The Paliyam Palates of Varaguna

The Paliyam plates, the famous historical record, originally hailed from the house of the Paliyattu Accan, the greatest Aristocratic family in the erstwhile Cochin State. The plates were first brought to light by T.A. Gopinatha Rao^[1]. The Paliyam grant is dated as Thursday 30th December AD 868^[2].

In the fourth verse mention is made of the historical descent of Varaguna, the donor of the grant. The verse runs as follows:

jyotsnāpūra ivāmalaśśaśadharādāhlādayan medinīm yaḥ prāvartata yaddhanenaśaśinaṃ muktvā kalaṅkaḥ kvacit |
yasyāstodaya himayaśailamalayāḥ sainyebhadantāvalīraṅkakṣuṇṇatarā bhavanti vijayastambhāḥ jagannirjaye

The main historical purport of the verse is that one of the donor’s forefathers led an expedition to the north, and the tusks of war -elephants in his army pierced the slopes of the Himalaya and Malaya mountains in the course of a digvijaya. This has great significance for history because Varaguna, the donor of the Paliyam grant, in spite of his connection with the Vrsnis is proved to have descended from the line of the Sangam ceras, a fact which is not known from any other sources.

Another important point highlighted by the Paliyan plates is the regnant status enjoyed by Varaguna.

āsīdyasya vilolavīcikālikābāhagraphenāvalī
  preṅghaccāmaracārucāracaturā dāsī catussāgarī |
yajjātasya karoti mūrdhni mukuṭībandhaikabandham rāmā
  līlāmbhoruhamaṇḍalena lalitāṃ ratnātapatraśriyam ||

In this verse, the kings of this line are depicted as having the privilage of the ratnātapatra being held by the godess of wealth over the crowned heads and the Chauri being waned by the Dasi represented by the four oceans. It is very significant that those kings are described as having the crown on their heads. The Paliyam plates reveals that the kings of the line of Varaguna had the proprietory title to the ‘crown’. Another verse brings to light the real religion of Varaguna’s forefathers, and suggests that they were great philanthropists.

A unique contribution of the plates to history is the mention of a king by name Vira Kota to whom the responsibility of safeguarding the grant had been entrusted.

rakṣārthamasyāḥ svayameva rājñā sustāpito rājati vīrakoṭaḥ |
bāhūpadhānāmurasiprasuptāṃ lakṣmīṃ dadhāno vijayānuraktām ||

It is stated that Virakota had been required by the king to safeguard the grant. The second half of the stanza describes Virakota’s special qualities. The identification of Vira Kota as well as the correct historical interpretation of the attributes given in the verse still remain desideratum.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Travancore Arceological Series -Vol I -PP -187 -193

[2]:

Ibid