Oldest Stone Inscriptions in India // Mangulam Tamil-Brahmi Cave Inscriptions // 3rd BCE

Mangulam is a village in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located 25 kilometres from Madurai. The inscriptions discovered in the region are the earliest Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions dating back to 3rd century BC.
There are five caves in the hill of which six inscriptions are found in four caves. These were inscribed during SANGAM PERIOD, hence it is considered one of the important inscriptions in Tamil Nadu. The inscriptions mentions that workers of Nedunchezhiyan I, a Pandyan king of Sangam period, (c. 270 BCE) made stone beds for Jain monks. An inscription shows that Kadalan Vazhuthi, a worker (பணஅன்- accountant; he was also related family) of Nedunchezhiyan made stone bed to Jain monk Nanda Sirikuvan. It is the protected monuments in Tamil Nadu by the Archaeological Survey of India.