Early Buddhist Sites in the East Coast of Tamil Nadu
K. Mavali Rajan1 and Palas Kumar Saha1
1

Department of Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology, Visva-Bharati
University, Santiniketan, West Bengal -731 235, India (Email: mavalirajan@gmail.com;
86palas@gmail.com)
Received: 16 July 2020; Revised: 08 October 2020; Accepted: 12 November 2020
Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 8.2 (2020): 175-192
Abstract: The east coastal regions of Tamil Nadu provided a firm foothold for the nourishment of Buddhism for over two thousand years, owing largely to its geographical location along the coast as well as the existence of several prosperous and fertile river basins in Tamil Nadu. During the early centuries, the people of coastal regions of Tamil Nadu seemed to have embraced Buddhism quite early when compared to other parts of India and also patronised and supported its existence for a longer duration, i.e., up to the post-Vijayanagar period. Three main reasons played a vital role in the growth of Buddhism on the east coast of India. Firstly, the continuous royal patronage in the form of land grants or religious endowments or by establishing and renovating Buddhist settlements; secondly, the advantageous location both politically and geographically, and thirdly, a strong inclination towards intellectuality. Apart from the royal patronage, the rich lay devotees including the merchants and officials also made huge donations
for the establishment of Buddhism in the coastal region of south India. Keywords: Buddhism, Patronage, Cholas, East Coast, Kanchipuram, Nagapattinam, Kaveripattinam
Introduction
The eastern coastal region is a wide stretch of land lying between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal. It is covered the land of the coastal area of Ancient Bengal (present West Bengal and Bangladesh), Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, and the coastal region
of Tamil Nadu. The east coast of Tamil Nadu was a part of the ancient silk route and played an important role in maritime activities with the Southeast Asian countries. Especially in the early period, Roman and Greek traders had trade relations with the Tamil states of the Chera, Chola and Pandya. They established trading settlements in the coastal region of southern India. The eastern coastline of the Indian peninsula is also well known for its several Buddhist sites (Figure 1) located at river mouths or outlets to the sea, these include the Gangetic delta which has an opening into the sea through the many outlets along the fertile plain arching towards the Bay of Bengal.

The Tamils of the early period established major seaports at Uraiyur, Korkai, Musiri, Nagapattinam and Kaveripattinam. Through the ancient ports, Tamils had been ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 8.2: 2020
involved in maritime activities with different regions of India and other countries, which was a major aspect of the commercial history of South India. In the early historic period, the Tamil land was a land of seafarers. The literary and archaeological sources
suggest that there was a commercial as well as cultural contact between Southeast Asia and South India (Varma 2005-06: 125). On the aspects of trade and commerce, many studies have been undertaken, in which the east-coast played a significant role in
spreading the Indian culture to the other world through trade activities. Keeping the cultural value of the Tamil coast in mind the present article aims to highlight the Buddhist sites and their cultural influences on the east coast of the Tamil country.
Figure 1: Map of the East Coast of Ancient India The Tamil Nadu coastal regions provided a firm foothold for the nourishment of Buddhism for over two thousand years, owing largely to its geographical circumstances along the coast as well as the existence of several prosperous and fertile river basins in Tamil Nadu. During the early centuries, the people of coastal regions of Tamil Nadu seemed to have embraced Buddhism quite early when compared to other parts of India and also patronised and supported its existence for a longer duration, i.e., up to the post-Vijayanagara period (17th century CE). Three main reasons played a vital role in the growth of Buddhism on the east coast of India. Firstly, the continuous royal patronage in the form of land grants or religious endowments or by establishing and renovating Buddhist settlements; secondly, the advantageous location of both politically and geographically, and thirdly, a strong inclination towards intellectuality. Apart from the royal patronage, the rich lay devotees including the merchants and officials also made huge donations for the establishment of Buddhism in the coastal
region of south India.
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Table 1: Some Important Buddhist Sites of Early Tamil Country
Sl. No. Name of the Site Territory

1. Kaveripattinam Cholamandalam
2. Nagapattinam Cholamandalam
3. Kanchipuram Tondaimandalam
4. Butamangalam Cholamandalam
5. Buddhamangalam Cholamandalam
6. Sangamangai Tondaimandalam
7. Bodhimangalm Cholamandalam
8. Kumpakonam Cholamandalam
9. Bodhimangai Cholamandalam
10. Thiruvalanjuli Cholamandalam
11. Patteeswaram Cholamandalam
12. Elayanaur Cholamandalam
13. Buddhakudi Cholamandalam
14. Uraiyur (Uragapuram) Cholamandalam
15. Peruncheri Cholamandalam
16. Mayurapattanam Cholamandalam
17. Vellanur Cholamandalam
18. Alankudipatti Cholamandalam
19. Avur Tondaimandalam
20. Navalur Tondaimandalam
21. Thiruchchopuram Tondaimandalam
22. Pallavaram Tondaimandalam
23. Arittapatti Pandimangalam
24. Pothigai Pandimandalam
25. Vanchimanagar Tondaimandalam
26. Kalugumalai Pandimandalam
27. Kongarpuliyankulam Pandimandalam
28. Anaimalai Pandimandalam
29. Muttuppatti Pandimandalam
30. Nagamalai Pandimandalam
31. Marukaltalai Pandimandalam
32. Kadahattur Tondaimandalam
33. Rameshvaram Pandimandalam
34. Manikanti Pandimandalam
35. Cuttamalli Cholamandalam

The Spread of Buddhism in the Southern Region

Buddhism spread to the whole of India particularly to Tamil Nadu during the 3rd century BCE from the Asoka period. It is stated that Asoka’s son Mahendran Sundara went to Sri Lanka to propagate Buddhism via Kaveripattinam (Venkatasamy 1957: 38).
ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 8.2: 2020 Attesting the fact R. Champakalakshmi argues that “religious and cultural elements from north India slowly penetrating the Tamil region even from the pre-Mauryan
times” (Champakalakshmi 2011: 334-335). There is no direct evidence of Mauryan influence in the Tamil culture, but it is important to note that the Tondaimandalam region (Pālāru valley) was under the Asoka regime and Kanchipuram became a Buddhist centre with architectural features, stūpās and vihārās, of the Asokan period.

Hiuen Tsang also noticed the existence of Buddhism in Kanchipuram. The magnificent remains of many Buddhist temples, stone sculptures and bronzes, vihārās, chaityās and stūpās in the southern regions have revealed the once-thriving conditions of the
Buddhist religion. There are about 100 sites spread all over the east coast of South India, which has withstood the ravages of time. It is from here that Buddhism spread to the far-east including China, Japan, and Sri Lanka. Table 1 shows some important
Buddhist sites of the early Tamil country.

The period of the ascendency of Buddhism covering a span of nearly six hundred years (300 BCE to 300 CE) forms the bright chapter of Indian history including the east coast of South India. This phase witnessed an unprecedented growth of art and architecture
as indicated by various Buddhist temple remains. Since the British officers initiated the exploration of Buddhist monuments in south India about the middle of the eighteenth century, many Buddhist sites have been noticed and most of them have been excavated
by the archaeologist.

Historians and Archaeologists trace the influences and impact of Buddhism in Tamil country from the third century BCE by showing a solitary seal with Buddhist slōkas beginning with “he dhaima hetu pirabava” at Arikamedu1 (Begley 1983 87:4: 461-481)
excavation near Pondicherry. The ambiguity among scholars regarding the footing of Buddhism in the early Tamil country has led to several hypotheses. The maximum number of Tamil epigraphs assigned to the eleventh and twelfth-century CE was found
in a Buddhist temple called Rājarājapperumpalli in northeast Sri Lanka adjunct to Trincomalee (Krishnan 1981: 102-104).
These records date back to the rule of Rajendra Chola I (1012-1044 CE) and Rajendra II (1054-1063 CE) are donatives in characteristic and register grant of money and cattle for the maintenance of lamps at the Buddhist shrine (Subrahmanyam 2001: 76). The
Buddhist settlements gained the patronage of Tamils, who were mostly Chola officials, and there is a paucity of evidence about the recognition of these institutions by the Chola state and royalty. The catholicity and religious tolerance of the Chola rulers is
further attested by an important copper plate charter of Sundara Chola (957-970 CE), father of Rajaraja the well-organised found near Vēdaranyam on the east coast of Thanjavur district, recording grants of land to a Buddhist temple, Sundrachōlapperumpalli.
Buddhism exercised a profound influence on the lives of the people of the ancient coastal region of south India. The language and literature, art and architecture, social norms and religious practices of that time were shaped by the enlightening stimulus of
this great religion. The east coast region is the lifeline of Tamil Nadu, which has 178 Rajan and Saha 2020: 175-192
spring of Buddhist shrines on its coast- Nagapattinam, Kanchipuram, Kaveripattinam, etc. The Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang counted 50 monasteries and 4500 monks in the southern regions when he visited India. The two schools Theravāda 2 and Mahasanghika 3
and also their sub-sects survived in these regions. Tamil Nadu is replete with Buddhist monuments. In recent years, several Buddhist settlements, ranging from early times to the later Chola period have been found due to untiring efforts of the archaeologist. With the result, we know that Buddhism in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu is spread over a vast area, especially in the coastal region.
Buddhism was extended in Tamil Nadu in two phases; the early years of Pallava rule (400-650 CE) and the Chola period (from the middle of 9th to early 14th century CE).

Buddhism had then enjoyed very remarkable popularity in the Tamil soil. Importantly the Kalabhara rulers were the great patrons of Buddhism in the Tamil region. During the Kalabhara period, a monastery named Bhūtamangalam was constructed, which
was the main centre of Buddhism, identified with the modern Budalur in the Thanjavur district. The Pallava king, Nandivarman II (731-796 CE) constructed a Buddhist vihāra (known as China vihāra) at Nagapattinam for the use of Chinese mariners who called over there for the purpose of trade (Aiyappan and Srinivasan 1998: 51-52). In the Chola period, there was a Buddhist settlement at Nagapattinam on the east coast. The Chola rulers Rajaraja I (985-1014 CE), and Kulottunga I (1070-1122 CE) also built many Buddhist vihāras on the east coast of the Tamil country (Saha 2016: 199-200).

When Buddhism originated in India, it evolved as a counter-tradition to the Brahmanical orthodoxy. In the process of their valuation, Buddhism developed their institutional structures, philosophical ideas, their own symbols and canons for popular appeal and social base. From the third century BCE onwards, the apparent rationalist and non-theistic character of these traditions was transformed due to historical agencies that determined their development into counter-traditions with a wide following and patronage. Buddhism had evolved its own canon, and concepts of the deities became the central focus of the religion. It had also developed its well
organised monastic tradition with a lineage of the followers and teachers after Buddha (Chapakalakshmi 2011: 358).
9th century
Buddhism occupied an important place in the cultural life of the people in the coastal regions of Tamil country, right from the early centuries of the Christian era till the late
medieval period. Buddhism also played a significant role in maritime relations with
Southeast Asian countries. The plausible reason for this appears to be the existence of
several important port towns along the coast, which in turn facilitated not only
maritime trade and transportation but also religious propagation. It has contributed to
the enrichment of the east coast of Tamil culture and has extorted a significant
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influence, both directly and indirectly, on the Tamil religious and spiritual
consciousness, present as well as past.
The Tamil literary evidence is very well supported by archaeological excavations at a
number of coastal sites where a large number of Buddhist temples have been
discovered. The discovered Buddhist sites are located either very far in the hinterland
or submerged in the sea (Figure 2). To have a proper location of these sites in respect to
the distance from the sea and to assess the amount of destruction of an archaeological
site by the sea, a coastal exploration was carried out on the southern Tamil Nadu coast.
Through the exploration, many Buddhist sites have been identified on the east coast of
Tamil Nadu. Figure 2 shows the location of the Buddhist sites on the east coast of
Tamil Nadu.
Figure 2: Location of Buddhist sites in the Coastal Tamil Nadu
Nagapattinam
Nagapattinam was the major port city and commercial centre in the days of the Cholas, involved in brisk overseas trade with the Southeast Asian countries. There was close contact between the Srivijaya kingdom of the Indonesian archipelago and the Chola
Empire of the Kaveri delta region. Apart from a port town, Nagapattinam was one of the important Buddhist centres in coastal Tamil Nadu. A vihara was built at Nagapattinam for the Buddhists, named after the king of Kadaram (Kataha) and supported by extensive grants in the form of land revenue from the village of Anaimangalam. For the first time, a Kalyāni inscription of Dhammaceti (1476 CE) calls this place as Navutapattana (Indian Antiquary Vol. XXII: 11-53). It was also known as Nikama, Nāgavadana and Pa-tan (Balasubramanyam 1975: 109-110). In Saivite 180
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literature Dēvaram, the Nagapattinam referred to as Nagai, which is the early name of the
place. When the city became a major port town (pattinam) of the Cholas, it became
Nāgapattinam around the 9thcentury CE (nāgai-pattinam). In the post-sixth still century CE,
Nāgapattinam was considered to have fostered a more conducive environment for
Buddhism (Ramachandran 1968: 1-20). Table 2 shows the different names of
Nāgapattinam (Jeyakumar 1995: 24).
Table 2: Different Names of Nagapattinam
Sources
(Travel Accounts and Inscriptions)
Period
Other Names of
Nagapattinam
Itsing’s Account
7th century CE
Nāgavathana/
Nāgiya-potana
Pallava Inscriptions and Dēvaram
hymns
8th -9th century CE Nāgai
Chola Inscriptions and Copper Plates
11th century CE
Chōlakulavallippattinam
Marco-polo Accounts
13th century CE
Pa-tan
Kalyāni Inscription of Burma
14th century CE
Navutha-patan
Figure 3: Bronzes from Nagapattinam (Courtesy: Government Museum, Chennai) It was indeed a major centre of Buddhism that produced such beautiful bronzes right from the 9th century CE (Figures 3 and 4). The icons reported from these places are
more elegant which emphasizes the stately repose and contemplative form of Buddha.There was a setback for Buddhists during the 7th-9th CE from the Brahmanical saints, particularly from the Vaishnavites. The Vaishnava saint Thirumangai Ālvār raided a
Buddhist temple at Nagapattinam and carried an icon of Buddha made in gold and he melted it down and used the same for decorating the Vishnu temple at Srirangam
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ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 8.2: 2020 (Dehejia 1972: 21). Since the day of the Chola, the Nagapattinam has existed as a place of pilgrimage for Malaya Buddhists. It was the Srivijaya dynasty that supported
declining Buddhism by constructing Buddhist temples at Nagapattinam (in the 11th-12th century CE) (Ramachandran 1980: 123-126). In spite of the fact that all the Buddhist edifices, which for a long time adorned it, have been swept away, the uprooted
remnants, in the forms of hoards of bronzes, coupled with the inscriptional references and short but significant notices of the foreign writers conjure up before one the vision of a busy international port with its different quarters having their own cosy places of
worship but built in their native architectural styles (Mitra 1969: 195).
Figure 4: Bronzes from Nagapattinam (Government Museum, Chennai) The most important notable Buddhist vihārā in the early Tamil country in the coastal region was the Cūdāmanivarma vihārā at Nagapattinam, erected during the reign of the Chola king Rajaraja I in memory of the Srivijaya king Cūdāmanivarma at the request of his son, Srimara Vijayathungavarman. For the support and maintenance of the vihāra, the village Ānaimangalam was granted by the Chola king Rajaraja I and later confirmed by Kulottunga I (EI, Vol. XXII: 213-266 and Jumbulingam 12:5 1994: 99).
Srivijayan agents were also seen making endowments to the local Siva temples (ARE, Nos. 161 and 166 of 1956-57). Theravada Buddhism, which continued to hold influence over the Buddhists of the Tamil centres, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, must have been
the chief beneficiary of these grants to the Buddhist vihāra.From the Buddhism point of view, still, Nagapattinam was known for the presence of the Cūdāmanivarma vihāra. The Chola kings’ record donations were made to the vihāra, which continued as a major landmark until the 19th century. The copper plates of
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Rajaraja Chola records that the Buddhist temple in the Cūdāmanivarma vihāra was erected at Nagapattinam, perhaps for the subject who settled at Nagapattinam for the trade purpose. The Leyden copper plates of Kulottunga Chola I dated 1090 CE records
the exemption of certain taxes to the Palliccandam villages of two Buddhist temples at Nagapattinam at the request of the ambassadors of the king of Katāram. One is called Rājēndrachōlap-perumpalli and the other is the Sailendra Cūdāmanivarma vihāra alias Rajarajap-perumpalli both built by the king of Katāram. The Nagapattinam was by no means an isolated site. Instead, archaeological data from the Tamil coast indicates the presence of 127 contemporary Buddhist sites (Dayalan nd.: 10), which complement those that have been located further north along with the Bengal, Orissa, and Andhra coasts and underscores the vitality and vibrancy of Buddhism in the early medieval period.
The Buddhist temple complex at Nagapattinam is within the larger context of the east coast, thereby challenging the theory of the decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent around the 7th-8th century propounded by Alexander Cunningham. As a
result of maritime contacts between South India and Southeast Asian countries, there existed in Nagapattinam a colony of Buddhist and also Buddhist temples and vihara (Ramachandran 1968: 14). During the reign of the Pallava king Narasimavarman II a
The Buddhist temple was constructed at Nagapattinam under the order of the Chinese king for the sake of perhaps the Chinese Buddhist who came to Nagapattinam from China to trade (Dayalan nd.: 10). We find references in the Copper Plates of Nandivarman II
that the king donated a village Pattathalmangalam as an endowment to the Buddhist temple at Nagapattinam (Jeyakumar 1995: 25).
Figure 5: The Model of the Brick
Tower in Nagapattinam
Figure 6: Buddha Image from Nagapattinam
(Nagapattinam Government Museum)
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ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 8.2: 2020 The vestige of the Buddhist establishment was reported by Walter Elliot in 1846. He prepared the plan and details of a brick-built Buddhist pagoda (Figure 5) of 12th
century CE of Chinese origin that existed at Nagapattinam till 1867. The multi-storeyed pagoda serves as a classical example for non-Indian Buddhist architecture, constructed
at Nagapattinam for the benefit of the Chinese monk, during the period of the Chinese ruler Xian-Chun (CE 1267) (Elliot 1878: 224). According to an extract of the memoir by M. Textor de Ravisi, senior commandant of Karaikkal, ‘the remains of this tower
appeared to have a height of about 30 meters. It forms an irregular square of 11m. 33 by 10 m. 66. The walls have a thickness of 4m. 50. Each floor overhangs on the interior by 0.33 m. The primary opening was, as it is in more ancient Buddhist construction, at
5 meters below the soil. The materials are of enormous bricks perfectly made and superior to those with which one builds nowadays in the country (Indian Antiquary
Vol. XXII: 226).
It is interesting to note that the Chola port Nagapattinam played a vital role in maritime contacts with Southeast Asian and Western countries as well as in Buddhist establishment (Figure 6) in the medieval period. It was also one of the internationally popular Buddhist centres from the 4th century CE to the late 18th century CE. The Buddhist vihāra at Nagapattinam received patronage not only from kings but also from the rich merchant communities, through which Buddhism survived on the east coast of
Tamil Nadu.
Kanchipuram
In the ancient period, the Kanchipuram was one of the cultural centres, described by Hiuen Tsang (who visited Kanchipuram in the middle of the 7th century CE) as having a number of Buddhist shrines and structures. It is believed that when Lord Buddha visited Tamil Nadu he went to two places namely Kanchipuram and Buddhavedu.
Among them Kanchipuram is located 60 km away from modern Chennai, which is the most ancient historic city as well as the main centre of religious development in south India (Ahir 1992: 18). Hiuen Tsang in his account pointed out about Kanchipuram. He
notes that “this country (Drāvida) is about 6000 li in circuit; the capital of the country is called Kanchipuram (kin-chi-pu-lo) and is about 30 li round… Tathagata in olden days, when living in the world, frequented this country much, he preached the law here and
converted men, and therefore Asoka-raja builds stūpas over all the sacred spots where these traces exist”. From the statement, it is clear that King Asoka constructed a commemorative stupa on the spot where the Buddha had rested during his visit to
Kanchipuram (Watters 1988: 226-228).
Hiuen Tsang’s observation bears witness to the prosperity of Kanchipuram which was at that time the capital of Drāvida and also a part of Southern India or Ceylon. Not far from the south of the capital was a large monastery which was a rendezvous for the
most eminent men in the country. It had an Ashoka tope about 100 feet high where the Buddha had once defeated Tirthikas by preaching and had received many into his sitting placecommunion. Near it were traces of a sitting place and exercise place of the four past
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Buddhas (Watters 1988: 228). The Sanskrit work of the Pallava period Mattavilāsa Prahasana describes a dispute between a drunker Kapāli and a Buddhist monk. In this work the author Mahendravarman I (571-630 CE) refers to the many Buddhist vihāras
at Kanchipuram, the chief was Rāja-vihāra (Unni 1974).
The excavation was conducted at the Kamatchiamman and Ekamreshwara temple sites of Kanchipuram, where some items of Buddhist character have been identified, in the pre-Pallava layers, which probably belongs to the period from 4th to 7th centuries CE
(Champakalakshmi 2011: 345). The Buddhist monastery, stūpa and chaitya in Kanchipuram are in good condition even today. It is mentioned that a chaitya was erected in the middle of Kanchipuram to house a golden Bōdhi tree with emerald leaves and another shrine dedicated to Lord Buddha (Wood and Bhatt 1981: 43-45).
During the period between the 7th-9th centuries CE, many Buddhist monks migrated from Kanchipuram to the monasteries of Apanka or Kurkihar of Bihar (Rao 1915: 127
129). It was also attested by the discovery of several Buddhist icons found at Kurkihar which contain inscriptions recording the gifts made by the monks who hailed from Kānchidēsa or Kanchimandaladēsa (Subrahmanyam 2001: 74-75).
Figure 7: Seated Image of Buddha (in Dhyāna Mudra) on the Compound Wall of the Ekamreshwara Temple Through excavations, structural remains and image fragments have been discovered, which include a Buddha image, a Bōdhi tree, and remains of the monastery. At Kanchipuram, some localities like Kama-Kotamatha near the Kamatchiamman temple, Vaikuntha Perumal temple, Ekamreshwara temple, Pallavamedu, Jnana Prakasa Svanugalmath, etc., yielded Buddhist remains. The excavation conducted at the site of Kamatchiamman temple brought to light vestiges of stūpa, chaityas and vihāra besides a few copper coins belonging to Rudra Satakarni, coin moulds and Buddhapada slabs, datable from 1st century BCE to 4th century CE (Subrahmanyam 1998: 19). Several
Buddha images of a later date (9th century CE) were also unearthed. Among them, the interesting, seated images of Buddha in Virasana posture in dhyāna mudra, another 185
ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 8.2: 2020 seated on a lotus in yōgamudra and an image in bhumisparsa mudra (Rao 1915: 173) are very important. Several images including the Mahāparinirvāna scene belonging to the placelater medieval period were found in the niches on the compound wall of the Ekamreshwara temple (Mitra 1969: 197). A seated image of Buddha (in dhyāna mudra)
(Figure 7) was found datable to later Vijayanagara or Nayaka period (16th century CE),
suggesting the survival of Buddhism even up to the Vijayanagara period.
Kaveripattinam
On the east coast of Tamil Nadu, Kaveripattinam was a celebrated port town of the early Cholas. The name Kaveripattinam/Kaveripumpattinam or Kaveri-pugum pattinam literally means the ‘city at the mouth of the Kaveri’. The Tamil epics
Silappathikaram and Manimekhalai and other Buddhist Jatakas supply considerable light on the port city Kaveripattinam. This city was called by various names in ancient times
as Puhar or Pumpuhar, located at the estuary of the Kaveri River, has also been
identified with ‘Khaberis’ of Ptolemaios and ‘Camara’ of Periplus. Kakanti and
Colapattanam are other names of Puhar (Nagasamy 1975: 2). Ptolemy noticed that the
Camara was a big emporium (Gurukkal 2019: 335) involved in brisk trade activities,
exported commercial goods to Greece and Rome. Apart from local commodities like
pearls and muslin, the spice goods from the forests of the upper reaches of the main
rivers including those of the Gangetic region and the products of the Himalayas
reached the port. From there traders exported those goods to Greece and Rome.
The Pattinappalai, one of the classical of the Sangam poem gives a beautiful account of
the nature of the convergence of goods at Kaveripattinam. The poems of the
Pattinappalai4 describe that Kaveripattinam as a port centre, from where “horses were
brought from distant lands beyond the seas; pepper was brought in ships; gold and
precious stones came from the mountains towards the west; pearls from the southern
seas, and coral from the eastern seas. The produce of the regions watered by the
Ganges; all that is given the banks of the Kaveri; articles of food from Elam or Ceylon;
and the manufactures from Kalakam (in Burma)” (Rajan 1963-73: 8, Mukund 1999: 5).
There is also a description of the expansion of the Chola power during Karikala
Cholan. During his time, Kaveripattinam was a flourishing port full of merchandise
and foreign trades, under the administrative control of the state (Subbarayalu 2014: 50).
The descriptions of the Pattinappalai clearly show the commercial richness and active
trade linkage between Kaveripattinam and other regions both inland and overseas.
It is interesting to note that the horses reached Kaveripattinam by water,
and sacks of pepper reached in caravan carts beside the coming of costly objects such
as gems and gold from,was the northern mountains, pears from the southern sea, coral from the
eastern sea, etc. (Gurukkal 2019: 337). It further indicates an equally important trade in
precious materials, coral, food grains, and other products with the littoral islands and
coastal region of South Asia (Sastri 1975: 141). Apart from Pattinappalai, in the Periplus
of the Erythrean Sea, Silappathikaram, Maduraikanchi, we find references to the trade
relationship between the Tamil coastal region, and Greece and Rome.
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It is important to note that this metropolis was not only famous for its seafaring
activities but also well known in terms of yore as a glorious centre of Buddhism. Many
texts indicate the existence and perhaps the prosperous condition of the Buddhist
establishment at Kaveripattinam. A glowing picture of the flourishing condition of the
monasteries at Kaveripattinam is presented in Tamil works like the Manimekalai and
Silappathikaram. The Rajavahini refers to a Chola king who gifted a temple at
Kaveripattinam, originally designed for Siva, to the service of Buddha. Buddhadatta, a
Buddhist writer of the 5th century CE and a contemporary of the great Pali
commentator Buddhaghosa, is said to have resided in a vihara of this place when he
wrote some of his works.
The Manimekalai has more direct evidence of the existence of Buddhism. The
Silappathikaram speaks of an Indhiravihāra outside Kaveripattinam 5 which is ascribed
to Mahendra, son of Asoka and is identified with the remains of a vihāra described by
Hiuen Tsang. It is also noticed in the Manimekalai (Champakalakshmi 2011: 341). The
Jataka stories mention that this city as the home of the sage Akitti who gave away his
wealth to the poor became a hermit who lived in a wood close to the city. A large
number of people flocked to pay him the homage he found no leisure there. Therefore
he left the place and went to Karaitivu Island on the north coast of Sri Lanka.
From the beginning of the 20th century, many archaeologists and scholars have been
taking considerable interest in this ancient city. In 1961, the Archaeological Survey of
India discovered some remarkable antiquities and a part of a Buddha vihara with the
square chamber (Singh 2002: 70-73). The excavations at Kaveripattinam have revealed a
monastic complex (Figure 8), with an apsidal chaitya near Pallavaneswaram (dated in
the 4th-5th century CE). A bronze image of Bodhisatva Maitrayar, which belongs to the
8th century CE has been discovered in 1927 at Melaiyur, is a part of Kaveripattinam,
which shows that Buddhism became very popular in the Kaveri delta region. Y.
Subbarayalu says that “there developed lively exchanges between the Buddhists of this
area and those of Sri Lanka, which is also noticed by Buddhadatta of the 5th century CE,
who resided in a local vihāra of Kaveripattinam (Subbarayalu 2014: 66).
Excavation at Kaveripattinam yielded remains of a brick-built Buddhist monastery,
datable to the 2nd- 3rd century CE. At Pallavaneswaram, a stūpa decorated with stucco
work was noticed (IAR 1962-63: 13) and associated with the brick structures were an
image of a seated Buddha in dhyāna mudra, a limestone slab depicting Buddha-pada and
a few stucco figures (Ramachandran 1980: 123-126). The excavation revealed that the
Buddhist monastic traditions of Tamilakam were to some extent common with those
noticed in lower Deccan and Andhra Pradesh. The vihāras noticed in Andhra Pradesh
usually consisted of elongated wings and each of them contained several cells with a
common verandah for each wing. The wings led into a courtyard where the shrine unit
was located. It is not clear in the excavation at Kaveripattinam whether there was any
typical chaitya temple either with the replica of stūpa or an image of the Buddha inside
as was common in most of the monasteries found in Andhra Pradesh in the Hinayana
and Mahayana stages respectively.
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Figure 8: Buddhist monastic cells and Plan of the Kaveripattinam Buddhist monastic
complex (Courtesy: Rajan 1994)
One full wing of the monastery, consisting of nine oblong rooms, each measuring 3.10
m x2.40 m was laid bare at Kaveripattinam. On the south of the row at a distance of
2.25 m, a number of offsets were found in the wall indicating the presence of a
common verandah top of the monastery. There was a provision of drainages of
wastewater which move through a drain under the monastery unit towards the north.
The cells are laid in the south-east to north-west direction. The extent courses stand up
to a meter or more and the size of the bricks was 42x24x10 cm on average. A small
bronze figurine of a seated Buddha in dhyāna pose and broken terracotta of a goddess
was found in one of the cells. The Buddha is shown on his head with the usnisa, the
cranial protuberance symbolizing Buddha-hood, in the form of flame (Ramachandran
1980: 123-126).
Fascinatingly, the scheming of the Buddhist sites on the east coastal region of the Tamil
country revealed not only the distribution pattern, but also their trade links, both
maritime and hinterland trade. There had been a strong link between Buddhism and
the trade and port centres in the eastern coastal regions. Besides Kaveripattinam,
Nagapattinam, and Kanchipuram, all other cultural and commercial centres, including,
Pondicherry, Chennai, Thanjavur and Thiruvarur also had Buddhist sites. Trade and
commerce flourished in all the Buddhist sites of the coastal regions as well as the sites
of other regions.
188
Bhutamangalam and Bodhimangai
Rajan and Saha 2020: 175-192
In addition to the important Buddhist centres on the east coast of Tamil Nadu, there
are many sites on the mainland of the country. The Buddhist site Bhutamangalam is
identified as Budalur, which is presently located near Tirukkattupalli, Thanjavur
district of the Chola country. From the Pali work Vinayavinicchaya of Buddhadatta, we
learn that there was a Buddhist vihara, constructed by Pindidasa/Venudasa (Hikosaka
1989: 24). There are other places with similar names by entirely different like
Buddhamangalam, Bodhimangai, and Bodhimangalam. The name of those places
suggests it must have been a place full of Buddhists. The site Bodhimangalam is
located in the Chola country, which is identified with the Bodhimangai mentioned in
the Periyapuranam (Vasudeva Rao 1977: 270). The Periyapuranam describes the
Bodhimangai as ‘Sakkiyartana Bodhimangai’, where the Buddhist scholars Buddha
Nandi and Sariputtra lived in the 7th century CE. It is interesting to note that
Sambandar, one of the Saiva Nayanmars is said to have defeated Buddha Nandi and
Sriputtra in an intellectual debate. Further, the Periyapuranam vouchsafes the existence
of a Buddha palli and a number of Buddhist monks, there, and it seems to be an
exclusive colony of the Buddhists. The Bodhimangai may be identified with the
Bodhimangalam of Mayiladuthurai taluk.
Uraiyur
Uraiyur, the flourishing suburb of the expanding city of Thiruchirappalli on the banks
of the Kaveri, was the capital of Cholas of the Sangam fame. It figures prominently as a
political and commercial centre, particularly known for its fine textiles, in the Sangam
literature as well as in the accounts of the Roman writers of the first century CE
(Raman 1988: 103). Besides the cultural and political centre Uraiyur was an active
Buddhist centre during the advent of Buddhism in south. In Uraiyur a large number of
Buddhists were settled, who composed here commentaries on Buddhist works in Pali.
It is believed that a Buddhist scholar Acharya Buddhadatta of the 5th century CE lived
in the vicinity of Thiruchirappalli near Srirangam and Uraiyur. A big granite sculpture
of Buddhadatta has been found in a Siva temple at Bhutamangalam near Uraiyur.
Thiruppadirippuliyur
Thiruppadirippuliyur is named after the ancient Hindu temple located in the locale, which is named after the Pathiri tree and Puliyur, a tiger-legged saint who obtained absolution in the area. It was an important Buddhist centre, located near Cuddalore,
where Buddhist pallis and viharas have been discovered which belongs to the 6th and 7th century CE. The Periyapuranam alludes to the pallis and pallis of the place of the Sramanas which the Pallava king (Mahendravarman I) is said to have erased and built
on the ruins of the present Gunadhariswara temple.
Conclusion
On the east coast of Tamil Nadu, Nagapattinam, Kanchipuram, and Kaveripattinam
are outstanding centres and formed the key areas for understanding both Brahmanical
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and Buddhist cultures. The archaeological and literary sources provide us with
valuable information on the Buddhist structures on the east coast of Tamil Nadu,
which took place probably after the great distribution. In the light of the above, it is
also reasonable to surmise that the Buddhist structures reached the local kings, merchants, householders, and the rich persons, who were already patronizing and propagating Buddhism in these regions. Thus the widespread of Buddhism on the east coast of South Indian regions is well attested by the discovery of a range of many vihāra, stūpa, chaityas, and beautiful shrines from a variety of sites. It is known to all that there had to be a geographical reason behind establishing a great institution in a great way. The east coast of South India had a better geographical position where Buddhism and its institutions developed as structures. Here an earnest attempt has been made to give an outline of the early Buddhist sites on the east coast of Tamil Nadu with the help of available sources. However. it is not possible to explore all the areas related to Buddhism, therefore, it needs further investigation.
Notes
1Arikamedu is an important coastal site of south India, was excavated by Sir Mortimer Wheeler in 1947 and Jean-Marie Casal in 1947-50. Wheeler identified the site as an Indo-Roman station.
2 The Thēravāda is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism’s oldest extant school. It is sometimes called Southern Buddhism. The name means ‘the doctrine of the elders’, the elders being the senior
Buddhist monks.
3The Mahāsānghikas was one of the earliest Buddhist schools in India, which emerged about a century after the death of Buddha, during the Second Buddhist Council held at Vaishali. The Sanskrit meaning of the word is ‘great order of monks’.
4The poem run thus:
“sellā nallisai amarar kāppin,
neerin vantha nimir parip puraviyum,
kālin vantha karungkari moodaiyum,
vadamalaip pirantha maniyum ponnum,
kudamalai pirantha āramum akilum,
thenkadal muttum, kunakadal thugirum
gangai vāriyum, kāverip payanum,
ēlattu unavum, kālakattu ākkamum
ariyavum periyavum neriya ēndi
valam thalai mayankiya nananthalai marukin”
Pattinappalai: 184-193
5“panaiyaith thongia pāssilaippothi
anithikal neelara vān thirumoli
anthara sārikal arainthanar sāttrum
indiraviharam ēlutan poki”
Silap. 10; 11-14.
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