Vazhappally copper plate (9th century AD)

Vazhappally copper plate (c. 882/83 AD) is a copper plate 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 d ...

from

Vazhappally Vazhappally is a suburb of Changanasserry Municipality, Kottayam District, 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 ...

, in the state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, south India.Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) ''Perumāḷs of Kerala''. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. p. 435. Recent scholarship puts the date of the plate in c. 882/83 AD."Changes in Land Relations during the Decline of the Cera State", p. 58 in Kesavan Veluthat and Donald R. Davis Jr. (eds), ''Irreverent History:- Essays for M.G.S. Narayanan,'' Primus Books, New Delhi, 2014. The inscription is engraved on a single copper plate (with five lines on both sides) in an early form of

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

in Vattezhuthu script with some Grantha characters. The contents of the plate are incomplete. The inscription was discovered by V. Srinivasa Sastri from Talamana Illam near Changanassery.Rao, T. A. Gopinatha. (1988) ''Travancore Archaeological Series'' (Volume II, Part II). pp. 8-14. The plate is owned by Muvidathu Madham,

Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, alternately spelled Tiruvalla, is a town in Kerala and the Headquarters of the Taluk of the same name located in Pathanamthitta district in the State of Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of . It lies on the banks of ...

. The record is dated to the twelfth

regnal year A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year o ...

of Chera Perumal king

Rama Rajasekhara Rama Rajasekhara (''fl.'' 870/71 – c. 883/84 AD) was a Chera Perumal ruler of medieval Kerala, south India. Rajasekhara is usually identified by historians with Cheraman Perumal Nayanar, the venerated Shaiva ( Nayanar) poet-musician of the ...

(882/83 AD). * King Rajasekhara is described as "Sri, Raja Rajadhiraja, Parameswara Bhattaraka, Rajashekhara Deva" and "the Perumal Atikal". * The copper plate describes a temple committee resolution by Thiruvatruvay Pathinettu Nattar and the Urar of Vazhappally in the presence of king Rajasekhara on a land grant for the daily worship in the Thiruvatruvay temple. * The fines for those who obstruct the daily worship in the temple are also prescribed. * Begins with the invocation "Namah Shivaya" ("Respect to Shiva") in place of the usual "Swasti Sri" ("Hail! Prosperity!"). * Also mentions a coin called "dinara". The Vattezhuthu characters in the Vazhappally copper plate are noted for their similarity to the Madras Museum Plates of Jatila Varman Parantaka Pandya. The Grantha characters in the plate have a late character with respect to the Kasakudi and other early Pallava grants. The plate also resembles

Quilon Syrian copper plates Kollam/Quilon Syrian copper plates, also known as Kollam Tarisappalli copper plates, or Kottayam inscription of Sthanu Ravi, or Tabula Quilonensis record a royal grant issued by the chieftain of Kollam (Ayyan Adikal) to a Syrian Christian mer ...

(mid-9th century AD) in script and language.Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) ''Perumāḷs of Kerala''. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. pp. 63-64. Chera Perumal king Rajasekhara is usually identified by scholars with

Cheraman Perumal Nayanar Cheraman Perumal Nayanar (literally meaning Chera king the Nayanar) was a bhakti poet-musician and religious teacher (one of the sixty-three nayanars) of Tamil Shaiva tradition in medieval south India. The Cheraman Perumal's friendship with Chun ...

, 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.Noburu Karashmia (ed.) (2014) ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations.'' New Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 143.

Translation

{{wide image, Vazhappally Plates - Description.JPG, 1000px, ''Travancore Archaeological Series (Volume II, Part II)''

References

External links

* Mathew, Alex -
Political identities in History
' (2006) Unpublished Doctoral Thesis (M. G. University) History of Changanassery History of Kerala Vatteluttu Malayalam inscriptions 9th century in law Chera dynasty Kerala history inscriptions Vazhappally