A Meikeerthi is the first section of Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 inscriptions of grant issued by ancient Tamil kings of South India

South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...

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

History of Tamil Nadu

The region of Tamil Nadu in modern India has been under continuous human habitation since prehistoric times, and the history of Tamil Nadu and the civilization of the Tamil people are among the oldest in the world. Throughout its history, spanning the early Paleolithic age to modern times, this...

.

Description

Meikeerthi is a Tamil word meaning "true fame". During the rule of Rajaraja Chola I

Rajaraja Chola I

Raja Raja Chola I born Arunmozhi Thevar , popularly known as Raja Raja the Great, is one of the greatest emperors of the Tamil Chola Empire of India who ruled between 985 and 1014 CE...

 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 (. By using the meikeerthi found in their inscriptions, they are identified as follows

Meikeerthi Begins With	King	Years of Reign
Boothala Madandhai	Jatavarman Kulasekaran	1162-1177 CE
Poovin Kizhathi	Jatavarman Kulasekaran I Jatavarman Kulasekaran I Jatavarman Kulasekaran I was a Pandyan king, who ruled regions of South India between 1190-1216 CE.-Accession and Background:Kulasekaran acceded to the Pandyan throne after his father Vikkirama Pandyan in 1190 CE. Vikkirama Pandyan had gained the throne of Madurai with the help of Kulothunga Chola...	1190-1218 CE
Boothala Vanidhai	Jatavarman Kulasekaran II Jatavarman Kulasekaran II Jatavarman Kulasekaran II was a Pandyan king, who ruled regions of South India between 1238–1240 CE.-Shared Rule:Kulasekaran was one of two Pandyan princes who accceded to power in 1238 CE after Maravarman Sundara Pandyan. He shared his rule with his younger brother Maravarman Sundara...	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

Mahavamsa

The Mahavamsa is a historical poem written in the Pali language, of the kings of Sri Lanka...

 and accounts of foreign travelers like Abdulla Wassaf

Wassaf

Wassaf or Vassaf or Toghril Beg Abdallah ibn Faḍlallah Sharaf al-Din Shīrāzī was a 14th-century Persian historian of the Ilkhanate...

, Amir Khusrow and Ibn Battuta

Ibn Battuta

Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta , or simply Ibn Battuta, also known as Shams ad–Din , was a Muslim Moroccan Berber explorer, known for his extensive travels published in the Rihla...

 helps to determine the chronology of the Chola 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 Karikalan

Aditya Karikalan or Aditya II was a Chola prince who lived in the tenth century in South India. He was the eldest son of Sundara Chola and the brother of Rajaraja Chola I....

's meikeerthi refers to him only as "The king who took Vira Pandiyan's head" ( without naming him.

Noted Examples

King	Tamil Text	Transliteration	Translation
Rajaraja Chola I Rajaraja Chola I Raja Raja Chola I born Arunmozhi Thevar , popularly known as Raja Raja the Great, is one of the greatest emperors of the Tamil Chola Empire of India who ruled between 985 and 1014 CE...	ஸ்வஸ்தி ஸ்ரீ திருமகள் போலப் பெருநிலச் செல்வியும் தனக்கே உரிமை பூண்டமை மனக்கொளக் காந்தளூர்ச் சாலை கலமறுத் தருளி வேங்கை நாடும் கங்க பாடியும் நுளம்ப பாடியும் தடிகை பாடியும் குடமலை நாடும் கொல்லமும் கலிங்கமும் எண் திசை புகழ் தர ஈழமண்டலமும் இரட்ட பாடி ஏழரை இலக்கமும் முந்நீர் பழந்தீவு பன்னீரா யிரமும் திண்திறல் வென்றித் தண்டாற் கொண்ட தன் எழில்வளர் ஊழியுள் எல்லா யாண்டும் தொழுதகை விளங்கும் யாண்டே செழியரைத் தேசுகொள் ஸ்ரீ கோவி ராஜ கேசரி வன்ம ரான ஸ்ரீ இராசராச தேவர்க்கு யாண்டு	Swasthisri Thirumakal pol perunilach selviyum thanakkeyurimai poondamai manakolak kandhalur saalai kalamarutharuli vengai nadum gangaipaadiyum nulampapadiyum thadikai paadiyum kudamalai nadum kollamum kalingamum endisai pugalthara eela mandalamum irattapadi elarai ilakkamum munneer pazandeevu paneerayiramum thindiral venri thandal kondathan elil valar ooliyul ella yandilum tholuthakai vilangum yande selinjarai thesukol sri kovi rajaraja kesari panmarana sri raja raja thevar.	Raja Raja - the one who desired wealth and earth; Victor of Kandhalur Saalai naval battle; Conqueror of Vengi Vengi The Vengi kingdom extended from the Godavari River in the north to Mount Mahendragiri in the southeast and to just south of the banks of River Krishna in the south of India. This area was part of Kalinga until that kingdom was conquered by Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire in the mid 3rd century... , Gangavadi,Malai Nadu, kollam Kollam Kollam , often anglicized as ', is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city lies on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake on the Arabian sea coast and is situated about north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram... , Kalinga Kalinga Kalinga is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Tabuk and borders Mountain Province to the south, Abra to the west, Isabela to the east, Cagayan to the northeast, and Apayao to the north... , Rettapadi,Nulamba padi, Thadigai Padi, Eelam Eelam Eelam also spelled Eezham, Ilam or Izham in English is the native Tamil name for the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Eelam is also a name for the spurge , toddy and gold. The exact etymology and the original meaning of the word are not clearly known, although there are number of... , Maldives Maldives The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and... , Pandyas; Every year of his beautiful life and reign is a significant year.
Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I was king and Lord Emperor of the Pandyan dynasty, ruling regions of Tamilakkam Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I was king and Lord Emperor of the Pandyan dynasty, ruling regions of Tamilakkam Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I was king and Lord Emperor of the Pandyan...	கொங்குஈழம் கொண்டு கொடுவடுகு கோடுஅழித்து கங்கை இருகரையும் காவிரியும் கைகொண்டு வல்லாளனை வென்று காடவனைத் திறைகொண்டு தில்லை மாநகரில் வீராபிஷேகமும் விஜயாபிஷேகமும் செய்தருளிய கோச்சடை பன்மரான திரிபுவனச் சக்கரவர்த்திகள் ஸ்ரீ வீரபாண்டிய தேவர்	Kongu Eelam kondu koduvadugu kodu azhithu gangai irukaraiyum kaviriyum kaikondu vallalanai venru kadavanai thirai kondu thillai managaril veerabishkamum vijayabishekamum seidharuliya kochadai panmarana thiri buvana chakkaravarthikal sri veera pandiya thevar	Veera Pandyan - the conqueror of Kongu Nadu Kongu Nadu Kongu Nadu is a region comprising the western part of the Tamil Nadu India. The region is bounded on the west and north-west by the Karnataka state, on the west by the Kerala state, on the east by Tondai Nadu, on the south-east by Chola Nadu and on the south by Madurai regions of...  and Eelam Eelam Eelam also spelled Eezham, Ilam or Izham in English is the native Tamil name for the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Eelam is also a name for the spurge , toddy and gold. The exact etymology and the original meaning of the word are not clearly known, although there are number of... ; the conqueror of the Ganges and Kaveri; Vanquisher of Hoysala; Subjugator of Kadava Kadava Kadava was the name of a Tamil ruling dynasty who ruled parts of the Tamil country during the thirteenth and the fourteenth century CE. Kadavas were related to the Pallava dynasty and ruled from Kudalur near Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu.The Kadava kingdom was at the height of their power briefly...  Kopperunchinga I Kopperunchinga I Kopperunchinga I was a Kadava chieftain who played a major role in the political affairs of the Tamil country. At one time an official in the service of the Chola king Kulothunga Chola III , Kopperunchinga utilised the opportunity arising out of the Pandyan invasion of the Chola country to become... ; The one who paid victory tribute and bravery tribute at Chidambaram Chidambaram Chidambaram is a fast growing industrial city in Eastern part of Tamil Nadu and the taluk headquarters of the Cuddalore district. It is located in 58 km from Pondicherry, 60 km from Karaikal, and 240 km south of Chennai by rail... ; The ruler of three worlds.
Rajendra Chola I Rajendra Chola I Rajendra Chola I was the son of Rajaraja Chola I and was one of the greatest rulers of Tamil Chola dynasty of India. He succeeded his father in 1014 CE as the Chola emperor...	ஸ்வஸ்திஸ்ரீ பூர்வதேசமும் கெங்கையும் கடாரமும் கொண்டருளிந கோப்பரகேசரி பன்மரான உடையார் ஸ்ரீ ராஜேந்திர சோழ சிவசரணசேகர தேவர் கொடுத்தருளின வரியில்லிட்ட படி கல் வெட்டியது கோப்பரகேசரி பன்மரான உடையார் ஸ்ரீ ராஜேந்திர சோழ தேவர்க்கு ஆண்டு மூன்றாவது	Swathisiri Poorva thesamum gangaiyum kadaramum kondarulina kopparakesarai panmarana udaiyar sri rajendara chola sivasaranasekara devar kodutharulina variyillatta padi kal vettiyathu kopparakesari panmarana udaiyar sri rajendra chola devarku aandu moonravadhu	On the third Regnal year of Rajendra Chola - the conqueror of the East country, Ganges and Kadaram Kedah Kedah is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and Langkawi. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice... ;this stone inscription was made to record the tax exemption grant given by Rajendra, the one who surrendered to siva Shiva Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a... .