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100
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[JUNE, 1928
At the sight of the king the heart was gladdened. To clear the way for the heirs of St. Thomas
163 found you to-day not transgressing the coramandments.84 36 They offered presents of coins and good gurne.
Give us according to our presents, and write in the presence of witnesses. We were given enough religious privileges ; The Malabar monarch that day engraves on a copper-plate. The king went, and saw the land and gave it away. In the year $ôval66 aiter the birth of the Lord, The honoured Kinayi Tomman received the copper-plate document. Willingly did carpenters come and build a church and city. After having lived in comfort for some time, To our joy there oame two ships in the outer sea.67 Literal Translation of Malayalam Documents (No. 4).
Strophe V7.68. To preach the religion to Coromandel and Malabar Men were appointed in good Mylapore. To preach the religion except in Coromandel
The Tarisas (Christians) failed, and Bagudási (Bagdad) heard of it. 5 The Catholicos was sorry and his heart grew weary. In all the eight directions-in Pandya's land, and in Coromandel (=in Chola's land) and
in ChinaThe sole truth was spread according to the way of St. Thomas. May Jesus help those who did so !
Strophe VII. The Catholicos and the Rampåns (monks) were all sorry. 10 Who will now go in time to govern Malankara (Malabar ?)
One from those seated in the assembly answers :One of the twin-born 68 must go to Malankara; We are the sons and nephews of the same person.
And Kinâyi Tomman made up his mind to go. 15 Seventy-two families go on board the ship;
There is abunan (=bishop), priests and deacons ; And there are 400 persons, including men and women. By the blessing of the Catholicos the ship sails through the sea. The sea-shore is thronged with (people) shedding tears.
69 Perhaps those St. Thomas Christians who were already in Malabar. "To clear the way 'may also be 'to expound the way '(Christianity).
63 I, i.e., the Malabar monarch. 84 This line and the previous one are very difficult to reconstruct; the text is so dislocated.
65 govala is the usual form of the chronogram. But in the original song there is only sovál, which would give only A.D. 45, instead of A.D. 345. Sovala will not suit the metre. The word has no meaning in Malayalam or in Sanskrit or Tamil. It may be the Syrisc word Suvala (suvo16) meaning question, enquiry. Suvald or sovala would give A.D. 345.
66 Two Portuguese ships. The reference is to the coming of the Portuguese in A.D. 1498.
67 The rest of the song deals with subsequent events, which have nothing to do with Thomas Cana and his 400.
68 The lines translated here form part of a longthy song about the church of Marutolil in Travancore, consecrated in A.D. 1652.
69 I cannot say how Thomas Cana was twin-born and how he was both son and nephew to the same person. The St. Thomas Christians may be said to be both Christ's spiritual children and the children of St. Thomas, who in the Acts of Thomas is represented as the twin of Christ.
60 lbid.
