Quilon Inscription of Jayasimha Vira Kerala Varma
By K. Rama Pisharoti, A. Govinda Warrier
Summary
‘The Quilon Inscription of Jayasimha Vira Kerala Varma’ presents the text and translation of a lengthy Sanskrit inscription discovered at Kollam (Quilon) in Kerala. Dated to the 15th‑century ruler Jayasimha Vira Kerala Varma, the copper‑plate charter records generous grants of land and privileges to Brahmins and temples. The authors provide a careful transliteration of the inscription, noting orthographic peculiarities and peculiar Malayalam influences in the Sanskrit. They reconstruct the royal genealogy, connecting Jayasimha with earlier Kerala and Tamil dynasties, and highlight the inscription’s reference to political alliances with the Vijayanagara Empire and local chieftains. The charter’s land‑grant clauses shed light on agrarian organisation on the Malabar coast, including exemptions from certain taxes and obligations to supply specific goods to the royal treasury. The inscription also enumerates villages, waterways and boundaries, providing a rare administrative map of medieval Kerala. By comparing this document with other records from Travancore and Cochin, the authors show continuity in royal patronage of Hindu temples and in the use of Sanskrit language despite regional vernaculars. The article includes commentary on calendrical details and astronomical references used to date the inscription. The bibliography lists previous studies of Kerala epigraphy and situates this charter within the corpus of south Indian copper‑plate grants.
Conclusion
By publishing the Quilon inscription with translation and commentary, the article makes an important contribution to Kerala history. The document illuminates the political networks, land administration and religious patronage of a little‑known ruler and enriches our understanding of the Malabar coast’s integration into wider south Indian politics.