English: Arittapatti is also called Aritapatti or Pancha Pandava Padukkai from the Mahabharata legends.

Arittapatti is a village set near a rocky hill about 25 kilometers northeast of Madurai. It has one of the oldest known Tamil Brahmi inscriptions, as well the oldest known Shaivism-related Lakulisha iconography in Tamil Nadu and Jain monuments.

The above Tamil Brahmi inscription is dated to about the 2nd-century BCE. It is located near the Jain tirthankara relief with Vatteluttu script inscription. Since this rounded script emerged and came into use in and after 6th-century, the tirthankara relief was likely carved into the rock about 800 or 900 years later. This, along with the 7th-century rock-cut Shiva temple on the western side of same rocky hills in the same village (but a long walk) attests to the use of this site in ancient Tamil lands for centuries.

For further discussion of the Tamil Brahmi inscription, please see K. V. Raman and Y. Subbarayalu (1971), A new Tamil-Brahmi Inscription in Arittapatti, Journal of Indian History, Volume XLIX, pp. 229-232