Vazhappally is a suburb of Changanasserry Municipality,

Kottayam District Kottayam (), is one of 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettumanoor, and Vaikom. It is the only district in Kerala that neither borders the ...

, in central Kerala. The famous Vazhappally Shiva Temple is situated in Vazhappally. Vazhappally is a part of Changanacherry Taluk in Kottayam District. It is located in the city of Changanacherry and Vazhappally Panchayath. The ancient Vazhappally gramam (village) was shifted to the Changanassery Municipality, so small portions of the village were reunited in the Municipal Town of Changanassery, while the rest were reconstructed in the Vazhappally Gram Panchayat.

The origin of the name

Vazhappally is "Vazhkai Pally" ( ml, വാഴ്കൈ പള്ളി) means let the temple win. There are various theories as to the origin of the word 'Pally'. Pally is a word in the

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

language. SN Sadasivan - A Social History of India പുറം 9

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History

The temple was very popular in the second Chera dynasty. After the fall of the Cheras, the place came under several rulers, the Thekkumkur and Travancore kings were prominent, witnessed many brutal wars, treachery, murder and annihilation. However, in all these cases, the temple was saved from destruction. The

Vazhappally Maha Siva Temple Vazhappally Maha Siva Temple ( ml, വാഴപ്പള്ളി മഹാശിവക്ഷേത്രം) is a Hindu temple located in Vazhappally near Changanassery in Kottayam district in the Indian state of Kerala. The temple is adminis ...

is located in the heart of the ancient Vazhappally village. In the Chera dynasty, Changanacherry was part of Vazhappally Gramam. The old highway passes (Thiruvananthapuram -

Tripunithura Thrippunithura or Tripunithura (), is a prominent historical and residential region in the City of Kochi in Kerala, India. Located about 7 km (4 mi) from the city centre, Tripunithura was the capital of the erstwhile Kingdom of Cochin ...

Road) through the eastern boundary of Vazhappally. During the rule of the Chera kings, the rulers of the state were in the Vazhappally Mahadeva temple. Many of the commands issued are examples of this (eg:-

Vazhappally copper plates Vazhappally copper plate (c. 882/83 AD) is a copper plate inscription in Malayalam language from Vazhappally, in the state of Kerala, south India.Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) ''Perumāḷs of Kerala''. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. p. 435. Recent ...

. Ancient Vazhappally was also an area where caste system, feudalism and untouchability were strong.

Vazhappally Inscription

Vazhappally copper plate (9th century AD)

Vazhappally copper plate, dated to around 830 AD, is the earliest available inscription in

Malayalam language Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

. It is a temple committee resolution in the presence of the Chera king of

Kodungallur Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...

Rama "Rajasekhara" (9th century ADNoburu Karashmia (ed.), ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations.'' New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143.)Veluthat, Kesavan. “The Temple and the State in Medieval South India.” ''Studies in People’s History'', vol. 4, no. 1, June 2017, pp. 15–23.. The copper plate (incomplete) is engraved in an old form of

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

Vattezhuthu ''Vatteluttu,'' popularly romanised as ''Vattezhuthu'' ( ta, வட்டெழுத்து, ' and ml, വട്ടെഴുത്ത്, ', ), was a syllabic alphabet of south India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) and Sri Lanka used for writing t ...

and

Grantha script The Grantha script ( ta, கிரந்த எழுத்து, Granta eḻuttu; ml, ഗ്രന്ഥലിപി, granthalipi) is a South Indian script, found particularly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Originating from the Pallava script, t ...

s.Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 64-66, 88-95, 107. Rajasekhara is usually identified by scholars with Cheraman Perumal Nayanar, the venerated

Shaiva Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...

( Nayanar) poet-musician. The inscription of Vazhappally who contributed immensely to the historical writing tradition of Kerala was written by AD 830. According to historians, Raja Rajasekhara Deva ruled from 820 to 844 AD.

References

Villages in Kottayam district {{Kottayam-geo-stub