Acknowledgement page

1This work is the result of close teamwork between the author, R. Anup Dave, Kannan M. and Mary Premila Boseman. Anup Dave was responsible for the illustrations. Kannan M. devoted a great deal of care to the recreation of the original French text in Tamil and Mary Premila Boseman helped to bring the English translation to completion.

2We should also like express our gratitude to Jacques Pouchepadass and François Grimal who made available to us everything necessary to carry out this endeavour, to François Gros who made valuable suggestions throughout the work on all three versions and to David Slaney who made the initial English translation. We also thank S. Natarajan and Maréchal Ganessin, the French Institute’s photographer and draughtsman respectively, as well as the Ecole Française d’Extrême-Orient for kindly supplying us with the plans we have used here.

3Thanks are due, too, to Mrs. T V. Kamalambal and Miss. V. Sharada as well as to Franklin and Radja for all their kindness and unfailing support throughout the course of the work.