Indian Antiquary Vol 56

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, Krishnaswami Aiyangar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 226

198
THE INDIAX ANTIQL'JRY
NOVEMBER, 1927
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describing the shrine of Triplicane. That is so far indirect. But in the T'éváram of Appar referable to the previous century, in the middle of the seventh century at the latest, there are two clear references where the place is referred to as Mayiláppil. The last particle in the compound il is a case affix of the locative in Tamil. Therefore in the nominative it would stand Mayilappu. The second part of the word dppu is a permissablo variant of the Tamil arpu, so that Mayilappu in the Têváram is the exact equivalent of the classical Tamil form Mayildrpu. So from the seventh century to the eleventh or the twelfth, we have referunces in one way or another to the form of the name Mayilarpu.
We may find justification for this interpretation of the name in the fact that these names are found associated with the rames of the local deities usually. In the case of Mylapore there is a Vishnu shrine and there is a Siva shrine, both of them native to the town, and taken to have come into existence along with the town itself. While the goddess of the Siva shrine is Karpakamba!, the goddess of the Vishņu shrine is Mayuravalli. The latter particle in the two words being merely honorific, we see that it is the Vishnu goddess that has the name Mayúra, the Sanskrit equivalent to the Tamil mayil. Probably she was regarded as the guardian deity of the town, and thus partook of the name of the locality. There is justification for this that in the decad devoted to the Siva shrine in Mylapore in the Saiva collection, the Téváram, the temple of Siva, Kapalichcharam (Kapaliśvaram) is described as being in a part of Mayilai, meaning thereby that while remaining in Mylapore, still it did not constitute the whole of Mayilárpu proper, which would go to show that the guardian deity of the towulet proper must have been the Vishņu goddess, and thus the Vishnu shrine marks the core of the town known as Mayilarpu.
The occurrence of the peacock feature in the St. Thomas' legends associated with Mylapore only confirms, or is entirely in keeping with, the origin of the name as explained above. It looks likely that the name had been given to the place because of the large number of peacocks found in the place and the noise they were accustomed to make. In fact, very many of the names of localities in Madras, the names of the various wards of the town, tako their origin from features of a physical character. like this. To give 'but one instance, Chepauk is from Tamil Selpakkam, meaning the shore-hamlet where fish of the sel variety abounded. Vépêry, Purasavakkam,8 etc., would be other instancos.
I shall not make any attempt to establish any connection between Mayilarpu as such and Mahilârópya of the Panchatantra as such. I am concerned only to show that Mayil drpu was the recognised old name of what now goes by the name Mylapore, which after all is different from it only to the extent of a comparatively slight metathesis, a change commonly found in many other well-known names, from which, by Sanskritization, Mahiļårópya is possible of derivation. 6 Appar, Koilpakka-tiruttándakam, 1:
மங்குல் மதிதவழு மாடவீதி
மயிலாப்பி லுள்ளார் மருக லுள்ளார் Tiru-V fra dnam, Kúppultirut tandakan, 12:
வளநீர் வளம் பெருகு மானிருபமும்
மயிலாப்பில் மன்னிஞர் மன்னியேத்தும். 6 Sve stanza 4 in Sambancur's Pumbavaittiruppalikam, where Kapálichcharam (Kapllisvarum) formed & wand of Masyilai :
கூர் தருவேல் வல்லார்க்கு கொற்றங்கொள் சேரிதனில்
கார்தருசோலைக் கவாலீச்சாம், 7 Veppu + eri = margosa tank.
# Purass +pAkkam = Pavaraéu or Pura u + pakkam; Sea-shore hamlet of the Indian fig with flowers'. or even Purabu (Butea frondosa). The former tree is a feature of the locality, the latter is not.