________________
No. 34.]
THE LARGER LEIDEN PLATES OF RAJARAJA I.
No. 34. THE LARGER LEIDEN PLATES (OF RAJARAJA I).
BY K. V. SUBRAHMANYA AIYER, B.A., COIMBATORE.
The Leiden University Museum in Holland preserves two sets of copper-plate charters of the Cholas of which the larger contains 21 leaves or plates and the smaller 3 leaves. These are popularly known as the Large and Small Leiden Grants. They were edited nearly half a century ago, i.e., in 1886 by Pandit Natesa Sastri and Burgess in Volume IV of the Archaeological Survey of Southern India. The provenance of the plates is not noticed by the authors: but regarding the larger set they say that it is engraved in Chōla-Grantha characters on 21 plates each measuring 14" by 5". They also note:-" The plates are held together by a massive ring bearing a seal about 4 in diameter with 16 knobs at about equal distances from each other round the margin. The central field contains, on the left, two fishes-the scales, fins, gills, eyes and mouth, of which are all clearly expressed; and on the right, an animal, seated dog-fashion, with its tail brought forward to touch the nearer of the fishes :--from the large tusk in its mouth, it is probably intended for a tiger-the Chōla symbol. Over it is a chhatra, with a chamara on each side, the handles resting on the heads of two small pillars resembling lamp-stands,-each stand having a cloth knotted round the middle of it. The tops of these resemble lamp flames. A well-raised circle, double below, surrounds all this; and outside it, in raised characters of the Chola-Grantha type, is the legend beginning at the bottom :
213
Iti Rajendra-Chōlasya Parakesarivarmmaṇaḥ rājarājanyamakuṭaśrēņi-ratnēshu śāsanam " The following additional information is found in the note recently received from Leiden, by Dr. Chakravarti, and kindly forwarded to me by him3:-"The plates are " in thickness. On the left side there is a hole (diameter 1") by means of which the plates are fastened to a massive copperring having an outward diameter of 13". The ring has a circular section with diameter of 3" and has been soldered into a cylindrical tube with raised rims. This tube, measuring 51" in length and 1" in section, contains a short inscription which contains the name Apaimangalam in Tamil. On the top of the tube there is a massive conical projection in the form of a lotus flower, with eight pointed leaves turned downward and sixteen pointed leaves turned upward. On the upper surface of this lotus is the seal" described above. The note further informs that "the writing has not been engraved: was written first on wax tablets and from these the copper-plates have been cast à cire perdue".
To the careful observations of Messrs. Burgess and Natesa Sastri I would only add that the inner one of the double line at the bottom of the raised circle is intended to denote the bow emblem of the Cheras whom the Chōlas had subdued, and that the legend requires slight emendation. Rajendra-Chōla's legend is given in two stone inscriptions published in the South-Indian Inscriptions (Texts), Volume V, and also in the seal of the Tiruvalangaḍu plates. With the help of their readings the legend on the seal of the Leiden plates given by Burgess and Natesa Sastri may be corrected into
Etad-Rajendra-Chōlasya Parakesarivarmmanaḥ [*] rājad-rājanya-makuta-érēņi-ratnēshu śāsanam [||*]
1 Pp. 204 ff.
[At my request Lt. Col. Th. van Erp of Rijks Ethnographisch Museum, Leiden, kindly sent, through the good offices of Prof. J. Ph. Vogel, excellent ink-impressions of the grant from which the facsimiles accompanying this article are prepared-Ed.]
General Nos. 578 and 579.
A. S. R., for 1903-04, p. 234.
