Indian Epigraphy c8.s2.t4: 4. Malayāḷam and Tulu

Indian Epigraphy c8.s2.t4

Language: English

4. Malayāḷam and Tulu

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Tamil was exclusively the epigraphic language of the Malayāḷam-speaking area till the 14th century A.D. and inscriptions in Tamil were engraved in that region in the Vaṭṭeḻuttu alphabet. But Malayāḷam influence is noticed in a few records of the 13th century such as the Suchindram inscription of the Kollam year 403 (1228-29 A.D.).¹ One of the earliest epigraphs in the Malayāḷam language is the Attingal inscription² of 1452 A.D. written in Vaṭṭeḻuttu characters. Another 15th century epigraph in that language is the Tonnal inscription³ of 1474 A.D., only the first two lines of which are in Sanskrit written in Grantha. Of the 16th century epigraphs in the Malayāḷam language, mention may be made of the Tripunitura inscription⁴ of 1584 A.D. Out of later records, we may refer to the Parur inscriptions⁵ of 1624 A. D., Manambur inscription⁶ of 1635 A. D., Vettikkavila inscription⁶ of 1648 A. D. and Verapoli copper-plate grants⁷ of 1718, 1760 and 1780 A.D.

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¹ A. R. Ep., 1958-59, No. B. 464.

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² Trav. Arch. Ser., Vol. VI, p. 80, No. 64.

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³ Ibid., pp. 34-35, No. 23.

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⁴ Ibid., p. 196, No. 146.

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⁵ Ibid., Vol. I, pp. 299 ff.

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⁶ Ibid., Vol. VI, p. 82, No. 67.

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⁶ Ibid., pp. 196 ff., Nos. 148-50.

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⁷ See A. R. Ep., 1929, No. B 462; 1931, No. B 371; 1935-36, No. B 111.

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The Tulu language, spoken in the South Kanara District of Mysore State and written in the Malayāḷam alphabet, has no literature and alphabet of its own. A few late medieval inscriptions written in the Tulu language and Malayāḷam characters, have been discovered.⁸ The palaeography of these epigraphs is comparable to that of an inscription⁹ of Kulaśekhara Aḷvar who may possibly be identified with the Āḷupa ruler Kulaśekhara Āḷupendra IV flourishing in the first half of the 15th century.

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⁹ Ibid., 1929, No. B 506.

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NEO-INDO-ARYAN LANGUAGES

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In the tracts where the Neo-Indo-Aryan languages are spoken, Sanskrit was in general use in the early medieval period in preference to the regional languages. Independent Hindu rule was ousted by the Muhammadans from wide areas of the region in question. But, wherever in this area independent or semi-independent Hindu rulers flourished during the late medieval period, we notice occasional use of the regional languages in their official charters. Private records of the said period were often written in the regional languages in many parts of the country.