*Rare 11th century sculpture unearthed near Panruti * A.V.Ragunathan
CUDDALORE: A 11th century sculpture, signifying the practice of severing one's own head as a form of sacrifice then in vogue, was found in Sathipattu village near Panruti recently.
The sculpture was unearthed beneath a neem tree opposite the Kotravai temple situated on the banks of the Gedilam. A male figure sitting in a yoga posture (Padmasana) was chiselled on the granite.
The bare-chested man was holding his head in the left hand and with a sword in the right hand attempts to dismember the head from the body.
However, the hands, nose and mouth of the sculpture were disfigured and the inscriptions on the slab were not in neat rows but in disarray. Deciphering the letters, Narayanamurthy, an archaeologist, Tamilarasan, an epigraphist, and Velmurugan, a lecturer, said from the very characteristics of the letters the age of the sculpture could be fixed at 11th century AD. It stated that when the then ruler of the Athiraja Mangalyapuram waged a war against another country called Venthaval, a soldier of Azhathaga (a province in the former kingdom), offered his head as a sacrifice for the victory of the ruler.
Mr. Narayanamurthy said the present Thiruvadigai was known in olden days as Athiraja Mangalyapuram and Sathipattu as Azhathaga Poozhiyur. The one who ended his life was known as "son of Mundan" and the act was sculpted by Perakadichan Pillai and installed it on the Kotravai temple precincts.
Such a depiction on stone was widely known as *Nava Kandam* sculpture. In other words it meant that the soldiers, who were passionate enough about the victory of their kings, were ready to lay down their lives before the commencement of the war.
Such a singular act used to motivate other soldiers to fight the war with ferocity and vigor so as to attain glory. The sacrifice was then considered an honour and a laudable act.