English: Title: Charter issued by king Rājendra Chola I Or. 1687
Content: The charter has two sections, one in Sanskrit, one in Tamil. The Sanskrit section (5 plates) deals with the genealogy of the Chola dynasty, starting with a praise of Vishnu and the names of mythical divine (solar) ancestors. The Tamil section deals with the reign of king Rājarāja I (r. 985-1012 AD), the father of Rājendra Chola I. The inscription says that king Rājarāja I in the 21st year of his reign declared that the entire revenue of a village and its land was to be donated in order to build a Buddhist shrine (vihara). The shrine was build by the Malay king of Sriwijaya in Nagapattinam, a port town on the Coromandel coast.
Author/creator: Rājendra Chola (r. 1012-1042 AD)
Shelfmark: Or. 1687
Subject (topical): 18.64 ancient Indian languages and/or literature
18.88 Dravidian languages
Note: 21 copper plates held together by a massive bronze ring bearing the seal of Rājendra Chola I. 5 plates contain text in Sanskrit in Grantha script, 16 plates contain text in Tamil.
Reference: K.V. Subrahmanya Aiyer, \'The larger Leiden plates (of Rajaraja I) \', Epigraphia Indica, vol. XXII (1933-34),
R.C. Majumdar, \'Notes on the Sailendra kings mentioned in the Leiden plates\', Epigraphia Indica, vol. XXII (1933-34),
Language: Sanskrit
Tamil
Country: India
Form: Copper, bronze. ; Object c. 54 x 38 cm, plates c. 35 x 12 cm. + Sanskrit, Tamil
Ownership: Provenance: Donated in 1862 by the successors to the estate of professor Hendrik Arent Hamaker (1789-1835). This charter and another one (Or. 1688) were brought from India by Mr Florentius Camper (1675-1748), minister of faith in Batavia in 1703-1712. By inheritance both charters (Or. 1687, Or. 1688) came into possession of his great-granddaughter Johanna Camper (1797-1835) who was married to H.A. Hamaker.
Published: [S.l.], [between 1012-1042]
Persistent URL:
http://hdl.handle.net/1887.1/item:2694123 Published (digital): Leiden University Libraries,
Extent: scans