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TAMIL PLACE NA FROM TH NSCRIPTIONS
P. PUSHE

సా
MES AS GLEANED E BRAHMI
OF SRI LANKA
PARATNAM

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TAMIL PLACE NAMES AS GLEANED FROM THE BRAHIMI
INSCRIPTIONS OF SRI LANKA
P PUSP4RATNAM
Inscriptions are considered to be an important primary source to identify the place names and their significance. The place names themselves are of much value to trace the historical tradition of a nation. In Sri Lanka the place names were taken into account as a historical source since the mid 19th century A.D. Most places in the island are identified on the basis of regional language, culture and geophysical set up with either Tamil or Sinhalese. But on account of linguistic unity certain common characteristics are traceable. On the basis of such similarities some argue that the Tamils migrated and Tamilised the names which are Sinhalese settlements (Kannangara 1984: 32-33, Velupillai 1918) and another section of scholars present the reversal of this thesis (Gnanaprakasar 1952: 27-35). To enhance such propositions the annals told in Buddhist literature regarding the Tamil-Sinhalese antiquities, the Buddhist vestiges the primeval nature of Tamil, the common forms of Sri Lankan and Tamil place names in the Indian mainland are cited as reasons. But several of the place names prevalent in Sri Lanka are traceable in the most ancient Brahmi inscriptions of the island dateable to pre-3rd century B.C. These short inscriptions are important among the sources to trace the history of the island. Being the most dependable datum, the present article makes an attempt to trace the origin of some place names.

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More than 1500 Brahmi inscriptions have been discovered in Sri Lanka. Quantitatively such a huge collection has not been reported from any part of South Asia. Most of these records talk about the donation of land, water reservoir, sluice, cave, rock-cut bed, money, food, grains etc to the Buddhist monks and their sariga (the congregation). The inscriptions are very brief. The names, caste (vamsa), titles, professional status, job, religion and class of the donors are mentioned in many of the records. Besides they talk about the place, district and province while noting the geographical details (Paranavithana 1970, 1983, Karunaratne 1984). Thus the Brahmi records are valuable to obtain details of language, scripts, culture and society in addition to the place names in circulation. The place names are after certain denominations as follows: village 33%, individual 14%, cities 13%, ponds 16%, vegetation and natural setting 4%, religion 3% and so on. The place names need not be supposed to have continued in the original format through the ages. They could have been corrupted due to linguistic usages, cultural adjustments and political changes. In most cases the common and special namesuffixes continued to be the same. In the ancient Cankam literature, more than 300 place names are found. All these names need not be supposed to have existed in later times in the same original form. But the common and special suffixes help to access the links with the later names. Several such cases have been reported in case of the Cankam place names and the later names occurring in Pandian inscriptions (Subbarayalu & Vedachalam 1996: 137-42). Such a methodological approach fits in the Sri Lankan tradition also. But such a kind of historical approach in respect of the Sri Lankan place names is not known to have been undertaken yet. Dr. Ragupathy has studied and published of Tamil names in 87 inscription. Epigraphica Zeylanica, edited by Karunaratna, The present article takes into account the common and special suffixes of place names from 1384 inscriptions and analyses their significance.
Ati
The suffix, ati, is found in Brahmi inscriptions which is the termination of place names: e.g. Aba-ali, Nacadaka-ati. Some say afi, in Sanakrit means a water channel or canal (I.C 1970: No. 1215). Afi, is a Dravidian word (Ta. Ma, ati, Tu, Ka, agi, Te. adugu) which means a place, from where one hailed, habitation, cave, footprint, foundation

Place Names of Sri Lanka
and so on (D.E.D., No. 61, T.L, 1:46). This word is not known to be associated with later Sinhalese place names. In several contemporary Tamil place names it appears as a common suffix (Table-l). In Sanskrit the word ati, which means a habitually wandering mendicant.
Kuţi
This word denotes the settlement (l.c. 1970: 501,663, 1017, 1031, 1175, 1983:44). Some have given wrong readings (l.c. 1970: 1017). For instance kuti in Ambaran inscription is given as a Buddhist building (l.c. 1970: 1 175). Kuti is a Dravidian word (Ta.Ma. kufi, Ka. gugi, Te. guçdika, D.E.D. No. 1374). In Tamil it means family, clan, house, settlement, city and so on (D.E.D. No. 1374). In Cankam literature it is not only a common suffix of place names but also stands for a human settlement. In course of time it stood for a caste (Sivathamby 1971:25-46). An inscription from Anuradhapuram talks of one descendant of the Parumaka of the Parumaka clan (Parumaka abhayaha puta parumaka gutiha, I.C. 1970. Nos. 1138, 1140). In this notation parumaka is the Prakritised form of Tamil Perumakan. In more than 375 Brahmi inscriptions this title has been employed. It is likely to denote an influential personality in society. In carikam, vēl and vēl-kufi vere in usage which might have had a reflection on the Sri Lankan Tamil tradition of Perumakan or Parumako. Kuti as a habitation continues even today like Karaikkuti and Katankufi (Table 2). in Mattakkalappu and Puttalam where Tamils live in huge numbers.
Κοιίαι
This Dravidian word may have its root in kofu which is a Tamil word (Ka. Kotte Ma, Kötta, Te. Kota. D.E.D. 1831) which means fort, castle, measurement of capacity, abundance, plenty, and so on. It occurs in a record of the 2nd century B.C. in the Gekalai district. Paranavithana (1970:778) reads it as KotayaVelu and gave the meaning General Velu of the fort, besides linking kotaya with the Sanskritic word kostika. Veluppillai (1980:13) linked the Prakrit word kotaya with the Tamil kottai and read Velu as vel so as to make Kottaivel. The redoubling conjunctions in literature appear in inscriptions also (Mahadevan 2000: 159). So kotaiyavel will have to be read as Kottaival. Kottai refers to the living place or reigning seat of a king (Chatterji 1952: 159). vel in ancient Tamilnadu was the title of a leader of a clan. It is the equal of raja in Sanskrit (Thapar 1995). The vel of Sri

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Lankan Brahmi records is identified with a ruling chief (Pushparatnam 2000: 49). The Mahavamsa (XIII: 69, Paranavithana 1970: XXIV) makes a note of Vel-natu, country of the Val. The Yalppaian Lexicon (T.L., VI: 3842) gives the meaning of one who rules the earth to the word vel. So Kottai-vel is supposed to mean the land which was under the jurisdiction of a vel. In later times as in Tamil Nadu the same word stands for race, clan, individual and a special name suffix.
Maţai
Few of the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. Brahmi inscriptions in Sri * Lanka give the place names Mati, Magda. Magdake (I.C. 1970. Nos. 1 174, 663, 873). These are the equivalents of matai in Tamil. Paranavithana (1970:117) places this word on a par with the Pali malaka and gives the meaning highland. In Dravidian languages the same word is used: e.g. matai, mata, mifa in Tamil, maga in Telugu, mituwa in Malayalam and maglake in Kannada. All these give the same meaning (D.E.D Nos.3801, 3810). They stand for a small sluice of a canal or stream, hole, aperture, shutters of a sluice, dam by which the flow of water in a canal is obstructed and so on. In Andhradesa inscriptions of the 10-11th centuries give several names with the suffix, maga (Ramachandramurthy 1985:277). In contemporary Sri Lanka also several place names end with magai (Table 4) which is proof of the fact that the ancient Brahmi records give this meaning and not otherwise.
Paţi
This word occurs in Brahmi inscriptions since the 3rd-2nd century B.C. (e.g. Patibanakuta, I.C. 1970. Nos.501, 663,340, 1031). Paranavithana (1970: 113) considers it as of the Aryan languages (prati in Sanskrit and pati in Pali). But it is an Dravidian word, Ma. Pati (part of a village), Ka. Pagi (settlement, village, hamlet), Te. Pagu (village, place name suffix). Pati in Tamil stand for a city, village, hamlet, pastoral village (D.E.D No. 3347). The Yalppana Lexicon gives the meaning nagu (T.L.V. No. 2593). Popular since the Cankam age, it was placed on a par with nagu during the Cola period (e.g. Malaināgu, vainakõ-pāgdi etc. in Subbarayalu 1973:77, 1982: 272).
Titti, Pitti
A common place name termination that found in Brahmi inscriptions through the centuries, (e.g. Supaditti. I.C. 1970. Nos. 252,

Place Names of Sri Lanka
443, 713, 973), It appears in the contemporary Pali literature also (M.V. XXV:34). Titti is a Dravidian word which gives several meanings. e.g. Ta. titfi (raised ground, bank, elevation, window), Ka. didge (wicket, a hole expressly made for egress or ingress), Te. diggi (a small door, wicket, postem or back door, D. E.D. 2631-2633). Contemporaneous Tamil place names in Sri Lanka include this suffix in the meaning of hill, highland, sand dune and so on. The Sri Lankan Tamil employ the words fitti, pitti, putti in a synonymous sense. In Brahmi inscriptions fitti and pitti are of the same meaning (e.g. Punapitti, I.C. 1970. Nos. Il 15, 12 17, 1218)/The Sigiriya inscription belonging to 7-8th century A.D. mention Kalpiti, as a place name of Sri Lanka. This place name was identified by Nicholas with the present place name Kalpitti, of Puttalam District. Its later day prevalence is suggested by a Sinhalese inscription of the 7th century A.D. (E.Z VII: 71, Nicholas 1962:90). The contemporary Sinhalese place names with pittiya as termination and the Tamil pitti could be viewed in the context of the Brahmi notation of ditti or pitti (Table 6).
Kātu
The words kātu, kāte and kati (I.C. 1970: 107.Nos. 1 142,67, ll 18) Vis-a-vis place names appear as special terminations. Paranavithana (I.C. 1970: 107) considers it as a Sanskritic word and links with the meaning “having done, having made. Tamil in word kați-kafe-kafu. Kātu (D.E.D. 102. No. 1206. Ta, Ma. kātu Ka,Te. ka(u) means fertility, abundance, proximity, place and hamlet and that was in usage since the time of Tolkappiyar who talks of Mayon (Visnu) as god of the mullai (forest zone) tract of land: Mayonmeya kafurai ulakum (Tolkappiyam, Akattinai 5). Place names noted in Cankam literature appear with the termination katu (See Akam. 13, Warrinai 142, 221). In Sri Lanka the place names with katu suffix are after the local convention of personal names, society, religion, tree and natural setting. A 12-13th Sinhala inscription indicates Ramukkagu as a one of the place name of Sri Lanka (Nicholas 1962: 197, 217).
Nātu
An inscription of 1st century B.C. from Puttalam district notes Bata suma-nātu (I.C. 1970. No. 1075)/ Paranavithana read it as BataSumanaha-lene, meaning a cave resort dedicated to one Bata-Sumanaha, by reading the letter tu' as “ha”. śumanaha as a personal name appears

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in few inscriptions but other forms such as Suma, Sumaya, and Sumaha (I.C. 1970. Nos. 632, 260, 775, 104, 190, 680) were also known. So Sumanaha will have to be read properly as Sumanafn. The termination tu' is perfectly in agreement with several other Brahmi inscriptions. as read Paranavithana. So the word will have to be read as Bata-Sumanatu. The meaning is the cave of Baratava of the Suma-natu.
The words nata and naga considered as a Sanskrit word meaning actor or dancer (Paranavithana 1970: 113). Some consider that nātu comes from the root nat, nata (Seneviretna 1993: 74). The word nata usually appears in conjunction with fitler Kapati and makan (e.g. Gapati- nafa, Gapati-nagda, Marumakan (N)- nata, I.C. 1970. Nos.376, 642, 1005, 1010). Gahapati or Gapati is a title equal to the Tamil kutumpikan. The Tirupparamkunram inscription in Tamil Nadu records the il akkutumpikan (Mahadevan 1966). Another suffix, makan, might have taken origin during days when kingdoms and the ruling families got themselves stabilized. In carikam literature these were under the jurisdiction of minor chiefs or clan leaders (e.g. Vel-natu, Subbarayalu 1978). Against this background, the name Kapati-nata, Kapati-naga may be treated as the land, nagu, of the chief Kapati (Kapati-nagu).
The country name Tamil Nadu (Ta, Ma, nagu, D.E.D. No.3012) had given various meanings meaning a living space or nagu, the information after clearing the forests to create a country (Purananuru 49). During the Pallava period it stood for Sabha and during the Cola period it stood for the living habitat of the agricultural population, called vēlān vakai. (Subbarayalu 1973: 34-35). A 1 1th century Cõla inscription mentions Kottur- Nagu of Sri Lanka (Pathmanathan 1978). During days of Nallur-rajadhani in Sri Lanka (post 13th century A.D.) its integral areas such as Pallavarayankattu and Ponnavegi were called veli-nagu (foreign or outlying region) (Table 6). Even though nagu means a country, in certain circles in Kerala and Tamil Nagu (Kollimalai) and north Sri Lanka (e.g. Mattu vil- nāgdu), the same word denotes a city or village (Pushparatnam 1993).
Κδtυ
This Brahmi word means top or summit and highland (e.g. Gofakabojhiyane, paguvasagota, I.C. 1970: Nos. 990, 1215). It is the equal of këtu in Tamil (Samuel Livinstone 5-6, Ta. Kofu, Te, Ma, Ka.

Place Names of Sri Lanka
Kodu). In Carikam literature, it offers various meanings such assumit of a hill (Puram 12-14), hill (Cilampu. 11.20), highland (Maturai. 266), corner (Patitru. 31-12), pakkam side (Puram. l64) and so on. The Kuruntokai (24) notes a place called Afarikafu. A 4th century inscription of the Pallavas notes the name, Cellirekakota. The kota of this name is likely to be a Prakrit form of the Tamil kotu. Even today in Kanyakumari district and Kerala place names ending with kofu is not uncommon, e.g. Tiruvitankofu.
Āvi, Vāvi
More than 14% of the place names in inscriptions end with avi and vapi (e.g. Upal-avi, Punapitikav-avi, kala-avi, Kumpa-avi, Kubilav i, I. C. 1970. Nos. 1 l 32, 1 1 5 1 , 1 2 1 7, 12 18. I. C. 1982. 14). In contemporary Pāli sources also these terminations occur (M.V. XXVIII: 39). Vavi, avi and vevi are synonymous words which refer to a place with water resources. They are the equals of the Tamil word, avi ((Ta.Ma.Te.avi, Ka. avi, dviri, avari. D.E.D.Nos.333-336). During the Carikam period, the word avi was in usage. It continued as a place name suffix in Sri Lanka during the later ages also. It was known in Sinhala as avi and aviya and in Tamil as avi. Among the Sri Lankan Tamil place names it may be found popularly in the Vanni region. Examples are Maltavi (mal + ävi), Nirävi (nir+ävi), palavi (pa+ävi), katlāvi (kaf+āvi) and so on. (Table l 0).
Kom, Komom
These two are very common place name suffixes down to the contemporary period. An inscription of the 1st century A.D. in the Tirukonamalai district makes a note of Vell-kama. In this record several Prakrit words are found Tamilised which leads Paranavithana (1983: 112-13) to conclude that the scribe of the record must have been a Tamilian. Vel was a name connected with a minor chief in ancient Tamil Nadu (e.g. vel-natu, Vel-ir) and so such a name in Sri Lanka might denote the influential person or leader of a community after whom the village or city was named. The “kama of the record corrupted into 'kamam and continued to denote place names as revealed by Cola inscriptions and Portuguese documents. The Sigiriya inscription belonging to 7-8th century A.D. record “kam and “kamuva as place name suffix (e.g. Tamankam, Valigam). The Valigam that was identified by Nicholas may be the present place name Valikamam of

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Jaffna peninsula (Nicholas 1962:84-85). The same place name was denoted as the Valigomu in 13th century Pali literature. Cola inscriptions of to 12th century noted Vallikamam as a place name of northern Sri Lanka (Nilakanta Sastri 1958: 368-69). Contemporary names supporting the identification are Cunnakam, Mallakam, Panankamam, Valikamam, Virankamam, Tampalakamam etc.
The similarity between the Tamil kamam and Sinhalese Kama and kamuva has resulted in two types of interpretations. Some consider these originally Sinhalese names which were later Tamilised due to Tamil immigration (Kannangara 1984:32-33). Others consider the root of the words to be Tamil (Sameul Livingstone 6). In support they cite a grammatical rule in Tolkāppiyam (Col. ati. 355).
In a few of the Brahmi inscriptions of the 3rd century B.C. these words are deployed as place name suffixes and so the origin pre-dates that of the Sinhalese. These words are also considered to take their root from the Sanskritic grama which is supposed to have corrupted into kiramam in Tamil (Ramachandramurthy 1985:243-245). Kamam was not only popular in Sri Lanka but also in parts of South India. Andhra Pradesh inscriptions of the 10th-11th centuries A.D. give names of pitugāmam, Pun nagāmam, Nandigām (Ramachandramurthy 1985: 245). All these evidences support the notion that these were of antiquarian usage among the Sri Lankan Tamils.
Karai
Kara is another common suffix in place names of the Brahmi records (e.g. Kubakara, Tabakara, and Citakara. I.C. 1970. Nos. 74, 350). Kara is a Prakritised form of the Tamil word, karai. It stands for katarkarai beach and nirkkarai meaning bunds of water reservoirs, territorial boundary, saree (female garment), brim, place, gulf and so on (T.L II: 767, cf. Ta, karai, Ma, Te, Tu. kare, D.E.D. 91: 1087). As a place name usually it denotes a living settlement, close to the sea. The golden charter of Vallipuram notes the place name, patakara in northern Sri Lanka (I.C. 1983.No.53). Scholars who investigated this record in later time said the name was Batakara (since in Tamil 'pa' could be replaced by va) instead of vatakara and identified it with a forerunner of the modern Vatamarachchi. In fact the letter ta' is not to be found in the record. What is found is “ta”. It might be either “ta” or “ti” and might

Place Names of Sri Lanka
rightly be read as Batakara or Batikara. Paranavithana (1983:49-54) who read it Batakara is right. The “Bata' and 'Barata of the Sri Lankan Brahmi inscriptions are considered to be Paratavar (Malone 1969: 224-240, Seneviratne 1985:49-54, Sitrampalam 1993: 1 12, 520). So Batakara means the land where the Paratavar lived. The inscriptions, which refer to Barata, are mostly found in north and north-west Sri Lanka which point has been emphasised by Seneviratne (1985:49). The reason for such a kind of concentration maybe that the Paratavar lived close to the sea from where it was easy for them to embark on voyages for fishing. In the present case the inscription has been found at Vallipuram which is on the seashore and so it is pertinent to treat Batakara as a land which was populated by the Parata var. A Sinhala inscription found in Mannar of the 9th century A.D. revealed a place name Utukara which mean vatakarai in Tamil. Another Sinhala inscription of 12th century A.D. exposed a place name Muttukara (Nicholas 1963:71-72). In contemporary Sri Lanka several villages on the seacoast end with the place name suffix karai. These villages are famous since the immortal past as revealed by the archaeological evidences (Table 12).
Kal
Kal is a typical Dravidian word (Ta. Ma. Ka. kal, Te. kata, Rallu, Ka. kallu, D.E.D.Nos.333-336). As in Andhra Pradesh Sri Lankan Brahmi inscriptions and Pali literature 10% of the place names end with the termination kal, kala, kalla (e.g. Kalyani, Karajikagala, Mayahaía, I.C. 1970. Nos. 577, 472, il 203). The words stands for rock, boulder, cave (natural or rock-cut), hill (granite), distance and so on (T.L. II: 1092). In Carikam literature the word stands for boulder or rock (Malaipatu. 191), hill (Patirru. 8423). Primeval place names are supposed to end with this suffix since in prehistoric human culture natural caves and stone implements played a vital role as places of sojourn and weapons for hunting and domestic utility (Ramachandramurthy 1985:256). This ancient suffix in Sri Lankan tradition found a place in Sinhalese place names with the word kala or kalu and kal in Tamil. A 7-8th inscription of Sigiriya notes the place name Matarakal (Nicholas 1962:190). Another place name Egukal belonging to 12 century A.D. mention in Pãii literature (C.V. 47:46). (Table 13).

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Kiri
In Andhra Pradesh (e.g. Velagiri, Dhanagiri, Ramachandramurthy 1985:242) and Sri Lanka (Acagiri, kadagiri, girivaje, I.C. 1970. Nos 406, 91, 1233) the suffix giri appears especially in Brahmi records. In later Tamil usage it appears very popularly (e.g. Kailacagiri, Pushpagiri, Civagiri, Puvanagiri) in Tamil Nadu. The word means hill, hillock, boar, slave and so on (TL II 927). In medieval Sri Lanka this word appears as not only a common suffix but also special suffix for which there are several clues in inscriptions and literature (Nicholas 1962: 209-223). It may be noted here that to a Siva temple at Nilaveli in Tirukonmalai district which is in Tamil and Grantha characters certain donations were made by people hailing from Uragirigama and Girikandagirigama (Pathmanathan 1998: 17-18)/ In contempoary Sri Lanka, both in Tamil (e.g. Kulatigiri, Kappangiri, Girimunai) and Sinhalese (e.g. Rajagiri, Giribattu) vocabulary girl is a place name suffix. It is a case of Sanskritic impact on not only Sinhalese but also Tamil culture.
Kuta
Kufa is another example traceable in inspirational sources (e.g. Maru-kuta, Patibnakuta, I . C. 1970. Nos. 656, 103 1, 50 l). It is of Dravidian origin (ra, kuta, Ka. kuçiu, kuçda, kuçi, Te. kuçduvali . D.E.D. No. 1709). In Tamil it denotes a territory which is surrounded on three sides by the sea, i.e. a gulf or excavation, corner or bend. (T.L. II: 967). It is linked with place names in carikam literature (Malaipatu. 501). In contemporary Sri Lanka most of the suffixes ending with kufa (e.g. Yaikufa-natu) are on the sea coast, especially the gulf province. (Table 15).
KuIli
Kuti is another suffix and of particular attraction is pakinikull (I.C. 1970:276). The place name kalapiti-kuli appears in an inscription from Sigiriya dated in the 7th century A.D. Another place name Elenakuli belonging to 12-13th century is mentioned in Pali literature (Nicholas 1962:90). The suffix kuti and kuli might be a Prakrit form of the Tamil kuli (Ta. Ma, Ka. kuli, Te. goyyi. D.E. D. 1522, T.L.II: 1032). In Tamil kuli means a pit, water reservoir, well, demarcated agricultural land, land measure and so on (TL II: 1032). In Sinhalese it is kuliya and in Tamil kuli (Table 16).

Place Names of Sri Lanka
Vayal
An inscription of the 1st century A.D. from Gekalai district at Yattakalana notes the place name calivaya (I.C. 1970:No.794). In this name vaya is the termination which is derived from the Tamil Vayal and Prakritised. Cali is a Tamil word which means paddy. So Calivaya is the paddy field (vaya=vayal). In Cankam literature the phrase, Calinellio (Maturai. 8) occurs. On this basis, it is suggested that there existed places called Caliyur and Nellur. Nellur is now in Andhra Pradesh (Alavandar 1984: 134). On this basis it might be suggested that the Calivaya of the Sri Lankan Brahmi inscriptions is a corrupt form of ne/vayal. Even though nelvayal is associated with agricultural avocations, it was more closely connected with place names in Sri lanka since ancient times (Table 17).
Matu
This is a Dravidian word (Ta, Ma, Ka. matu, Te. matuku. D.E.D. 307:3869) which occurs as a place name (e.g. mattugama, I.C. 1970. No.837). In Tamil it means a pond, water reservoir, pit or river band and so on (T.L.V.3024). This type of place name is rare in Tamil Nadu (Bhagavati 1991: 113) whereas widespread in Sri Lanka (Table 18).
Malai
A Tamil word (Ta. malai, Te, mala, ka male, D.E.D 3 14: 3882) in Brahmi records and Pali literature it gets corrupted into mala, Malaya (I.C. 19 70. No. 1 1 13a, M.V. VIl: 68,XXIV: 7,XXIII: 21, XXIII: 62). These mean hill or hillock and are linked with both place and personal names. Paranavithana reads the name in Anurathapuram inscription as "Valamalaya" (e.g. Vala-malay, I.C 1970: No. 1 l l 3A) taking it to be a northern Brahmi character and not Tamil-Brahmi. But in that record the letter T' occurs which is typical of Tamil - Brahmi. So the word will have to be read as Val-malai and obviously malai stands for a hill or hillock as is the case with other Dravidian languages which add other meanings such as highland, plateaus, forest and so on. The place name Val-malai occurred in 7-8th century inscription of Sigiriya (Nicholas 1962:111). A Tamil inscription of 11th century A.D. found at Manafikeni in eastern province notes the place name suffix 'malai" (Pathmanathan 2000:66). The Kollimalai of modern Tamil Nadu is identified with the ancient Kolli, noted in Natrinai (265) and Kuruntokal

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(34) (Alavandar 1984: 126-128). In modern Sri Lanka few names are after malai as in Tamil Nadu (Table 9).
Talai
The word, tala, in Brahmi records (e.g. rataca (i.I.C. 1970. No. 13) and contemporary Pali literature (e.g. Ambathala, MV XIII: 20) means water, land and hilly region. Paranavithana (1970: 109) links this word with the Sanskrit Sthala and Pāli thala or elu-talla. According to Burrow (1968: 320), the Dravidian etymologist, it is a Tamil loan word in Sanskrit. It is talai in Tamil, fala in Telugu and Malayalam and tale in Kannada. All mean summmit, best, the high born, leader, top, tip, crown and so on (D.E.D. 2529, TL III: 1774). Later Sri Lankan place names end with the suffix talai (Table 20). The Sigiriya inscription notes the place name parattala (Nicholas 1962: 197). Inscriptions of the 10th century A.D. in Sinhalese give the names, Manpittatai, Mansnittale (E.Z. II: 5, 185). These places have not been identified so far. It might refer to Mannittalai, a historically famous place in northern Sri Lanka (Pushparatnam 1993).
Toțuvai
In Brāhmi inscriptions and Pāli literature the word, tota, occurs which means river, sea, harbour and so on (I.C. 1970:86). This word could be linked with the Tamil totu (Ta. totu, Ma. fofuka, ka, fogdu. Te. fottu D.E.D. 2865) which means touch, unite, congress and so on. From this root, the place name tofu vay (tofu' touch' or “reach') and the Sinhalese word for harbour, tofa, appear (Ragupathy 1991). In Sri Lanka, totuvay is a common place name suffix for those close to the maritime pass way. (Table 21).
Nakar
In ancient Sri Lanka about 10% of the place names end with this termination. It was also very popular in most parts of South Asia. A Dravidian terminology (Ta. Ma. nakar, Te. nagaru, Skt. nagara D.E.D. 2943), in Tamil it means a city, palace, temple, castle, ritual mandapa, wife and so on. (T. L. V: 2124, D.E.D.No.2943). The Purananuru (23) talks of netunakar, maybe a city with tall buildings. Dispute pręvails regarding the origin of nakar or nagara as to whether it is Dravidian or Indo-Aryan. Even if the root is in Indo-Aryan stock of words, the Tamil word meaning house (= nakar) is supposed

Place Names of Sri Lanka
to be Dravidian (Nachimuthu 1984: 169-187). In Sri Lankan Brāhmi inscriptions in addition to nagara, the Tamil words nakar and nakari appear. Examples are Naka-nakar (I.C. 1970. No. 1 29), Siva-nakar, Angana-nakari (I.C. 1983 No. 21). The difference between the Sanskrit and Tamil words is in the middle alphabet 'ga and “ka, e.g. Naganagar and Naka-nakar. Even though the Nagas were associated with several communities in Sri Lanka, it is with the Tamils that it dominates as a personal name and place name. This point will have to be emphasised (Table22).
Pațținam
In few Brahmi inscriptions pata and patana appear (e.g. Macapatana I.C. No. 1174). These might be the equals of what contemporary Pali texts note as pattina. In ancient Tamil it was spelt as pattinam which is found in Carikam literature. This usage continues today (e.g. Wakapattinam, Chennaipattinam). Common to Dravidian languages (Te. pattu, Ma. Ka. patti, Skt. pattna, D.E.D. 3 199) in Tamil it means a city close to the sea, small city, village and so on. According to Burrow, it is a Dravidian word which has its root in pat and patti. The pattina appearing in Pali literature is mostly in connection with the Tamils inhabited areas. Examples are Mahatirthdpattina, Jambukolapattina, Musolipatina etc. (Table 23). In later times also several places in north Lanka ended with the suffix pattinam. So it is from the root, pattinam, that the Brahmii and Pali sources derived the words patana and pattina.
Puram
Pura in Sinhalese and puram in Tamil are the words used today in Sri Lanka to denote place names. In Tamil puram means the best city, village, metropolis, house, tower and so on (T. L. V: 2270). It was also in use as puri (Sethupillai 1956:49-50). Places which are away from the sea-shore were called so. Mostly this word, pura, is associated with Sinhalese dominated places and so it is opined that the Sinhalese settlements were later occupied and Tamilised (Kannankara 1980). But in fact this word appears in the 3rd-2nd century B.C. inscription (I.C. 1970) and is anterior to the Pali sources. In the inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh also this word appears contemporaneously. Later it became puramu in Andhra (Ramachandramurthy 1985:32). Certain place names, ending with puram, existed

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in Tamil Nadu during the carikam period. The seat of the Second Tamil Carikam was at Kapatapuram which means there could have been other such place names in those times.
That the puram was not confined to any region and was a panSouth Asian usage needs no clarification. The root of the word is said to be either Dravidian or Aryan. Some say it pre-dates both these cultural layers. In Sri Lanka the word was used since time immemorial. A Tamil coin found in south Lanka, dated in the 2nd century B.C., refers to Cata-naka -aracan of Tisapura (Pushparatnam 2001:56-57). Tamil literature of the 10th century A.D. notes Cirikapuram as the capital of the Tamil rulers. The Cola inscriptions of the 11th century refer to the capital Rajapura Mafottam in northern Sri Lanka (Indrapala 1971:10-18). Some of the historically antique places are now called Aracapuram, Culipuram, Mavitta-puram, Vallipuram and so on. These are solid evidences of the Tamil place names with puram suffix which persisted in usage since the remote past.
Pai
This word is mostly associated with the Buddhist-Jain settlements in Tamil Brahmi inscriptions and Cankam literature (Mahadevan 1966). In Sri Lankan Brahmi inscriptions instead of the word palli, lene appears which is Prakrit. Letne means a cave in Marathi. It is gumpha in Oriya. Guha is Sanskrit. An exceptional example of palli appears in a 1st century A.D. inscription from Kurunakal district. Paranavithana (1970-97. 15.No. 1202) considers it a habitation of the Buddhist monks and considers the word Pali. But palli (Ta. Ma. Ka. Te. palli D.E.D. 3309) is a Tamil word. Its root is found in palam “pit” which was dug to bury the dead (Raghupathy 1987:21 l). In later times the word came to denote a small village, middle-class city, Buddhist-Jain temple, royal place, working palace, dens of animals, school, road and so on (TL IV: 2552). Down to this day, palli is a place name suffix.
Սr
It is a significant place name suffix in ancient times (Ta. Ka. Ma. ūr, Te. ūru: D.E.D 57: 643). Not only in the Dravidian states of South India, it was also popular in Southeast Asian countries like Sumatra.. ur means a village, city, place, habitation and so on. Carikam

Place Names of Sri Lanka
works provide evidences of ur as human settlements in the past. Contemporaneously it was widespread in Sri Lanka e.g. Kubure, Jabukura in Brahmi inscription (Kubu-ure, I.C. 1983.No.8), in Pali Sallura (sahura) (M.V. XXXVII: 47). An example from early Sinhalese inscription is Kumbur (kum +ur, Dias 1983: 10). The word ura was a place name suffix in Andhradesa in the 2nd century A.D. (Ramachandramurthy 1985:347). Brahmi inscriptions of Tamil Nadu notes the place name suffix ūr, āru (Pannerselvam 1972: 178). Ure, lūr and ura as noted above were all place name terminations. These are the Prakrit and Pali corruption's of the Tamil word ur.
The Sigiriya inscription refers to a place Tanatura in the 7th8th century A.D (Nicholas 1962: 197). An inscription from Anurathapura of the 9th century A.D. refers to Kumaraganattu-Perur (Pathmanathan 2000:47) and another record from Jaffna fort of the 11th century notes (Nal) ür (Indrapala 197 11:52-56). These are Tamil inscriptions. A Sinhala record, dated in A.D. 1200, notes the place name, Pilikambura. Kurunti as a place name is noted in the 13th century which was located in the Kalingamakan fort in northern Sri Lanka. This place is also noted in Pali sources. Nicholas (1962:87) identified this place with Kuruntan- ur in Tamil province of Mullaithtivu. In contemporary Sri Lanka several place names end with ur (Table. No.26).
Καταναι
Kata is a suffix in a considerable number of Brahmi inscriptions (e.g. Anikața, uparikagda, Kati. I.C. Nos. 77, 1099, 841, 867, 830). The same place name suffix is noted in the Tamil Brahmi inscriptions (Pannerselvam 1972: 178). Late Sri Lankan Brahmi inscriptions notes the place name suffix katavaya (I.C. 1983. No. 14). It can be read as kafavai in Tamil. Paranavithana (1983: 37) gives the meaning katu 'forest to this word. In Malayalam it gives the meaning common market, assembling at periodical intervals, maybe a week, i.e. weekly market or convened at a given time (D.E.D.No. 958). In contemporary usage Katuva and kata in Sinhalese and katavai in Tamil are found (e.g kikkatuva, Vakalkata on Sinhalese, paraiyakatavai, Natuvakatavai in Tamil). Katavai has its root in kata which means path, threshold, ladder, wooden bridge and so on (T. L. II: 662). Pali literature refer to the Kalingamakan forts of northern Sri Lanka which flourished in the

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13th century A.D. of which a place name is identified with the modern Iluppakkațavai by Nicholas (1962:82-83). That kafa vai was a place name suffix has been proved with early settlements (Ragupathy 1987:211) (Table.No.27).
Vil
It is vil in Tamil and villa in Sinhalese (Table -28). It has been long since believed that the Sinhalese vila is the source of Tamil vil, supposed to have been Tamilised (Kannankara 1980). But even before it was associated with Sinhalese, it appears in the ancient Tamil Brahmi inscriptions of the island. Since most of the inscriptions were published and edited by Paranavithana, he was of the opinion that vila was Sanskrit and read them on the basis of this formula (e.g. Vilagama, Rakavil, Badivila, and I.C. 1983: 52-53, No.38). In fact these inscriptions are mixed with several Tamil and Dravidian words and so via could as well be read as vis (e.g. Vil-gama, Raka-vil, Badivil). Vill in Tamil means (cf. Ta. vil, Ma. vil, villu, Te. vilu, villu, Ka. bil, D.E.D.No. 4449). It is on this basis that several proper names originated; e.g. Villan, Villi, Villavan, Villor.
An inscription of the 12th century A.D. from Padaviya in eastern Sri Lanka records the gift of an 'erimani' to a Siva temple by the inhabitant Venkanan of Kotovil (Pathmanathan 2000:64-65). This place might be the modern Konavil in the Ponakary district in northern Sri Lanka (Pushparatnam 1993:76). The Pallavarayanpettai inscription of Rajadhiraja II Cola records a number of places taken by his army in northern Sri Lanka which were vallikgamam, Matottam, Pulachchnry, Mattival (vil) and so on (Sastri 1958:368-369). Of these Mattival (vil) might be identified with Mattivil- natu in Ponakary district. Very close to this location in the southward direction there is another place called Pulachchery of the cofa record and these further confirm our identification (Pusparatnam 1993:76-77). Further south is found Mātātam.
In epigraphs villa or vii is mostly linked with ponds (Paranavithana 1983:53). According to Raghupati (1987-212) in ancient times water ponds were dug in the shape of a bow (semicircular) and on this account place names could have had the suffix vil. He gives several examples in modern Jaffna where such villages are fitted with ponds and thus justifies his claim (Table 28).

Place Names of Sri Lanka
The Yålppana Lexicon gives the meaning of kukai "cave to vil. (T.L.VI.3708). The archaic human cave settlements are supposed to have been bow-shaped and so it could as well provide a clue to the origin of the word. Place names appear with due credit to their literal sense and usage. The word köyit (ko+ il, Kõ “king” or god and il “house”) originates with respect to usage.
Other place names:
Few other place names found in inscriptions will have to be examined with regard to their suffix. They are as follows:
1) Pāy (or paya, I.C. 1970.No.455, 1199). This word mostly appears in the Jaffna place names (Table 29). In modern usage it means a mat (bedstead) but in those times it stood for a place; e.g. Koppay (Ko- "king, pay place' and so king's p (a) lace (Raghupathy 1987: 212). At the said place the Nallur rajadhaniking's palace is said to have existed.
2) Kulam (kula. 1970.No.538, 1983.No.34). This is a Prakrit corruption of the Tamil kulam. In the Vanni province most of the place names end with kunam (Table 30).
3) Kummi (Kumi. I. C. 1970. Nos.318, 712, 1228). It is the eduivalent of kumpi in Tamil and kummi in Telugu (Ragupathy 1991, Ramachandramurthy 1984:247). The Tamil word kumpi means a cluster or heap, elephant and city (Ta. kumpi, Te, gummi D.E.D. 1456, T.L.II. 1002). The word kummi stands for a kind of dance which is performed by clapping the hands and a group of persons moving in a circle (T.V.II: 1002) In inscriptions this word denotes a cave and so kumpi might be the root. It appears in the place names of Andhra also (Ramachandramurthy 1984:247).
4) Arai. It is linked with the name of cave (Araka I.C. 1970.No.75) It is considered to be a Prakrit form of the Tamil word arai (Ragupathy 1991). Brahmi inscriptions of Tamil Nadu refer the place name suffix arai eg. Vēs-arai, VēT-araiya (Pannerselvam 1972: 178)
5) Tanai (Tana. C. 1970. Nos. 42, 1 149, 1 134, 1 l 37, 1 1 74). A Sanskritic word, it denotes pastures for the cattle (tanabhumi) (Paranavithana 1970: 100). In northern Sri Lanka it is considered to be the Sinhalese tanai (Kutaffanai, Warantanai, Tampanai). It could as well be compared with the tana in Brahmi inscriptions. (Table 31).

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Place Names of Sri Lanka
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Place Names of Sri Lanka
6) Pukarani: It stands for a water reservoir in Brahmi inscriptions (I.C. 1970.N0.703). It could be compared with the Tamil words pokkal and pokkanal which are water sources (Table 32)
The foregoing study provides a broad basis for examining the place names in ancient Sri Lanka. All these inscriptions are in Prakrit of the Aryan stock. Prakrit was the lingua in all countries where Buddhism had established its hold. Its influence is discernible in Tamil Nadu also to an extent (Mahadevan 1968). So all names and places noted in these Prakrit charters could not be taken to be of the same language. Linguists are of the opinion that the pre-Dravidian and pre-Aryan peoples of the Indian subcontinent had borrowed words from the proto-Austroloid stock (Chateerji 1952, Burrow 1968, Caldwell 1981). More than 200 words from modern Sinhalese are identified with proto-Austrolid (Gunawardhana 1973). These aboriginal are supposed to have migrated to the island around 28000 B.C. from South India, particularly Tamil Nadu (Allchin 1960, Deraniyagala 1984). The Dravidians are supposed to have come around 800 B.C. for which archaeological evidences have been unearthed (Begley 1973: 190-196, Goonatilake 1981, Sitrampalam 1980, Seneviratne 1984, Ragupathy 1987). It is around these prehistoric settlements that most of the Brahmi inscriptions have been discovered. Several Tamil words appear verbatim in Therese records while some are Prakritised (Pusparatnam 2001). So the inscriptions are solid evidences of the Tamil settlements in Sri Lanka since time immemorial. These records present a case to relook at the present Tamil-Sinhalese place names in the light of Tamil-Sanskrit liaison in those times.
Abbreviation
C.V. - Culavamsa D.E.D.- Dravidian Etymological Dictionary
D.V. - Dipavamsa E.I. - , Epigraphia Indica E.Z. - Epigraphia Zeylanica I.C. - Inscriptions of Ceylon
Ma.
Malayalam

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Ka. - Kannada
M.V. - Mahavamsa S.S.I. - South Indian Inscriptions
Ta. - Tamil
Te. - Telugu T.L - Tamil Lexicon
Notes and References
Canka lakkiyam, (in Tamil) 1967. (Two vol), Vaiyapurippillai, S. (e.d.), Chennai.
Suseendrarajha, S. 1999. Tamil Moliviyal Cintanai, (in Tamil) (ed.) Rajaram, S. and Subathini, R. Chennai.
Subbarayalu, Y. (e.d.), 1991. Kalvettukkadum Varalarum (in Tamil), Kalvettiyal Turai Tamil University, Thanjavur:41-48.
Nachchimutthu, K. 1983. Tamil Itappeyarayivu, (in Tamil), Nakarkoyil. Pakavathy, K. 1991. Tamiakam-Ilankai itappeyarkal or Oppayvu, (in Tamil), Chennai.
Pathmanathan, S. 1972. Tamilch Cacanankalum. Ela Varalarrarachchiyum (in Tamil), in Ilantenral, Colombo.
Pathmanathan, S. 1984. Ilankaiyil Tamil Vanika Kannkalum Nakarankalum (A.D. 1000-1200), (in Tamil), in Cintanai, Vol. II, Jaffna
Pathmanathan, S. 1998. (e.d)., Taksnakailaca Puranam, (in Tamil), Colombo.
Pathmanathan, S. 2000. Ilankayil Inthu Kalacaram, Pakuti-1, (in Tamil), Colombo.
Balasundram, E. 1988. Ilankai Itappeyar Ayvu- Kankecan Kalvi Vattaram, (in Tamil), Jaffna.
Pushparatnam, P. 1993. Pinakary Tolporulayvu, (in Tamil), Jaffna University Publication, Jaffna.
Pushparatnam, P. 2000, Tolliyal Nokkil Ilankai familar Panpatu, (in Tamil), Chennai. Pushparatnam, P. 200t, Ilankai Tamilarin Pantayakala Nanayankati, (in Tamil), Jafna.
Begley, Vimala., 1973, Proto Historic Material from Sri Lanka Ceylon) and Indian Contacts in Ecological Background of South Asian Prehistory, (e.d)., Kennedy, A.R. and Possehl, L., South Asian Occasional Papers and Thesis, South Asian Program, Cornell University: 190-196.
Burrow, T. and Emeneau, M.B., 1961, Dravidian Etymological Dictionary, Oxford.
Burrow, T. 968, Collected Papers on Dravidian Linguistics, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar.

Place Names of Sri Lanka
Caldwell, R. 1981, A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Languages, Gian Publication, Delhi.
Geiger. W(e.d)., 1953, Culavamsa, Ceylon Government Information Department, Colombo.
Deraniyagala, S.U., 1972, Bellan-Bandi Palassa 1970: A Mesolithic Burial Site in Ceylon in Ancient Ceylon, Journal of the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon: 18-47.
Deraniyagala, S.U., 1984, Sri Lanka 28000 B.C. in Ancient Ceylon, Journal of
the Archaeological Survey of Sri Lanka, 5:105-108.
Goonetilleke, S.1980, Sinhalisation-The Origin in Lanka Guardian, 3(1): 2229.
George, K.M., 1986, Place Names of Southern India, Dravidian Linguistics Association, Trivandrum
Gnanaprakasar, Rev. S., 1952, Ceylon Originally a Land of Dravidians in Tamil
Culture, 11): 27-35.
Gunawardhana,W.F., 1973, Sinhalaya Wag vidya Muladharma, Colombo
Indrapala, K., 1971, A Cola Inscription from the Jaffna Fort in Epigraphia
Tamilica, Jaffna Archaeological Society, Jaffna, 11:52-56.
Kannangara, K. T., 1984, Jaffna and the Sinha Heritage, Colombo.
Kularatnam, K. 1968, Tamil place names in Ceylon outside the Northern and
Eastern Provinces in First World Tamil conference. 485-508.
Lewis, J. R., 1917, Manual of Place Names of Vanni, Colombo Mahadevan, I., 1966, Corpus of the Tamil- Brahmi Inscriptions, Seminar on Inscriptions, Department of Archaeology Government of Tamil Nadu, Madras.
1950, Geiger, W (e.d)., Mahavamsa, The Ceylon Government Information Department, Colombo.
Malini Dias. 1983, Epigraphical Notes-19, Department of Archaeological,
Colombo.
Nicholas, C.W., 1963, Historical Topography of Ancient and Medieval Ceylon
in Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Colombo, VI.
Panneerselvam, R. 1972, Critical Study of the Tamil Brahmi Inscriptions in
Actaoriantalic, XXXIV: 163-1971
Paranavitana, S., 1970, Inscription of Ceylon. Early Brahmi Inscriptions, The
Department of Archaeology Ceylon, Colombo,
Paranavitana, S., 1983, Inscription of Ceylon. Late Brahmi Inscriptions, The Department of Archaeology Sri Lanka, Moratuwa, Ill).
Pathmanathan, S., 1999, (e.d)., Temples of Siva in Sri Lanka, (A collections of research articles on the History of 12 Ancient Siva Temples of Sri Lanka) Chinmaya Mission of Srilanka.
Pillai, K.K., 1968, Aryan influence in Tamilaham during the Sangam epoch. First World Tamil conference: 271-279.
Ragupathy, P., 1987, Early Settlements in Jaffna. An Archaeological Survey, Mrs. Thillimalar Ragupathy, Madras.

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Ragupathy, P., 1991, The Language of the Early Brahmi Inscription in Sri Lanka, Unpublished].
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