SAMSKRIT SOURCES OF KERALA HISTORY PART 3 KR IRS 29724 30724
Introduction—The Sanskrit inscriptions of Kerala Chapter 1 - Historical details from Sanskrit Inscriptions History was only a commentary on the past, in olden ages. Now it is changed much, with the development of scientific approach in historiography of all the sources for writing about the history of ancient Kerala, namely numismatics, epigraphy, legends and folklore, the study of inscriptions or epigraphy is the most important. One as these epigraphy provide copious and authentic data about various aspects of life in the ancient Kerala. Inscriptions form an authentic source of information for the early history of Kerala. (People who comment wrongly may please note and if feasible regret) They furnish valuable material for the reconstruction of the dynastic history of the various kingdoms and throw light on the political, social and cultural life of the people in different periods. The inscriptions discovered in different parts of India are found written in different languages, but a majority of them are composed in Sanskrit it was the court language of many of ruling dynasties of ancient India and was widely understood across the length and breadth of this subcontinent. ‘The inscriptions are important in connection with Sanskrit literature as illustrating both the early history of Indian writing and the state of the language at that time. The inscription have enriched the history of India, particularly the early period, ranging from about the 4th C. BC to the 6th C. AD. of this vast period, we had no written records as in Greece and Rome, except the accounts in the Puranas. An in-depth analysis of these Sanskrit epigraphs, both lithic as well as those found inscribed on copper -plate charters reveals that they serve not only as sources for knowing about the administrative economic, social and cultural condition of there times, but also reveal the standard and style of this language in the different periods. The Sanskrit inscriptions of Kerala are found scribed mostly in temples. A major portion of temple records, which shed light on the dark pages of the history of Kerala, are basic documents. Most of the Sanskrit inscriptions are situated in the erstwhile Tiruvitamkur region. The Kadalay Mana Plate of Rama Varma - Historical details from Sanskrit Inscriptions This inscription registers a grant issued by a Yadava King named Ramavarma, son of Mukunda in Maya. The land granted was comprised in Uliyanur. It is dated the Kali day 1463601 expressed by the chronogram yenācalante svayaṃ which corresponds to 905 AD. Since Rama varma is mentioned as a Yadava and since his period comes nearer to the age of the Ramar Tiruvadi mentioned in the Kottayam plate of Stanu Ravi we may very well identify him with Ramar Tiruvati. The fact that the land donated was comprised in Uliyanur which was beyond the limits of Venad, does not go against this identification because it is known from the records of the Perumals of Mahodayapuram that the rulers of Venad had been put in additional charge of other kingdoms by the Perumals. It brings to light an unknown Venad king named Mukunda Varma. Ramavarma, to be identified with Ramar Tiruvati, governed also another kingdom, in which was located Uliyanur. He was a vessel of the Perumals of Mahodayapuram. ------------------------------------------------------ The Trivandrum Huzur plates of Ko-Karunantadakkar - Historical details from Sanskrit Inscriptions A set of six copper plates, with neatly cut inscription on both sides in Vatteluttu, Grantha scripts and Sanskrit languages had been brought to light from the Tvm Huzur Office by T.A. Gopinatha Rao. The most important in the group is an inscription of the local king Ko-karunantadakkar. About the date of the record Rao writes— ‘The day given in the present instants falls in the year 786-7 (864-865 AD) Therefore the date of accession of king must be 777 (855-856 AD)This inscription contains towards its end an excellent Sanskrit verse dealing with the king’s descent parentage and prowess. The verse runs as follows: vṛddhiṃ prāpya yaśodayopajanitāṃ nandaṃ nayannunnatim vaṃśaṃ yādavamapyabaddhamakhilaṃ gomaṇḍalaṃ pālayan | saṃbhaktadvijarājavardhitaguruprītirbalidhvaṃsinīṃ vikrāntiṃ paribahmayan diśatu vaḥ śrīvallabho maṅgalam || This verse furnishes the historical facts—The king had a cognomen Srivallabha, he belonged to the Yadava race. He ruled in Malai mandalam (Kerala) His father was named Nanda. Karunantadakkar had the other name, Srivallabha. This is well borne out by the Thripparappu fragmentery copper plate which speaks of Karunantadakkar’s officer in charge of producing weapons as Aviyalanradakkan alias Srivallabhapperumpanikkan. The Paliyam Palates of Varaguna - Historical details from Sanskrit Inscriptions The Paliyam plates, the famous historical record, originally hailed from the house of the Paliyattu Accan, the greatest Aristocratic family in the erstwhile Cochin State. The plates were first brought to light by T.A. Gopinatha Rao[1]. The Paliyam grant is dated as Thursday 30th December AD 868. In the fourth verse mention is made of the historical descent of Varaguna, the donor of the grant. The verse runs as follows: jyotsnāpūra ivāmalaśśaśadharādāhlādayan medinīm yaḥ prāvartata yaddhanenaśaśinaṃ muktvā kalaṅkaḥ kvacit | yasyāstodaya himayaśailamalayāḥ sainyebhadantāvalīraṅkakṣuṇṇatarā bhavanti vijayastambhāḥ jagannirjaye The main historical purport of the verse is that one of the donor’s forefathers led an expedition to the north, and the tusks of war -elephants in his army pierced the slopes of the Himalaya and Malaya mountains in the course of a digvijaya. This has great significance for history because Varaguna, the donor of the Paliyam grant, in spite of his connection with the Vrsnis is proved to have descended from the line of the Sangam ceras, a fact which is not known from any other sources. Another important point highlighted by the Paliyan plates is the regnant status enjoyed by Varaguna. āsīdyasya vilolavīcikālikābāhagraphenāvalī preṅghaccāmaracārucāracaturā dāsī catussāgarī | yajjātasya karoti mūrdhni mukuṭībandhaikabandham rāmā līlāmbhoruhamaṇḍalena lalitāṃ ratnātapatraśriyam || In this verse, the kings of this line are depicted as having the privilage of the ratnātapatra being held by the godess of wealth over the crowned heads and the Chauri being waned by the Dasi represented by the four oceans. It is very significant that those kings are described as having the crown on their heads. The Paliyam plates reveals that the kings of the line of Varaguna had the proprietory title to the ‘crown’. Another verse brings to light the real religion of Varaguna’s forefathers, and suggests that they were great philanthropists. A unique contribution of the plates to history is the mention of a king by name Vira Kota to whom the responsibility of safeguarding the grant had been entrusted. rakṣārthamasyāḥ svayameva rājñā sustāpito rājati vīrakoṭaḥ | bāhūpadhānāmurasiprasuptāṃ lakṣmīṃ dadhāno vijayānuraktām || It is stated that Virakota had been required by the king to safeguard the grant. The second half of the stanza describes Virakota’s special ualities. The identification of Vira Kota as well as the correct historical interpretation of the attributes given in the verse still remain desideratum. ---------------------------------- The Parthivapuram inscription of Kollam - Historical details from Sanskrit Inscriptions The Visnu Temple at Parthiva sekharapuram, Vilavancode Taluk, Kanyakumari District contains a bilingual inscription in Sanskrit. The Sanskrit inscription consists of a single verse:—[1] datvā pārthivapūrvaśekharapure devāya dīpadvayam pratyaṣāṭhapunarvasuṃ punaradāt vrīhīn ghaṭān dvādaśa | chātrebhyaḥ punaruttamāgramadadāt nārāyaṇaśśārṅginaḥ prītyai sadguṇabhūṣaṇassavibhavaṃ brahmādhirājassudhīḥ || The most important historical purpose served by the verse under reference is that it contains the word ghata as the equivalent of what is known in Tamil epigraphy as Kalam, and the provision of the specified number of ghatas of Paddy for feeding the chatras in the Parthiva sekharapura Salai bears analogy with the provision for many kalams in *the Kantalur Salai.* The Cidambaram inscription of Jatavarman Sundara Pandya - Historical details from Sanskrit Inscriptions The Sanskrit verse inscription engraved on the south well of the second prakara of the Nataraja temple at Chidambaram, speaks of the murder of the Kerala king by Jatavarma Sundara Pandya I: hatvāceramapāsya hoyisalapatiṃ vidrāvya coleśvaram jitvā kāṭhakagaṇḍagopa gaṇapatyadī narātinapi vīrasundarapāṇḍya devanṛpatiḥ kṛtvā tulārohaṇam cakre tāṇḍavinaśśaśāṅkakalikā cūḍasye haimīṃ sabhām tulādhṛtaḥ sundarapāṇḍadevo vibhāti rānnakhamuktikānāṃ laṅkāpurāt siṃhalabhūmibhartuḥ tvayā yaśaḥskanda ivopanītaḥ The Sundara Pandya praised in this inscription has been identified with Jatavarman Sundara Pandya who started his reignin AD 1251. The expression—hatvā coram—occuring in the first verse, together with the mention of Kerala King among the destroyed enemies in the second has been taken to mean the Pandya invation of Kerala. Nilakanthe Sastri writes “Sundara Pandya proceeded against the Chera king with a very small force and destroyed him and his forces in a battle and ravaged the Malaimandala[1]. In the Sanskrit introduction to the Tamil inscription of Sundara Pandya begining with samastajagadādhāra somakula tilaka etc. he is given the honorific—keralavaṃśa-nirmūlana—meaning destroyer of the entire Kerala race. Sastri’s findings cited above are based upon these two mentions, as indicated by himself. The actual mentions and the surmises made on them do not perhaps agree with each other. It is a clear fact that during the reign of Jatavarman Sundara Pandya, Kerala was not a homogeneous political power under a central political authority. Therefore, the identification of the Cera in the usage hatvācoram is utterly impossible in the absense of other sources. Actually we do not have any other source meterials on the subject and the relation of Sundara Pandya with the Cera has to be decided on the basis of this solitary mention. It is true that in another inscription of the same king the usage dṛpyatkeralakarṇārendramagadhākṣmāpālacoleśvaraḥ occurs. This also suggests that Sundarapandya destroyed the Cera. But it is not possible for us to identify the Cera, said to have been killed by Sundara Pandya. It is untenable to hold that the whole of Malaimandalalam was ravaged by the Pandya, as the present epigraphical mention is too delicate a proof for it. K.A.N. Sastri -The Pandyan Kingdom, Madras 1929, PP 142 -43 END OF PART 3 KR IRS 29724 30724 --------------------------------------- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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