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The materials for writing a history of the Pandyas will be found in (1) current traditions and legends, (2) some of which are distorted and interlarded with miracles in the local puranas, (3) in early Tamil literature, and (4) inscriptions. Of these the first and second are unreliable, chiefly owing to their antiquity and the variety of narrow channels through which they had passed before they attained the present form. The local puranas, most of them being obviously mythical, put us on the wrong scent, and in some cases operate as counter-acting agents in our researches. The third is entitled to some credence ; but on account of the repetition of some names and the absence of dates, they have to be corroborated by other independent testimony. Inscriptions alone, when they are not forgeries, yield accurate and reliable data, as they cannot easily be tampered with like the puranic or other records.

It is intended in this note to compare and contrast Tamil traditions, legends and local puranas with early literature and inscriptions and show their worthlessness for historical purposes. As the annals of Tamil literature