with tribal elements, albeit around the 6th century. All these theories are hampered by the fact that there is a "profound lack of evidence for the events or nature of Kalabhra rule", states Rebecca Darley. A few consider the Kalabhras to be a militant branch of the Jainas who were opposed to the Historical Vedic religion and this resulted in their vilification in later times. In epigraphs Pulankurichi inscription The earliest Kalabhra inscription available is the Pulankurichi (Tamil Nadu) epigraph of king Chēndan Kurran (Kootran) dated to 270 CE. It is also one of the earliest inscriptions in Tamil and extends to over 15 metres in length. It refers to the administrative divisions of the kingdom and also to Vedic sacrifices and temples. Scholar Kamil Zvelebil indicates that the language of the inscription is almost identical to classical Tamil similar to the one used in the Tolkappiyam and Sangam texts. 8th-century Velvikudi grant inscription A much-cited and discussed epigraphical evidence for the existence of Kalabhras is the 155-lines-long 8th-century Velvikudi grant copper plate inscription of Nedunjadaiyan. It was created at least 200 years after the end of the Kalabhras. It opens with an invocation to Shiva and many lines in Sanskrit written in Grantha script, followed by Tamil written in Vatteluttu script. Loaded with myth and exaggerated legends, the inscription has the following few lines about a Kalabhra king and his relatively quick end by Pandya king Kadungon (lines 39–40, translated by H. Krishna Sastri): The inscription then recites the generations of Pandya and Chola kings who followed the victorious Kadungon, and finally to king Nedunjadaiyan who ruled in the year of the inscription (c. 770 CE). The copper plate records that a Brahmin complainant said that the land grant which was given to his ancestors before Kalabhras "ignobly seized it" has not been returned so far after numerous generations (lines 103–118). The king sought evidence of past ownership, which he was provided, and thereafter the king restored the grant to the complainant. The inscription ends in Sanskrit with verses from Vaishnavism and Shaivism traditions of Hinduism, followed by the engraver's colophon. This inscription has been assumed to be an accurate historical record by some scholars, interpreted to affirm that Kalabhras existed for some period, they conquered some or all parts of the Pandyan kingdom, they seized lands belonging to Brahmin(s) and were defeated by the Pandyas (Pāṇṭiya). Some scholars