inscriptions, pAlAciriyar and parAzara/zrI

[Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan]

There are three Classical Tamil poets from Madurai with the following names:
pAlAciriyar nappAlan2Ar
pAlAciriyar naRRAman2Ar
pAlAciriyan2 cEntan2 koRRan2Ar

Regarding each of these U. V. Saminataiyar  suggests they were probably
teachers of children, based on Ta. pAla < Skt. bAla (cagkakAlap pulavarkaL,
p.342-3). The Tamil Lexicon also interprets it in the same manner.

However, a study of Tamil inscriptions reveals that pAlAciriyan2 is a variant
of Tamilized pArAzarya, ie., one who belonged to the lineage of parAzara/zrI.

An inscription, SII vol. 17, no. 598, of the period of Kulottunga Chola II
(12 th century) gives three variants of the same name as:
pArAcirian2
pArAzrIan2
pAlAzrIan2

When considered along with other names in the inscription, it is obvious that
it is a gotra name. There are other inscriptions which give the variant
pAlAcirian2. Another inscription gives the variant pArAcarian.

This will help us correctly interpret the name of another CT poet maturai
iLampAlAciriyanr cEntan2 kUttan2Ar. UVS intreprets the name as teacher
cEntan2 kUttan2 who was originally from the place called iLampAl and later
settled in Madurai. The correct interpretation should be, "cEntan2 kUttan2,
the young  one of the lineage of parAzara/zrI".

We have other poets with part of the names derived from gotra names such as
maturai iLagkoucikan2Ar (kouzika) , ko/OTimagkalam vAtuLi naRcEntan2Ar
(vAdhUla) , kAcipan2 kIran2Ar (kAzyapa) , kaTampan2UrccANTiliyan2Ar
(zANDilya), tagkAl AttirEyan2 cegkaNNan2Ar (Atreya)

Similarly, CT poet kOn2ATTu eRiccilUr mATalan2 maturaikkkumaran2Ar and mATala
maRaiyOn2 of cilappatikAram were brahmins of the mADala gotra which is one of
the gotras listed by Chitralekha Gupta in "The Brahmanas of India., 1983,
p.117. Similarly, tolkAppiyan2 probably belonged to kApi/kApya gotra. Both
mATalan2 and kAppiyan2 occur in inscriptions.

Regards
S. Palaniappan