1 



: 1844.] ' Account of Mamattaipur, 41 



that the first immigration of Brahmans to the Peninsula was 

 not of remote antiquity. Besides which consideration , 

 2. ) It is beyond doubt that before the time of Kuloitunga Cholan, 

 and his illegitimate son Adondai } the whole district bounded 

 i on the north by the Pennar, on the south by the Pdlar, on 

 the east by the sea, and on the west by the ghats, was dwelt in 

 by half civilized people termed Curumbar, who had embraced 

 the Jaina religion, brought to them from the north. Adondai 

 chiefly distinguished Canchi-puram ( Conjeveram J and Tripeti, 

 as his places of residence, or capitals. The era of Adondai is 

 not higher up than the seventh century of our reckoning. 

 He is said to have brought the Brahmans from Sri Sailam in 

 Telingana, and certainly attracted a large colony of Sudra Ve« 

 lazhas, or agriculturists, from Tuluva or northern Canara. 

 Soon after him the kingdom, which he acquired by the sword, 

 was broken up into petty principalities, and lapsed into a 

 state of partial anarchy. As we can distinctly trace th§ * 

 founding of Vellore to a period later than Adondai, and to 

 colonization led on by a northern chjef, so about the same 

 period, 1 am inclined to think, the neighbourhood of Mavali- 

 varam was colonized from the north, b^ one of the Malla fami- 

 ly with his clan. Besides 3.) The Inscriptions are in too 

 perfect a state of preservation to be of remote date. >As>far as 

 my knowledge extends/inscriptions, with a defined year, have 

 not been met with, in a legible state, higher up than the tenth 

 century. I am aware of one or two apparent instances of much 

 higher date, but with the absence of any precise year : hence 

 inconclusive. Fragments of inscriptions in the Pandiya king- 

 dom, (the oldest one in the south,) have I believe generally 

 been so worn as to be incapable of connected transcription. 

 But the appearance of the chiselling at Mavalivaram, (from 

 the distant recollection of about fifteen years), is such that it 

 would tax my credulity greatly to assign them a more distant 

 date than from three to five hundred years. 



If then we inquire into 



