20 
OLD GRAVES IN THE COIMBATOEE DISTRICT. 
stone. It was suggested that the name Pandava Kuri^ is 
a mistake foi* Mandava Kuri, or hole for the dead — to mv 
mind a very plausible suggestion. There seems also to be 
a legendj that in ancient times Yaman quarrelled Tvith the 
other gods, and lost his power of causing death for a time. 
Consequently people — though they became old and trouble- 
some, could not die, so their relations put them out of the 
way — on the shelf as it were — in these Pandava or Mandava 
Kuries. Pandava or Mandava they are remarkable enough, 
and the pottery points to a perfection of the potter's art 
which we are commonly unwilling to allow to an unknown 
people in prehistoric times. 
