202 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. deceased. In the case of a man killed by a tiger the tiger is always carved above .his vic¬ tim. These monuments are very common, but generally of old date. I never saw a new one- They are sometimes erected on the spot of the death, but more often in the village group. In one case certain Bhills petitioned me in respect of a Mhowa tree, which they said their ances¬ tors bad planted “ where one of our people was slain by a tiger.” There was no stone or other monument besides the Mhowa tree, which was about 50 years old. The snake is used both as an ornament and to indicate death by snake¬ bite ; the latter is rare, and in such cases the snake is shown uncoiled, and under the man’s foot. Other common ornaments are the pea¬ fowl, antelope, the sun in the moon’s arms (almost universal), and fighting men; all very [July, 1873. rude. The boldest attempt at sculpture that I have seen was that of Bula Patil in his cart ; and in that case the artist was so sore put to it for perspective that he cut one bullock walk¬ ing on his yokefellow’s back, and one wheel before the other. The open hand is the emblem of a sati, but is very rare. Women’s memorial- stones are seldom seen together with those of the men, but cluster apart round some jnpaU tree or the like. In some cases one stone com¬ memorates several persons; e. g. at the village of Dongrala I asked a Bhill the meaning of a large and very old-looking stone with five curious figures on it, about which I rather expected a good story. “ Oh!” quoth he, “ those are my brothers. That’s Vithyd, and that’s Khandyd, &c., and I gave a man a rupee a head to carve them.” ARCHAEOLOGY IN NORTH TINNEVELLI. Extract from a letter from the Rev. J. F. Kearns to the Collector of Tinnevelli. {Proceedings of Madras Government, 18M November 1872.) I have a few obse^ations to offer with reference to some portions of Mr. Boswell’s letter. (See Indian Antiquary, vol. I. page 372.) With reference to “ inscriptions,” I quite agree with him that no time should be lost in obtaining correct copies of all that exist, for it is only too true that time is fast effacing some very valuable ones.* In this zilla (Tinnevelli) there is a rock temple, Kalugumalei, covered with Jaina figures and inscriptions ; some of the latter I had copied many years ago and presented them to the Madras Literary Society. These inscriptions have been, by competent scholars, pronounced the oldest specimens of the Tamil language hitherto dis¬ covered. The Tamil character of the inscription is as different as possible from the Tamil character of to-day, but the germ of the present character is contained in it. I think that all the inscriptions on this temple should be carefully copied. In a field close to Nagalapuram, in Ottapedaram taluqa, there is a colossal Jaina image such as Mr. Boswell describeBt in his letter. This figure ought to be preserved iu some Museum. There is a small Jaina image in the village of Kolatur, and it is worshipped by the natives, who apparently do not know what it is. There is another in the ancient village of Kolkhei, near to Sawyer- puram. I have opened and examined many cinerary
- Vide ante, p. 185,
urns in cromlechs, notably in Kourtalam, but I have not discovered stone implements in any. There were many iron implements and exquisite pottery in them. The neighbourhood of the Jaina image at Nagalapuram abounds with these urns. Mr. Boswell remarks, “ I have seen many Buddhist temples converted into temples of Vishnu; but I do not know of any re-dedicated to &va.” The old Jaina temple, already alluded to, at Kalugumalei is dedicated to the god Subra- manya, Siva’s youngest son. Perhaps there is more contained in this fact than is apparent. According to the oldest legends, Subramanya is the god of ioar, and that the Jainas in the south were cruelly exterminated by the ^aivites is a matter of his¬ tory. In the re-dedication of a Jaina temple to Subramanya, diva’s youngest son, are we to infer that the measures were taken to extirpate Jainism ? Mr. Boswell refers^ to what are called “ KoUe Kallu,” and he states on Mr. Walhouse’s authority that there is one “within a mile of Mangalor.” The descriptions which Mr. Walhouse gives of the figures on the stone closely resemble those which in this zijla are found in places where Sati had been performed, and further information re¬ specting them seems desirable. By whom were those stoneB called Kolle Kallu ? By immigrants t Ind. Ant. vol. I. p. 8746. X Ind. Ant, vol. I. p. 372a.
