Indian Epigraphy c15.t22.2

c15.t22.2

An island called Bīpīn, 13 miles in length and 1 mile in breadth, emerged out of the sea to the north of Cochin in the year 1341 A.D. To commemorate this event, an era called Puḍuvaippu (from Malayāḷam puḍu, ‘new’, and vṛpa, ‘habitation’) came into use in the Cochin area, although it is no longer heard of. The treaty between the State of Cochin and the Dutch East India Company, written on five copper plates, contains the date : Mīna 14 of the Puḍuvaippu year 322, which corresponds to the 22nd March 1663 A.D.⁴ In the Malayāḷam-speaking area, there was a popular tendency in medieval times to start the counting of an era from the dates of such minor events as the construction of a temple or the consecration of a deity.⁵ 11. Cochbihar (*Kocavihāra*) Era