TRICHY: Later Chola period inscriptions -- dating back to the 12th century CE which were discovered from a temple near Trichy -- have revealed that the life of a bodyguard was considered a sin after the death of his master or benefactor.The inscriptions were found by a group of epigraphists at Chandrasekara temple at Thiruchchendurai, a village situated 10km away from Trichy on the Karur highway. They discovered these inscriptions in an abandoned mandapa at the temple. The temple was built at the end of the 9th century CE.Dr M Rajamanikkanar Centre for Historical Research director R Kalaikkovan said the inscriptions highlighted the vow taken at the temple by two bodyguards of a local king or landlord named Mikaman.When a bodyguard accepted the job, he vowed in front of the deity declaring that he would not live after the demise of the landlord or king. If that happened, he might be treated on a par with people who indulged in illicit relationships.Bodyguards in those days were supposed to protect the king from their enemies always, even by sacrificing their own lives.Another inscription, which was engraved in the 1517 CE, reveals the royal order of Vijayanagara emperor Krishnadevaraya remitting certain taxes on the lands belonging to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu temples of Cholamandalam.On two earlier occasions, epigraphists had studied nine inscriptions from this stone temple.

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