise, the clearly evolved forms of atleast six of the letters in this legend. The middle horizontal stroke in the letter "Ku" shows curving, a later feature. The symbol for the voewl "u" is placed to the left of the vertical line instead of right which is a strange representation. It may be attributed to the moulder's ignorance of the script. The vowel sign for 'u' in the letters 'tu' also shows a curving tendency, whereas the earlier forms had straight lines. The letters 'va' and 'n' show very highly evolved characters almost looking like Vatteluttu than Tamil Brahmi. This paelography seems to suggest a date even later than the Araccalur record 2nd-3rd cent. a.d. Similarly the sign for vowel in the 'Ko' is also clearly curved. The 'Ta' in 'tai' also is well curved. Thus six out of the seven letters clearly show curving signs, which appear as straight lines in early letters. To date this coin to first cent. b.c., on paleographical grounds is clearly untenable. It could only be placed towards the end of 3rd cent. a.d. and a date in the beginning of the 4th cent. a.d. may not be considered wrong.
It has been mentioned that there is a reference to the Chera ruler Kuttuvankotai in the Purananuru collection. The king is mentioned as Kotai (not as Kuttuvan Kotai) in the body of the poem, but the colophon gives the name "Kuttuvan Kotai" in clear terms. The name consists of two parts. Kuttuvan and Kotai and it stands for Kotai the son of Kuttuvan. Both the terms Kuttuvan and Kotai are general terms, used to denote the Cheras(15). There are several references to Kuttuvans and Kotais. As the legend in the coin gives the name Kuttuvan Kotai, the question arises whether he is not identical wth the king mentioned in Purananuru verse 54.
The poem in Purananuru verse was sung by Madurai Kumaran, a Madalan (Maudgalya gotra) who hailed from Konattu Ericcalur. It extols Kotai, also called Kuttuvan Kotai. He is praised as a liberal patron of poets and a great fighter. Nothing further is known about this ruler. The native place of the poet who sang this ruler is called Konattu Ericcalur. Konattu is the region adjoining Karuvur. There is a village here (not far away from Karur) even now called Ericcil (Valli Ericcil). This poem does not mention that Kotai was ruling Kuttanadu. The Chera ruler Kotai was ruling with Karuvur situated on the banks of the river Anporunai. Karuvur is said to be a very rich capital - Thiru maviyal nagar(16).
From the available poems(17) it is seen that the following rulers and poets were contemporaries with Kuttuvan Kotai - Pittankorran, Pandyan, Neduncheliyan, the victor of Talaiyalankanam, Perum Thirumavalavan and Nalam Killi. Among the poets Mulam Kilar of Avur, Kovur Kilar, Maruttuvan Damodaran of Uraiyur, Nakkiar and Karikkannan of Kaveripumpattinam. Kuttuvan Kotai is posterior to the Chera Perum Cheral Irumporai, but not far removed in point of time. We have seen that Perum Cheral Irumporai is to be placed in the first cent. a.d., Kuttuvan Kotai of the Purananuru poem, should also be placed towards the end of first cent. a.d. but preferably in the beginning of 2nd cent. a.d. The paleography of the legend in Makkotai, and Kuttuvan Kotai are so different that it is impossible to hold both as contemporaries. Kuttuvan Kotai, the issuer of the silver coin, was in all probability a later king, who ruled around the end of 3rd cent. and is not identical with the ruler mentioned in Puram poem.
We have seen that the silver coins of Makkotai were designed and cast by Roman artisans. The Kuttuvan Kotai, coin was also in all probability cast by Roman artists. That the Roman artists continued to be present in Karur, in the end of 3rd cent. and perhaps even later, seems to be indicated by this coin. This is further confirmed by late Roman coins assignable to 4th-5th cent. a.d. being found in Karur.
Inscribed Chera coin?
A square coin of the elephant type has been reported from Madurai(18) but its origin is traced to Karur. The coin is about 2.3 cm square and weighs 10.70 grams. On the obverse there is an elephant facing left standing in front of a tree raising from a railing. A legend is said to read "puraiyada a". I am unable to comment on this legend as the illustration is poor and I had no access to the coin. It is not unlikely that the coin came from Karur as suggested by Sri. Krishnamurthi. If the legend is correct then we have another inscribed Chera coin the significance of which needs further study. However we will reserve our comments on this coin for the future. Krishnamurthi considers that the coin may belong to Celva Kadunggo Vali Adan of the 7th decade of Patirru pattu. He also suggests that the technology of the coin might have been adopted from the Romans and so assigns a date from 1st cent b.c. to 1st cent. a.d.
Notes
1. Nagaswamy R., Sangam age Chera coin found, The Hindu, 5.11.1987.
2. Krishnamurthi R. (i) Makkotai coin, Paper presented at the First Oriental Numismatic conference, Oct. 1990. (ii) Makkotai coins,studies in South Indian Coins, Vol.ii, pp.89-93.
3. Alakkudi Seetharaman, Chera coin discovered near Karur, The Dinamani, 17th Nov. 1991.
4. Nagaswamy R., Kollipurai, an inscribed Chera coin of first cent. a.d., P.L. Gupta felicitation volume, pp. 187-193.
5. Krishnamurthi R., Coin of Kuttuvan Kotai discovered, The Hindu, Madras, 24.5.94.
6. Krishnamurthi R., Makkotai Coins, Studies in South Indian coins, Vol. ii, Madraas, 1992, p.89-93.
7. Nedunalvadai, in 'Pattu Pattu' anthology, Ed. Dr. U.V. Swaminatha Iyer, Madras Ed., line 101.
8. Purananuru, Ed. Dr. U.V. Swaminatha Iyer, 6th Edition, Madras, 1963, verse 245.
9. Ahananuru, 141, Sanga Ilakkiyam, S. Vaiyapuri Pillai, (no. 1354), Madras, 1940.
10. Puram 17; Pattu Pattu, Nedunalvadai (Vaiyapuri Pillai, S., 1381)
11. Aham-36, (Vaiyapuri Pillai, S. 1348), Puram-96.
12. Aham 78 (Vaiyapuri Pillai, S. 1350)
13. John Marr, The Eight Anthologies, Madras, 1985, pp.217-219.
14. Mahadevan, I., Tamil Brahmi Inscriptions, the Second World Conference, January 1968, Madras, p.96.
15. Vaiyapuri Pillai. S., Ibid, 1359, 1362, 1351, 1540, 1554, 1586, 1587, 1590, 1591, 1593, 1603.
16. Ahananuru, 93
17. Sanga Ilakkiyam, Vaiyapuri Pillai, S. Madras, 1940, p.1469, p.1479.
18. Krishnamurthi R., Sangam period coins with Tamil Brahmi legends, (copy circulated, date and place of publication not recorded) p.6 coin No.2.
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