Iravatham Mahadevan

Iravatham Mahadevan (1930–2018) was an esteemed Indian epigraphist and civil servant, renowned for his decipherment of Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions and his expertise on the epigraphy of the Indus Valley Civilisation. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2009 for his contributions to arts. Mahadevan's pivotal work, "Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century C.E. (Tamil-Brahmi Inscriptions)," systematically documents and analyzes the earliest known Tamil inscriptions, providing critical insights into the classical antiquity of the Tamil language and civilization.