Indian Antiquary Vol 57

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

Page 40

30
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
(FETUARY, 1928
nor penalty of death, if there be marriage or friendship, whereas, according to the custom of the land, there is, if they communicate, stay, or marry with other castes higher or lower than custom allows to them."-Fol. lv-2r. of a MS. belonging to the Society of Jesus (Goan. Malah. Ep., 1570-79, Goa, 12).
(3) As stated in Mr. Varkki's account reproduced above the oracle of the Talékkad temple declared tho inscribed stone a fitting offering for the cross. That indicates that it was well known in Talêkkád that the inscription had some connection with the Christians of the place.
My impression is that the present inscription is only a public copy on stone, of an original copper-plate document given to the Christian settlers. The original is lost or missing. The carliest of the Malabar Christian copper-plate grants—the Thomas Cana plates of 345 A.D.-had a public copy on stone set up at the northern gate of the Cranganore temple.
(4) Iravi Kottan appears as Manigramam or head of the merchants here. And we know from the Kottayam plate of Vira Raghava that Iravi Kottan was a Christian name. Of course, this particular argument will have to be ruled out of court if the reading of the name is taken to be Iravi Châttan as suggested in footnote 11. But it has to be remeni. bered that the indigenous Christians of old Malabar most probably retained their former Hindu names.
A scrutiny of the charactors of this inscription inclincs me to the opinion that the record is of the period 8th-10th century A.D. So the Rajasimha of this epigraph cannot be identical with the Chêra king Râjasimha35, who was presumably a feudatory of the Chôļa viceroy Jatavarman Sundara-Chôla-Påndya, who flourished from about A.D. 1020-1 to about 1043-4.
There is a Chennar or Chinnar Perumal of Malabar mentioned in the Kéralô patti (i.e., legendary history of Malabar) and there is also the famous Chinnapuram (=Simha's town) near Cranganore. Chinna is the Malayalam forin of Sanskrit Simba occurring in Rajasimha (=lion among kings). It is, however, impossible to say whether the Rajasimhn of the Tayêk. kad inscription is or is not the same as the above-mentioned Chinnar.
There is also a Rajasimha mentioned in the benedictory verses at the end of some of the dramas (Svapnandaka, Pancharatra, Avimaraka, etc.) included in the so-called "Bhâsa's Works" of the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series. There is no knowing whether this Rajasimha is or is not the same as the Râjasimha of the Talekkad inscription.
VI. Inscription on the Reverse of the Talêkkâd Rajasinha Stone. The reverse side of the Rajasimha stone at Talêkkad mentioned in the previous article (No. V) bears another Vatteluttu inscription of about thirty lines in small characters. Of these only the first ten lines are legible, and a free translation of them is given below.
TRANSLATION.
“Hail! Prosperity! - "The business done without demur under the authority of the king by the elders of the village of Talakkad ; the headmen, the council and two members from the two families of representatives of the village of inkayûr36 ; together with the merchants37 and two members from the two families of representatives of the village of Irunkätikkutal38 The headmau shall not interfere and cause hindrance or confusion in (such and such)39 lands
85 of. Record No. 112 of the Madroa Epigraphical Collection for 1905. 38 This village still oxists under the name todayûr.
37 The word in the original is udkinar, which has no meaning at all. It must be a mistake for vånikar, meaning merchants.
88 The modern name of the village is Irin alakkuţa or Iriññalakkuta, 39 Tho names of the lands are omitted in the translation.