Blog 162 - Marine Musings - Historical Copper Plates that Traversed Millenia and Several Continents

A Set of Copper Plates that Traversed a Millenia - Chapter 1

Chola Treasure in the Netherlands! | Anaimangalam Seppedugal (Or the Copper Plates of Anaimangalam) | Raja Raja Cholan 

Down in the bowels of a cavernous corridor in a library’s museum near Amsterdam, Netherlands lies an artifact more than a thousand years old, written in the old Tamil script, etched on copper plates, which tells a story that should have been a historical fact, manifest to all of us. 

It is a miniscule part of the story of Raja Raja Cholan, an Emperor in his own right. It is the sad plight of Indian history that not much is known of this great Emperor, his kingdom, his achievements, his dynasty - all because of it being suppressed by left leaning intellectuals.

The artefacts that lie hidden in the vaults of the Library’s Museum are part of the treasures stolen by Colonisers, stolen from the cultural riches of medieval India. 

It was the time of the Dark Ages in Europe, at a time when India had already blossomed into a civilisation that had a 26% GDP.

A young historian, Hemanth, who has been digging deep into Tamil history and civilisation, is responsible for this remarkable narrative on Youtube. Every bit of what I am writing is translated from his Tamil narrative on Youtube.

He specialises in making short, crisp, insightful Youtube videos on Indian History.

Having heard of the copper plates, he travelled to Amsterdam and persuaded the Museum authorities to retrieve the copper plates from the cavernous vaults, so that he could study it.

The results are hereunder.

While many would narrate that the fame of Raja Raja Chola starts and ends with his construction, and delegation to humanity in general, of the Brihadeeswarar or Thanjavur temple, they would be merely scratching the surface in realising the potential of an extraordinary human being -

Whose military exploits went further than his narrow domain of which he was the master

Whose treatment of the conquered went beyond what the Geneva Convention stipulates in today’s world 

Whose sector wise administrative divisions showed us the basis of modern day administration, from Parliament to Panchayat

Whose benevolent and far seeing irrigationary methods improved the yields of a delta to the extent that it - the area - is today called the “Granary of the South”, viz the Cauvery Delta - or, at least till Karnataka did not shut off the tap that was the Cauvery

‘Seppedugal’ (Tamil) means ‘Copper Plates’ - (Seppu ~ copper; another word for copper is ‘sembu’) and they were just that - plates made of copper, with old Tamil inscriptions describing an event. (In actuality, ‘Aedugal’ in Tamil can also mean ‘records’, which is far more appropriate to the copper plates in the possession of the Dutch museum. ‘Pages’ is a less alluded to meaning for ‘Aedugal’.

In the early days, kings donating land to others was a common practice.

Donations of land to Brahmins were called ‘Brahmadeyam’.

Donations to Shiva temples were known as ‘Devadanam’

Donations to Buddhist temples were known as ‘Pallisandam’.

This narrative is about one such ‘Pallisandam’ to a sect of Buddhist monks.

The kings of yore used to record their transactions, orders, statements etc. in three forms - either using all three forms or two or just one.

Much as we use paper, email, Whatsapp or ‘Google Docs’ today to describe an event or preserve for posterity, write a letter or document an agreement, the methods then in use were in three distinct forms.

The three forms were 

‘Olaichuvaddi’ - palm leaves etched with the desired text, etched with a sharp nail. Alas, over the years, these palm leaves either fragmented or were lost to white ants, depriving us of even glimpses into the richness of those times. Those salvaged are now being protected by controlled environments in repositories such as libraries, ashrams, in several places in India.  

‘Kalvettu’ - ‘Kal’ means stone. ‘Vettu’ means cut. Literally, documents were carved in stone, even a lover’s message to his lady-love. Miles and miles of such carvings adorn any and every temple’s walls of South India, replete with millions of documents, treaties, exploits, even the simple act of details of land donated to the temple. It is unfortunate that most of these have been neglected, neither unearthed nor untranslated, as they are written in an older Tamil script. Treasures of history await seeing the light.

‘Seppedu’ - Firstly because of its abundance and secondly because of its malleability, copper plates were used for recording. Except for oxidation, they remain a part of the cultural and historical heritage of vibrant kingdoms in the South.

The above two images are of ‘Olaichuvadugal’ records on palm leaves. Note the fragility of the leaves and the binders.

Ancient Tamil Scriptures carved in stone or ‘Kalvettu’. These were a form of a more permanent record, but survive only on the walls of the remaining temples. Thousands of temples were destroyed or have fallen to ruin.

Ancient Tamil script used

The author, Hemanth, holding the precious ‘Seppedu’ referred to in this narrative. Place: The Leiden Library Museum 

Another example of Seppedu’ that survives in the British Museum. Usually, the ‘Seppedu’ first page is dedicated to the king’s logos, followed by the title of the subject, much like current day publications

What was the Leiden Library Museum Holding?

The story starts more than a thousand years ago in the island of Sumatra, now a part of Indonesia.

A king by the name of Chulamani Varman - pronounced Choolaamani Varman - belonging to the SriVijaya dynasty, ruled not only that region of Sumatra but also most of present day Indonesia, parts of Thailand and Malaysia.

Powerful.

The Buddhist philosophy was uppermost in the region.

Trade with India - Cholas- and with China was abundant.

The main SriVijaya port for his trade was Kadaram, a port on the west coast of, what is today, Malaysia.

In that period, his traders who plied their trade with India, used to not only frequent the Chola ports but would also stay in the area for months together, some of them marrying local women and permanently settling down in Indian shores.

For those traders’ religious beliefs, Chulamani Varman felt that a Buddhist shrine was required, necessary, run and administered by Buddhist monks, more of a monastery.

There are three types of places of Buddhist worship. 

Saithya - a Buddhist prayer hall

Stupa - a dome shaped Buddhist shrine

Vihara - a Buddhist monastery

The types of Buddhist worship shrines

King Chulamani Varman of the SriVijaya dynasty

One of the ports where Chola trade flourished and where Buddhism also was prevalent, was the port of Nagapattinam.

King Chulamanni Varman wished to establish a monastery - a Vihara - in Nagapattinam for which he required permission from the then Chola king, Raja Raja  Cholan the Great - permission for a land grant, funding, permission to employ artisans, labour.

So, in the year 1006 CE, the 21st year of the reign of Raja Raja Chola, King Chulamanni Varman sends a delegation of his ministers, monks and courtiers to Thanjavur, the capital city of the Chola kingdom to request Raja Raja Cholan. The delegation’s request is accepted by Raja Raja Cholan with alacrity as, diplomatically, it would foster better relationship with the SriVijaya kingdom as well as give a foothold to Buddhism to be propagated, along with the presently existing Saivaitism and Vaishnavam (followers of Shiva and Vishnu).

The Delegation

The ‘Rajasrayan’ Palace of Raja Raja Cholan

Raja Raja Cholan

This act also showed the religious tolerance that the kingdom had towards different sects.

So the village of Anaimangalam, near Nagapattinam, was given to the Buddhist monks.

The Administrative Officer was then told to take down the Royal Order in an Olaichuvadu - Palm Leaves - and inform the village that they would now come under the Buddhist Monastery, with all taxes going to the Buddhists.

These would have been the actual words of the Royal Order - on Palm Leaves - though the writing would have been less legible. (The words are from the Copper Plates retained at Amsterdam).

The village of ‘Anaimanglam’, spread over 97 ‘Nilan’. In today’s measurements

1 ‘Nilan’ = 6.6 acres 

It was not just the village that was given away. All the taxes that the village paid on an annual basis to the king - in the form of produce - was also gifted away to the monastery.

The measures that were used for quantifying produce in those days. By foregoing the tax from the village, the kingdom lost the equivalent of 1,150,000 litres of grain. 

This was a perpetual endowment for the benefit of the Buddhist monastery.

As the building of the monastery progresses, King Choolamani Varman passes away and his son, Mara Vijayothung Varman ascends the throne.

But Raja Raja Cholan’s word is his promise. The work continues and is completed.

.

The completed Choolamani Viharam

A few years pass. Raja Raja Cholan passes away and his son Rajendra Cholan ascends the throne and rules. The SriVijaya king is a little nervous and asks for a more permanent document, rather than the damageable ‘Olai Chuvadu’ (Palm Leaf). Rajendra Cholan, as stalwart a king as his Father, embosses the document in copper plates, with his seal and signature.  

These are the original Seppedu’ (copper plates) with the transcript of the document.

One land document involving four kings, across two generations

Now we travel to the Netherlands. To a small town called Leiden, 50 km from Amsterdam.

Continued in Chapter 2