Tamil Language

Tamil Inscriptions in Chennai Temples and How to Read Them

Chennai temples hold Pallava and Chola inscriptions recording gifts, festivals and trade. Where to see them, and how to start reading the oldest Tamil script.

19 October 2026

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The oldest stone writing in Chennai’s temples is not Tamil-Brahmi, the script of Sangam-era cave inscriptions, but later Tamil and Grantha letters carved by Pallava, Chola, Pandya and Vijayanagara rulers. The Parthasarathy temple in Triplicane has a Pallava inscription of King Dantivarman set into the floor near the sanctum entrance, recorded in Epigraphia Indica in 1905-06, and the walls of the Thyagaraja temple in Tiruvottiyur carry hundreds more.

These records read like a town’s ledger: who gave cows for a lamp, which land paid for a festival, which dancers performed which steps. Here is where to look in Chennai, and how to start reading the oldest Tamil letters.

Where to see inscriptions in Chennai

Parthasarathy temple, Triplicane. Besides the worn Dantivarman stone, the temple has Chola fragments in the floor, a Pandya record of Kulasekhara and Vijayanagara-era inscriptions. The Pallava text is in Tamil letters with Sanskrit words in Grantha.
Thyagaraja (Adhipureeswarar) temple, Tiruvottiyur. Its walls carry Chola records from Rajendra Chola I in the 11th century to Rajaraja Chola III in the 13th, Madras Musings reports. They mention a harvest festival, Thiruvempavai recitals in Margazhi, saltpans, oil traders, and an old name for Chetput, Serrupeddu.
Tirusoolanathar temple, Tirusulam. Near the airport, it has inscriptions from Kulottunga I (from 1071 AD) through Vikrama Chola, Rajadhiraja II, Kulottunga III, Rajaraja III and a Pandya king in 1306, most recording gifts of cows, sheep or land for temple lamps, Inmathi lists from state archaeology records.
Saluvankuppam, near Mamallapuram. An easy day trip. The ASI’s Chennai Circle list includes two inscribed rocks there, one with six and one with fifty lines of ancient Tamil inscriptions.

Visit respectfully. Many inscriptions are on the outer walls of the sanctum or on the plinth, and a few are on floor slabs people walk on. Ask temple staff before photographing, and never chalk or wet the stone to make letters stand out.

What Tamil-Brahmi is

Tamil-Brahmi is the earliest script used to write Tamil. Inscriptions in Tamil appear from the third century BCE, notes the state archaeology department, and Tamil has the largest number of inscriptions of any Indian language, about 20,000.

Iravatham Mahadevan’s 1970 lectures, published by the State Department of Archaeology, explain the basics:

The script grew from the southern form of Mauryan Brahmi. All but four letters match Asokan Brahmi.
The four new letters were added for sounds special to Tamil: the ones transliterated ḷ, ḻ (the “zha” in Tamil), ṟ and ṉ.
It dropped Brahmi letters for sounds Tamil does not use, such as aspirates and sibilants.
The pulli, the dot that marks a bare consonant, came later, by about the second century CE.
Most Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions are in rock shelters with Jain and Buddhist links, such as Mangulam near Madurai.

Reading your first letters

Start with the vowels and the consonants that are shared with modern Tamil sounds, using a chart from a state archaeology publication. Then practise on clear photographs before visiting a site. Three tips that help beginners:

Learn the shape for “ma” and “ka” first. They appear in many personal names and in common words.
Remember that early inscriptions often have no pulli, so one letter can stand for a consonant alone or with “a”. Read the word both ways.
Move on to Chola-era Tamil once you know the basics. Chennai’s temple records are in this later script, which looks closer to modern Tamil.

What the Chennai records tell you

Once you can pick out a few words, the content is surprisingly ordinary and human. At Tirusulam, most of the 14 recorded inscriptions are gifts for lamps: 24 sheep in 1108, three cows in 1167, 31 cows and a bull for a perpetual lamp the same year, ten buffaloes in 1201. The animals’ milk and ghee kept the lamps burning. Other records note land sold to pay for food offerings, and merchants from Poonamallee giving temple items in 1215.

At Tiruvottiyur, inscriptions describe dance forms such as Kunippam and Varikoothu that are no longer performed, and a 14th-century dispute between two groups of temple dancers. These details make temple walls one of the best sources for daily life in Chennai’s villages a thousand years ago.

Going further

The state department’s epigraphy wing, started in 1966, has copied about 24,771 inscriptions and keeps the ink impressions. Its Institute of Epigraphy, running since 1973-74, offers a one-year PG Diploma in Epigraphy and Archaeology with eight seats a year and a monthly stipend of ₹4,000, open to holders of an MA in Tamil, history, Sanskrit or ancient history and archaeology. The Tamil Digital Library at tamildigitallibrary.in also has a section for inscriptions and copper plates.

Quick answers

Are there Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions in Chennai temples?

Not in the main temples covered here. Their inscriptions are in later Tamil and Grantha scripts, from Pallava times onward.

Which Chennai temple has a Pallava inscription?

The Parthasarathy temple, Triplicane, has one of King Dantivarman near the sanctum entrance.

How many Tamil inscriptions are there?

About 20,000 in Tamil, the most of any Indian language, says the state archaeology department.

Can I study epigraphy formally?

Yes. The state Institute of Epigraphy runs a one-year PG diploma with eight seats and a ₹4,000 stipend.

Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.