Indian Antiquary Vol 56

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, Krishnaswami Aiyangar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 210

184
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[ OCTODER, 1927
Page 149, para. 4.-" To the Apostle St. Thomas." No, to the merchant Thomas Cana. The Apostle Thomas is in Malabar called Mår Tômma. The merchant Thomas also can be called Mar Tominá, Már, meaning Lord, being applicable to Christ, the Apostles, Patriarchs, Bishops, masters, and other respectable men. Carolus Schaaf, of Leiden is addressed as Mar Carolus in the Syriac letter of 1721 previously referred to.--T.K.J.
Page 119, para. 1.-"A Temple and a Church." Thomas Cana and his Christian followers had no use for a temple.-T.K.J.
Page 119, last para.-A.D. 886. This date may perhaps apply to the Quilon Church plates of about A.D. 880, granted in the reign of Chêraman Peruma! Sthânu Ravi. Cheramân Perumal simply means the Emperor of Malabar. It is not a proper name, although many take it as such. One of these emperors became a great Saivite saint and is always known as Chêraman Peruma! Nayanar, and not by his proper name, which is unknown. (See also page 149, foot-note 56).-T.K.J.
Page 150), para. 1.-" Chronogram Shovala," pronounced Sôvala. Generally, it is only significant words that are used as chronograms. But Sôvåla is meaningless in Malayalam, or Tamil, or Sanskrit. It may be that the author of the chronogram was not able to find a word which would at once give sense and indicate the date. But Suvolo (Suvala) in Syriac has a mcaniny (question or enquiry).
Since the date is given in the Christian era, it is evident that the chronogram was made in Malabar after the Portuguese advent in A.D. 1498. For that cra was not in vogue in that country prior to that date. The era of the Greeks was in use among the Malabar Christians in prePortuguese times. The date then must have been (345 +311=) 656 anno Græcorum.--T.K.J.
Page 150, para. 2.-"Franciscans." The Malayalam name for the Portuguese was (and is) Parunki (Feringhee). Did the Jesuit writer of 1604 mistako Parujiki (the Portuguese) for the Franciscans ?
Should we not search for the priceless plates in Governor Martim Affonso de Sousa's house?
Mar Jacob, though he apprehended death in 1544, died only in 1549. He did not however recover the plates as expected, not because he did not care or endeavour to do so, but because the Parunkis (Portuguese) had taken them away to their country.
Page 151, note 60.-The Syrian MS. of the Canancode Church, near Quilon, to which I referred above (p. 182, n. 14 of p. 148) states that Marsa boro and Ambraot (sic for Gouvea's Mar Xabro and Mar Prodlı) "landed at Cranganore in company with the merchant Towrio (sic) in Kollum era 1, or A.D.-825." That MS. should be rediscovered. The Kollam ora, as suspected by Yule, must be a Christian era, and so may the Salivahana era be a Christian era.-H.H.
Page 151, paru. 1.-" They count the year of the foundation of Coulão." It can now be regarded as certain that the Quilon (or Malabar) era began with the foundation of the city of Quilon in Travancore in A.D. 823 by the foreign merchant Sabriso mentioned as a very important personage in the famous copper-plates of the Quilon church.
In many old Travancore inscriptions we find the expression such and such a year after Kollam tônti ”i.e., after Quilon came into being. This coming intoexistence must have been the result of Sabriso's activities, for we find one of the Quilon Church plates (of circa A.D. 880) describing him twice as innakaram kanta, i.e.,' he who established or founded this city.'
A Kéralólpalti (legendary history of Malabar) version has the following: "Previously there was no Quilon (era); there was only Kali (the era) to know the year. As this was not understood by all, the year in which the Brâhmans of the 64 villages, the kings of Malabar, and the Quilon merchant together dug a lake" (probably a harbour for Sabriso's ships) ... “in that year the temple was finished. From that time (the) Quilon (year) has been put before the position of) Jupiter. (The) Kali (year) is not known to all; only astrologers know it. (The) Quilon (year) everybody can know. So (the) Quilon (year) and (the position of) Jupiter are used together" [Translation).