Old Malayalam

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Old Malayalam
പഴയ മലയാളം
Old Malayalam (Vattezhuthu script)
PronunciationPaḻaya Malayāḷam
RegionKerala
EraDeveloped into Middle Malayalam by c. 13th century
Dravidian
Vatteluttu script (with Pallava/Southern Grantha characters)
Language codes
ISO 639-3
GlottologNone

Old Malayalam, the inscriptional language found in

Chera Perumal kings as well as the upper-caste village temples).[2] Old Malayalam was mostly written in Vatteluttu script (with Pallava/Southern Grantha characters).[2] Most of the inscriptions were found from the northern districts of Kerala, those lie adjacent to Tulu Nadu.[2] The origin of Malayalam calendar dates back to year 825 CE.[4][5][6]

The existence of Old Malayalam is sometimes disputed by scholars.

Chera Perumal inscriptional language as a diverging dialect or variety of contemporary Tamil.[7]

History

The start of the development of Old Malayalam from a dialect of Middle Tamil can be dated to c. 7th–8th century CE.[8][9][10] It remained a west coast dialect until c. 9th century CE or a little later.[8][11]

The formation of the language is mainly attributed to geographical separation of Kerala from the Tamil country[11] and the influence of immigrant Namboodiri Brahmins in Kerala (who also knew Sanskrit and Prakrit).[2]

The later evolution of Old Malayalam is visible in the inscriptions dated to c. 9th to c. 12th century CE.[12][13]

Differences from contemporary Tamil

Although Old Malayalam closely resembles contemporary Tamil it also shows characteristic new features.[14] Major differences between Old Malayalam (the Chera Perumal inscriptional language) and contemporary inscriptional/literary Tamil of the eastern country are:[2]

  • Nasalisation of adjoining sounds
  • Retention of palatal sounds instead of merger with dental sounds
  • Nasal+plosive clusters becoming nasal+nasals
  • Contraction of vowels
  • Rejection of gender verbs

Old Malayalam was still described by scholars as "Tamil", also "mala-nattu Tamil" (a "desya-bhasa").[2][15]

Literary compositions

There is no Old Malayalam literature preserved from this period (c. 9th to c. 12th century CE).[7] Some of the earliest Malayalam literary compositions appear after this period.[12][13]

These include the Bhasa Kautiliya, the Ramacaritam, and the Thirunizhalmala.[16] The Bhasa Kautiliya is generally dated to a period after 11th century CE.[2] Ramacaritam, which was written by certain Ciramakavi who, according to poet Ulloor S. P. Iyer, was Sri Virarama Varman.[16] However the claim that it was written in Southern Kerala is expired on the basis of modern discoveries.[17] Other experts, like Chirakkal T. Balakrishnan Nair, K. M. George, M. M. Purushothaman Nair, and P. V. Krishnan Nair, state that the origin of the book is in Kasaragod district in North Malabar region.[17] They cite the use of certain words in the book and also the fact that the manuscript of the book was recovered from Nileshwaram in North Malabar.[18] The influence of Ramacharitam is mostly seen in the contemporary literary works of Northern Kerala.[17] The words used in Ramacharitam such as Nade (Mumbe), Innum (Iniyum), Ninna (Ninne), Chaaduka (Eriyuka) are special features of the dialect spoken in North Malabar (Kasaragod-Kannur region).[17] Furthermore, the Thiruvananthapuram mentioned in Ramacharitham is not the Thiruvananthapuram in Southern Kerala.[17] But it is Ananthapura Lake Temple of Kumbla in the northernmost Kasaragod district of Kerala.[17] The word Thiru is used just by the meaning Honoured.[17] Today it is widely accepted that Ramacharitham was written somewhere in North Malabar (most likely near Kasaragod).[17] Ramacaritam is regarded as "the first literary work in Malayalam".[11] According to Hermann Gundert, who compiled the first dictionary of the Malayalam language, Ramacaritam shows the 'ancient style' of the Malayalam language.[19]

Folk Songs

For the first 600 years of the

Mappila songs (Muslim songs) were also folk songs.[21]

Old Malayalam inscriptions

Old Malayalam was an inscriptional language.[22] No literary works in Old Malayalam have been found so far with the possible exceptions such as Ramacharitam and Thirunizhalmala.[7] Some of the discovered inscriptions in Old Malayalam are listed below on the basis of their expected chronological order, also including their locations and key contents.[22] Most of them are written in a mixture of Vatteluttu and Grantha scripts.[22]

Inscription Location Notes
Quilon Syrian copper plates- near Kollam (849/850 CE)[22]
Vazhappally copper plate Inscription - near Vazhappally (882/883 CE)[24]
  • King Rajasekhara is described as "Sri, Raja Rajadhiraja, Parameswara Bhattaraka, Rajashekhara Deva" and "the Perumal Atikal".[26]
  • The fines for those who obstruct the daily worship in the temple are also prescribed.[26]
  • Also mentions a coin called "dinara".[26]
Sukapuram inscription - near Ponnani (9th/10th century CE)[22]
  • Sukapuram Dakshinamoorthy Temple[22]
Chokkur inscription (Chokoor, Puthur village) - near Koduvally (920 CE)
  • Single granite slab in courtyard of the Chokkur Temple.
  • A person known as Karkottupurathu Kadamba Kumara establishes "Kumara-Narayana-Pura Temple" by a land grant.[9]
  • Earliest record to refer the 'Agreement of Muzhikkulam'.[9]
Nedumpuram Thali inscription, Thichoor
Wadakkanchery
(922 CE)
  • Thali inscriptions of Cochin State - two granite slabs fixed into the half wall in the entrance corridor on the left side of Nedumpuram Thali.
  • Dated in Kali Year 4030 (=929/30 CE)[27]
  • Two halves of the record on two separate slabs (one with the regnal year and the other one with the date in Kali Era) were initially registered separately.[9]
  • Council is the chieftain of Vembanadu (Alappuzha) called Goda Ravi.[9]
  • Mentions the Nangaimar (dancing girls) of the Nedumpuram Thali.[9]
Avittathur inscription (925 CE)
  • Single granite slab paved in the courtyard of the Avittathur Temple near the sopana.
  • Mentions the Cheraman Maha Devi (the Chera queen) - only record mentioning a Chera queen from Kerala.[9]
  • Council is attended by the chieftain of Valluvanad (the Rayira Ravar).[9]
Ramanthali/Ezhimala-Narayankannur inscription (Plate I - 929 CE and Plate II - 1075 CE)
  • Mentions Mushika Validhara Vikrama Rama.[28]
  • The so-called Agreement of Muzhikkulam is quoted in the record.[29]
  • Merchant guild manigramam is appointed as the guardian of the Narayankannur Temple.[28]
  • Mentions the King Kunda Alupa, the ruler of Alupa dynasty of Mangalore.[28]
Triprangode inscription (932 CE)
  • Originally in Sri Krishna shrine,
    Trichur
    .
  • Mentions the Agreement of Thavanur.[9]
  • Council is attended by the Ala-koyil (a Chera prince).
Poranghattiri inscription (Chaliyar) (932 CE)
  • Single granite slab in the courtyard of the Poranghattiri Temple.
  • Cites the Agreement of Muzhikkulam.[9]
  • Council is attended by the Koyil and the Ala-koyil (members of the Chera royal family).[9]
Indianur inscription (Kottakkal) (932 CE)
  • Originally at Indianur Temple - now in Department of History,
    Calicut University
    .
  • A slab with inscriptions two separate Chera-Perumals on either side.[9]
  • Council is attended by the Koyil (a Chera prince).[9]
Thrippunithura inscription (935 CE)
  • Originally from Santhana Gopalakrishna Temple, Thrippunithura - now in Archeological Museum,
    Trichur
    .
  • Latest regnal year Kota Ravi mentioned in the inscriptions.[9]
  • Council is attended by Ravi Aditya, a minister and a Chera prince.[9]
  • Kota Ravi was initially identified as the brother-in-law of Jatavarman Kulasekhara Deva.[9]
Panthalayani Kollam inscription (973 CE)
  • Single stone slab in the upper frame of the srikoyil (central shrine) entrance in Tali temple.[30]
  • Name of the king – probably Bhaskara Ravi Manukuladitya (962–1021 CE) – is built over by the present structure.[30]
Mampalli copper plate inscription (974 CE)
Koyilandy Jumu'ah Mosque inscription (10th century CE)
  • On the granite blocks built into the steps of the ablution tank of the Koyilandy Jumu'ah Mosque[33]
  • A rare surviving document recording patronage by a
    Muslims of Kerala.[33] It also mentions about a merchant guild.[33]
Eramam inscription (1020 CE)
Pullur Kodavalam inscription (1020 CE)
  • Engraved on a single stone slab in the courtyard of the Pullur Kodavalam Vishnu Temple[36][37]
  • Mentions Chera/Perumal king Bhaskara Ravi Manukuladitya (962–1021 CE).[36][37]
  • Identified king Manukuladitya with king Bhaskara Ravi.[37]
Tiruvadur inscription (c. 1020 CE)
  • Partly in the courtyard of the temple on either side of the sopana.[38]
  • Partly in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.[38]
  • Creation and endowment of a grama (Brahmin settlement) with members chosen from some old grama settlements from central Kerala (Vaikom, Paravur, Avittathoor, Irinjalakuda and Peruvanam).[38]
  • The engraver is mentioned as Rama Jayamani, the "royal goldsmith of the Mushika king [Jayamani]".[38]
Trichambaram inscription

(c. 1040 CE)

  • Three blocks of granite on the base of the central shrine of the temple.[39]
  • Mentions Chera/Perumal king Raja Raja (c. 1036–1089 CE).[39]
  • Mentions Chera/Perumal king Bhaskara Ravi Manukuladitya (962–1021 CE) and Iramakuta Muvar Kantan Karivarman (Srikantha Kartha) (c.1020 CE).[34]
  • Mentions the merchants guilds of Valanchiyar and Nanadeyar.[34]
  • Mentions
    Rajendra Chola Samaya Senapati from Katappa Palli.[34]
Maniyur
inscription

(c. 11th century)

  • Single stone slab outside the prakara (outer wall) of the temple.[40]
  • Confirms the extension of the so-called Agreement of Muzhikkulam to Mushika country.[40]
Kinalur inscription

(c. 1083 CE)

  • Both sides of a single granite slab in site of the ruined (now lost) Kinalur Jain Temple near Kozhikode.[41]
  • The estampage can be found in Government Epigraphist's Office, Mysore.[41]
Panthalayani Kollam inscription

(c. 1089 CE)

  • Single granite slab in the courtyard of the Panthalayani Kollam Bhagavati temple.[42]
  • The record was destroyed.[42]
  • Mentions Chera/Perumal king Rama Kulasekhara (1089–1122 CE).[42]
  • The location given as "Kollathu Panthalayani".[42]
Tiruvalla Copper Plates

(Huzur Treasury Plates)
(10th-11th centuries CE)

Kannapuram inscription

(beginning of the 12th century)

  • Single stone slab fixed on a platform outside the prakara (outer wall) of the Kannapuram temple.[29]
  • Ramakuta Muvar Udaya Varma is mentioned.[29]
Muchundi Mosque inscription (Kozhikode)

(beginning of the 13th century)

  • The highly damaged, worn and fragmentary donative inscription is engraved on a granite stone slab (slab is seen as fixed on the wall at Mosque Muchundi).[1]
Viraraghava copper plates inscription

(1225 CE)[44]

Gallery

References

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  4. ^ "Kollam Era" (PDF). Indian Journal History of Science. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  5. ^ Broughton Richmond (1956), Time measurement and calendar construction, p. 218
  6. ^ R. Leela Devi (1986). History of Kerala. Vidyarthi Mithram Press & Book Depot. p. 408.
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  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumals of Kerala: Brahmin Oligarchy and Ritual Monarchy Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 438-42.
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  14. ^ Narayanan, M. G. S. (1972). Cultural Symbiosis in Kerala. Kerala: Kerala Historical Society. p. 18.
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  17. ^ a b c d e f g h "School of Distance Education" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 February 2019.
  18. ^ Leelavathi, Dr. M., Malayala Kavitha Sahithya Chrithram (History of Malayalam poetry)
  19. ^ Gundert, Hermann (1865). Malayalabhasha Vyakaranam.
  20. ^ Dr. K. Ayyappa Panicker (2006). A Short History of Malayalam Literature. Thiruvananthapuram: Department of Information and Public Relations, Kerala.
  21. ^ a b c d e Mathrubhumi Yearbook Plus - 2019 (Malayalam ed.). Kozhikode: P. V. Chandran, Managing Editor, Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Company Limited, Kozhikode. 2018. p. 453. ASIN 8182676444.
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  27. ^ 'Changes in Land Relations during the Decline of the Cera State,' In Kesavan Veluthat and Donald R. Davis Jr. (eds), Irreverent History: Essays for M.G.S. Narayanan, Primus Books, New Delhi, 2014. 74-75.
  28. ^ a b c d e Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 475-76.
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  31. ^ a b c Narayanan, M. G. S. 2013. 'Index to Chera Inscriptions', in Perumāḷs of Kerala, M. G. S Narayanan, pp. 218 and 478–79. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks.
  32. ^ Rao, T. A. Gopinatha. 1907-08 (1981 reprint). Mamballi Plates of Srivallavangodai', in Epigraphica Indica, Vol IX. pp. 234–39. Calcutta. Govt of India.
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Further reading