The Tamilian Antiquary Volume I, NO – IX

About the book:-This concise and comprehensive volume nine has articles on Dravidian kingdoms and list of Pandiyan coins, music in ancient India - a study in the Ramayana, origin of the Cranganur temple, the age of Pattuppattu and heroic mothers of ancient Tamiligam. It discusses Dravidis mentioned as one of the kingdoms in the southern part of present-day mainland India during the time of the Mahabharata. Sometimes the name Dravida was used to denote all the southern kingdoms (like the Chera, Pandya and Chola kingdoms) collectively and sometimes as a separate kingdom.The earliest coins of the Pandyan Kingdom were copper squares and were struck with a die. The coins were with five distinct images on one side, often an image of an elephant on that side and a stylised fish on the other, seen typically in the coins found around Korkai, their ancient capital and in Northern Lanka. These rectangular coins of the early Pandyans also featured the Nandi bull and contain Chakrams. The "Chakram" consists of two lines forming an acute angle, the apex being uppermost; with are two crossed lines parallel to the sides of the angle which they join. All four lines end at the bottom of the symbol on the same level.