Kuppalnattam copper plate, time of Tirumalai Nāyaka, year Kara

Version: (f13bb6a), last modified (e71e628).

Edition

⟨1⟩ rāma-ceyam

⟨2⟩ kaṟā Āṉi 29 matuṟā-puri-t-talat=tuk=ku

⟨3⟩ kaṟt=taṟ-ākiya makaṟāca-māṉiyā(r) tiri-tirumalai-(ṉā)-

⟨4⟩ yakkaṟ-avaṟkaḷ kāḷappaṉpaṭṭi Uḷaṭaiya-

⟨5⟩ t=til vant’ iraṅki y-iruk=kum pōtu kuppalna-

⟨6⟩ ttam veṅkiṭṭi ṉāk=kaṉ pātakāṇikkai

⟨7⟩ <symbol> 3 10 <symbol> poṉṉum 4 100 Arici kāy-ka-

⟨8⟩ ri ney-pāl-uṭaṉē koṇṭu vantu ṟācā-

⟨9⟩ vai-k= kaṇṭāṉ ṟācāvukku cantōcam āki n¡i!-

⟨10⟩ ku Emi kāvelē yek=kaṭavu vit=tivi Eṉa-(k)

⟨11⟩ kēṭṭāṟ veṅkiṭṭi ṉāk=kaṉ coṉṉatu

⟨12⟩ nēṉu Uṇṭē kiṟāmāṉiki cātiṉappaṭṭa-

⟨13⟩ yāṉiki tēvaruvāḷu Uttaṟavu kāvelē

⟨14⟩ y-eṉṟu kēṭṭāṉ Anta-p paṭik=ku ṟācā-Utta-

⟨15⟩ rāv’ āccutu yitark=ku māl cempaṟaṇi El-

⟨16⟩ laik=k¡i!teṟk=ku cēṭapaṭṭik= kiṟāmat=tukku ki¡!ak=ku vī-

⟨17⟩ ṟāḷampaṭṭi māluk=ku vaṭak=ku pūcāntirak= kiṟāma-

⟨18⟩ ttuk=ku mēṟk=ku y-inta nāṅk’ el¡k!aik=k’ uḷppa-

⟨19⟩ ṭṭa kirāmam kuppalnat=tat=tuk=ku nāṭṭāmai p¿i?-

⟨20⟩ ñcai māṉipam Ūruk=ku teṟk=ku 5 caṅkili ni-

⟨21⟩ lam nañcai māṉipam <symbol> kirāmat=tuk=k’ uḷp-

⟨22⟩ paṟavil naṭuvāyk=kāluk=ku vaṭakku 4 kāṇi Āka

⟨23⟩ y-ivaḷavum nāṭṭāmai mutamai veṅkiṭṭi

⟨24⟩ ṉāk=kaṉuk=ku contam-āka E()uti-k kuṭut=ta tām-

⟨25⟩ pura-cāt¿i?ṉa-p-paṭṭayam y-itaṟkku cācci mati-

⟨26⟩ ppaṉūṟ cūṟappaṉāk=kaṉ cēṭapaṭṭi perum-

⟨27⟩ āḷuṉāk=kaṉ pūcāntiṟam ciṉṉa-māya-t-tē-

⟨28⟩ vaṉ y-itai yātām orutaṟ aṭi A¡!it=tā-

⟨29⟩ l mīṉā¿c?ci cokkaliṅkaṟ kēḷppāṟ

⟨30⟩ y-inta-p paṭṭayañ ceytavaṉ matuṟā-puri ⌈-

⟨31⟩ mēla-vācal caṇmukam Ācāri y-inta-p paṭi

⟨32⟩ śrī-kaṟt=taṟ-ākiya tirumalai-ṉāyak=kaṟ-avaṟkaḷ tiru-k-

⟨33⟩ -karat=til Oppam

Translation

⟨1⟩ Victory to Rāma!

⟨2⟩ Year Kaṟā,1 month of Āṉi, date 29.

⟨3–15⟩ At the time the glorious and honourable Tirumalai Nāyaka, alias the lord of the region of the city of Maturā,2 was brought within the premises of Kāḷappaṉpaṭṭi, Veṅkiṭṭi Nāyaka of Kuppalnattam having brought 30 paṇams, 400 poṉs, rice, vegetables, ghee and milk as offerings to the feet of the king, saw him there.

⟨9–11⟩ The king was pleased and asked “What do you want? How are you?”.

⟨11–14⟩ Veṅkiṭṭi Nāyaka replied that he wanted His Highness to grant him the jurisdictional rights to his village.

⟨14–15⟩ In that manner, there was a royal order as follows.

⟨15–18⟩ For this village, the boundaries (māl) are as follows:

  • south of the boundary (ellaikki, that is, ellaikku) of Cempaṟaṇi;

  • east of the village of Cēṭapaṭṭi;

  • north of the boundary (mālukku) of Vīṟāḷampaṭṭi;

  • west of the village of Pūcāntiram.

⟨19–25⟩ So that there be, for the village of Kuppalnattam which is comprised within these four boundaries, 5 caṅkilis of puñcai (dry land), south of the village, and 4 kāṇis of nañcai (irrigated land), inside the village and north of the central canal (naṭuvāykkāl), (this) is the copper-plate order in which these have been inscribed and granted as ownership to Veṅkiṭṭi Nāyaka, the village chief (nāṭṭāmai mutaṉmai).

⟨25–28⟩ For this, the witnesses are

  • Cūṟappaṉākkaṉ of Matippaṉūr,

  • Perumāḷuṉākkaṉ of Cēṭapaṭṭi,

  • Ciṉṉamāyattēvaṉ of Pūcāntiram.

⟨28–29⟩ This donation, if whoever harms it, the gods Mīṉācci and Cokkaliṅkar will punish (kēḷppār) him.

⟨30–31⟩ He who made this plate is Caṇmukam Ācāri at the west gate of the city of Maturā.

⟨31–33⟩ In that manner, the signature in the hand of the honourable Tirumalai Nāyaka alias the glorious lord.

Commentary

The plate, rectangular in shape (height 23.3 cm, width 15.3 cm), is a typical Nāyaka period copper plate. It was found in possession of Mr. Thiruvenkatasamy in the village of Kuppalnattam/Kuppalnatham, Madurai district, Tamilnadu, who acquired it as part of his inheritance. The existence of this copper plate was unknown to scholars till now. The editor got to know of it through word of mouth.

The village names mentioned in the inscription are still in use today (phonetically intact) except one which had changed to pūcalapuram from pūcāntiram.

Bibliography

This edition and translation by Ramprashanth Venkatakrishnan. Reviewed and encoded by Emmanuel Francis.

Notes

  1. 1. That is, Kara.

  2. 2. That is, Maturai.