A meikeerthi ( ta, மெய் கீர்த்தி) is the first section of

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

inscriptions of grant issued by ancient Tamil kings of

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

. Meikeerthis of various stone and metal inscriptions serve as important archaeological sources for determining

Tamil History The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

Description

''Meikeerthi'' is a Tamil word meaning "true fame". During the rule of

Rajaraja Chola I Rajaraja I (947 CE – 1014 CE), born Arunmozhi Varman or Arulmozhi Varman and often described as Raja Raja the Great or Raja Raja Chozhan was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE. He was the most powerful Tamil king in South ...

it became common practice to begin inscriptions of grant with a standard praise for the king's achievements and conquests. This practice was adopted by Raja Raja's descendants and the later Pandya kings. The length of a meikeerthi may vary from a few lines to a few paragraphs. Only the start of a particular king's meikeerthi remains constant in all his inscriptions and the content varies depending upon the year of his reign the inscription was issued (as he might have made new conquests or new grants since the previous inscription was made). Meikeerthis do not mention a calendar year. Instead they always mention the year of the king's reign in which the inscription was made.

Historical sources

The inscriptions function as historical sources for differentiating the kings of the same name belonging to a particular dynasty. Almost without exception, the ''meikeerthi'' of a particular king begins with a unique phrase and this helps to differentiate kings with similar names or titles. For example, amongst the later Pandyan kings there were at least three who were named ''Jatavarman Kulasekaran'' ( ta, சடையவர்மன் குலசேகரன்). By using the ''meikeerthi'' found in their inscriptions, they are identified as follows }) , Jatavarman Kulasekaran , 1162-1177 CE , ---- , ''Poovin Kizhathi'' ( ta, பூவின் கிழத்தி) ,

Jatavarman Kulasekaran I Sadayavarman Kulasekaran I ( ta, முதலாம் சடையவர்மன் குலசேகரன்) was a Pandyan king, who ruled regions of South India between 1190–1216. Accession and background Kulasekaran acceded to the Pa ...

, 1190-1218 CE , ---- , ''Boothala Vanidhai'' ( ta, பூதல வனிதை) ,

Jatavarman Kulasekaran II Sadayavarman Kulasekaran II ( ta, இரண்டாம் சடையவர்மன் குலசேகரன்) was a Pandyan king, who ruled regions of South India between 1238–1240. Shared rule Kulasekaran was one of two Pandyan ...

, 1238-1240 CE , ---- They also mention the names of the king's consorts, his conquests, vanquished enemies, vassals and seats of power. As early Tamil records are not dated in any well known calendar, the regnal year mentioned in meikeerthis are important in dating Tamil history. The year of the reign when taken along with contemporary historical records such as the Mahavamsa and accounts of foreign travelers like Abdulla Wassaf,

Amir Khusrow Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253–1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau was an Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar who lived under the Delhi Sultanate. He is an iconic figure in the cultural history of the Indian s ...

and

Ibn Battuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...

helps to determine the chronology of the

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

and Pandya dynasties. Sometimes the king is not identified by name but by an accomplishment (conquest, battle or grant). For example, the Chola prince

Aditya Karikalan Aditya II (942 CE - 971 CE), commonly known as Aditya Karikalan was a Chola prince who lived in the 10th century in India. He was born in Tirukoilur and was the eldest son of Parantaka Chola II. He was the elder brother of Rajaraja Chola I a ...

's meikeerthi refers to him only as "The king who took Vira Pandiyan's head" ( ta, ஸ்வஸ்திசர் வீரபாண்டியன் தலை கொண்ட கோப்பரகேசரி) without naming him.Kalvettayvu by M Lavanya, Varalaaru.com
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Noted examples

Notes

References

* * {{cite book, title=South India and her Muhammadan Invaders, url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924024066742, last=Aiyangar, first=Sakkottai Krishnaswami, author-link=S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, publisher=Oxford University Press, year=1921, ref=Aiyangar Tamil history