These are five copper-plates, which have been in the Museum for a long time and have no history. They are strung on a ring, the ends of which are secured by means of a seal bearing in relief a seated tiger facing proper right. There are two fish to the right of this. These three figures have a bow below, a parasol and two Chamaras (fly-whisks) at the top and a lamp on each side. A round the margin a sloka is engraved in Grantha characters, which has been translated, "This is the matchless edict of King Parakesarivarman, who teaches justice to the kings of his realm".
A portion of the inscription is in Sanskrit and the rest is in Tamil. The script employed is a mixture of Grantha and Tamil.
The plates contain an edict issued by the Chola king Ko-Para- Kesarivarman alias Uttama Choladeva, at Kachhippedu (Kanchipuram) at the request of his minister, to confirm the contents of a number of stone inscriptions, which referred to certain dues to be paid to the temple of Vishnu at Kachhippedu. The villagers of Kuram and Ariyarperumbakkam had to supply five hundred kadi of paddy per year as interest on two hundred and fifty kalanju of gold borrowed by them from the temple treasury. Similarly the inhabitants of the villages near Kanchipuram got loans from the temple treasury and paid interest at the rate of five per cent per annum. A fresh grant was issued by this same king, which contains the arrangements made for the conduct of the Chittirai festival of the deity in the temple of Uragam, in Kachhippedu. Two hundred kalanju of gold were deposited with the residents of certain villages near Kanchipuram, who were asked to pay a yearly interest of fifteen kalanju of gold to meet the expenses. Arrangements made for the several services in the temple are also described.
This Parakesarivarman was the uncle and predecessor of Raja Raja I and the period may therefore be fixed as the 10th Century AD.
Pallava
Maidavolu, Narasaraopet taluk, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. 4th century AD.
Eight copper-plates found in 1899 during the digging of a field, in an abandoned village north of Maidavolu, a village in Narasaraopet taluk, Guntur district and presented to the Museum by Maidavolu Jayaramayya, the owner. The plates are strung on a ring by the ends of which is secured an elliptical seal, which bears in relief a couchant bull facing proper right, with the legend 'Sivaskandavarmanah' partially worn.
The language of the inscription is Prakrit, the script employed being old Pallava.
These plates record that the Pallava king Sivaskandavarman, while he was Yuva-Maharaja granted a village named Viripara situated in Andharapatha (i.e) the Telugu country, to two Brahmans.
Viripara must have been situated near Amaravati, as Sivaskandavarman addressed his order to his father's representative at Dhannakada, the modern Amaravati. The grant was issued from Kanchipura, the capital of the Pallava kings. It is thus indicated that during the time of Sivaskandavarman, the Pallava kingdom was composed of Tondaimandalam and the Telugu country as far north as the Krishna river.
The grant was made on the fifth tithi of the sixth fortnight of summer, in the tenth year of the reign perhaps of Sivaskandavarman's predecessor. The date of Sivaskandavarman may be fixed at about the beginning of the 4th Century AD.
Pandyas
Locality unknown. 7th century AD.
There are seven copper-plates preserved in the Museum for a long time without any history. They are strung on a ring without a seal.
The inscription contains two passages in Sanskrit, one at the beginning and another at the end, the script employed being Grantha. The rest is in Tamil, the script employed being Vatteluttu of Chera- Pandya alphabet.
The plates record that the Pandyan king. Maravarman, renowned in the world by the name of Jatilavarman (Nedunjadaiyan), gave the village of Velangudi, in Ten-Kalavali-nadu, having changed its name into Srivaramangalam, to a Brahman named Sujjata-Bhatta, son of Sihu - Misra.
This Maravarman is stated to have conquered the Cholas, the Pallavas and the Keralas. He is said to have conquered and killed the king of Ven constructed the walls of the city of Karavandapuram.
The grant was made during the seventeenth year of the reign of Nedunjadaiyan, another name of Maravarman.