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Pookkaattiyur Inscriptions A rare ancient stone inscription as evidence of musical,literary and dance tradition of Kerala

Dr Suvarna Nalapat

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3 pictures from Pookkaattiyur Mahadeva temple situated near Valaanchery (old Vallabhaanchery) in Edappaal , Malappuram district Kerala is read for the sake of its rarity and rich musical and dance literary traditions.The scripts were read also in reverse ,and the possible readings and their meaning given.

Picture 1. Left side

First reading :- Mahadevaswami gaganathrikudumbasthaanam.

Choolaali Haimee Sundari aayuryaa-

Sooyu nirdhana nirguna mada(pada)lalaata(lalana)

Chunchuna chunchulu aayavadhooswa chunchu

Oochula lavaleeswaru chenchurunee

Dalala eeswara swaaminisa

Rajulka(kla)homalunnaavaava(maamaa)swaamikkuyula

(a)hras kazhanjukku moovirandellu bhoomiree

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Aandumuzhukka sakapallavapasumpon thaalaneeraaduvathulukku

Meaning:-This is the thrikudumbasthaana( place of three houses or thrikoota) in the sky of Maheswaraswami.

The beautiful Goddess called Choolaali (Soolali/soolini) Haimi wanted to get a son with long life and health .Therefore she approached the one who is nirdhana(wealthless/beggar),nirguna(with no qualities/or beyond thriguna) and mada(always immersed in ecstacy of yoga/nityanirvaana) and accepted the position of his lalana(his wife).Or his lalaata (position in his forehead where he enjoys yogic bliss).

The anklets(chunchu) of the Goddess of Ay(Yaadava clan) made the beautiful voice of chunchuna chunchulu in his forehead(The yogic dasavidanaada is mentioned).But chuna is also water in Dravidian language and ula or ulu is the place where agni (fire )is produced. So the sound of water and burning fire also indicated . With fire and water creation of Sound or Vaak happens .

Lavaleeswara said: Chenchurunee( the red maiden /Durga).This is a name if read as a call of the Maheswara.If we add it to the Dala in next line it means the plane of Chenchuruni ,a very ancient Paleolithic cave complex in the southern part of Kerala belonging to Ay dynasty (yadava) of Thiruvananthapuram..

For the sake of doing Homa in the rajas of Iswaraswamini of Chenchuruni in the suklapaksha(or with sukla /semen), the daily ahas (day homa for sun) for Navaaswami (the uncle of the forthcoming son) needs lands in which 32 times of ellu(grain) for a single kazanchu ,and for continuing the daily bath (neeraattu) with the golden plate(Thaala) sakapallava gold (coins)…..

Here the text is incomplete.

Explanatory note:- Apart from the meaning this is beautiful poetry .The thrikoota mentioned here is

1.Navamukunda the place of Vishnu as Uncle of the would-be son as the king for the matrilinear Kerala tradition.

2.Chenchuruni as the place of the yadava clan Goddess-bride

3.Valanchery pookkaattiyur Mahadevasthana as place of bridegroom

The onomatopoea used with chunchuna,chunchulu,chunchu and the chenchuruni are noteworthy .It reflects the sound of the anklet of the devi when she dances in the yogin’s forehead .The other words also are having anupraasa which makes it musical poetry.

Lavaleesan is the name of shiva Lakulin .It is said that Shiva also came to earth when Srikrishna(Vishnu) incarnated and took the name Lakuleesa.He incarnated to see the Krishnaleela and enjoy it and lived the life of a Naishtikabrahmacharin and a yogin .He developed the Maheswarayoga and he took four disciples from four Vansa/kula as his disciples and taught Maheswarayoga to them.

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These were from the races of

1.Kusika gothra of ancient Viswamithra

2.Mithran from ancient Mithravaruni gothra of Agastya and Vasishta

3.Kaarooshaka from ancient Yadava clan

4.Garga from Gargacharya’s gothra

Of these the Mithra or Maithraka gothra and dynasties were teaching veda and sasthra along the west coast of entire India and this Valabhi university of western coast later on made a university in the east ,called nalanda university.Valabhi(Valapatthanam),Perumchellur( Chellur of sangham period) and Valabhanchery (Valanchery) are the descendents of this ancient yoga schools.In later records the kings of this lineage were also called Mithraka.The first acharyas of Mithrakavansa ,before Lakuleesa were Maithravaruni or Agastya and Vasishta.

Lakuleswaran is said to have done penance in Brighukatcha where Parasurama lived before him. And he was also called Laghada (History of the Thanthric religion by N.N .Bhattacharya Manohar publications 1987 New Delhi pp 199).The ancient system of Laghadha jyothisha belongs to this teacher.It seems the Valanchery temple was a subcenter where this science and arts of India were taught .

The name Pookkaattiyur means where the Devi revealed her flower .Devi is called the red self-born flower of sandalwood in thanthra .(swayambhookusumam devi rakthachandanasamjnitham).

Harasamparkkaheenaayaa lathaayaa kaamamandire

Jaatham kusumamaadou yanmahaadevyai nivedayeth

Swayambhookusumam devee rakthachandanasamjnitham

Is the full version of the part .It seems this fertility rite for good,healthy and long-living progeny of human beings ,plants and domestic animals is what is mentioned here.The language is a mixture of Sanskrit ,Telugu,Kannada,Tamil and Malayalam and the script has also a mixture of Brahmi and vattezhuthu as well as occasional bhattiprolu and occasional Indus valley characters .That is ,the language is more ancient developed before the separation of these languages .

Left side second reading :

This can also be read as follows:

Poovanadevaswami gaganatrikudumbasthalam

Vennaneymana ventha ari Naazhiyuri 3

Vella(l)neer venna 36 aayam swami vevve

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33 aam vaiyyananyoonam vevverini

Davevveru eeswaraaswaaminisa bharani

Ravenuasuklabrahmaanineennaavennuswamikkuunee

-has kkazhanchukku moovirandellu bhoomi

Swarnnadiyaandu muzhukka sakapallava

Pasumponthaaleem saa(aa)vana sathasathsa(sathasatheesa)….The rest is incomplete

Meaning: This is the Gaganathrikudumbasthala of Pookkaat Mahadevaswamin.

Rice prepared in butter 3 nazhiyuri( a measure used in Kerala)

Vellanedya ,dhaara( abhisheka) with water ,butter for the swamin -36 aayam for the swamin

From what is received from the produce of Vaiyyam anai ( the present Kol puncha served by the Vaiyyam anicut /presently called Biyyam kettu due to change of pronounciation of V to B) reducing 33 for the sake of bharani( festival /or the storage bowl/treasury) of the Iswaraswamni is to be given for these expenses .

Only an anu (atom ) of Sun’s rajas(dust or oorjaparamanu) called suklam(rethas/sun’s semen as the energy) becomes the vaak of Brahmanini ( the language/or veda ).That word is expressed in the tongue of Naavaa mukundaswamin .(Saraswathy as the tongue of Vishnu).Thus Harasuklam + Hari rajas makes the Moolamanthra of Bhuvaneswari as Hra,Hri (Hari and Hara).For the propitiation of that word/education in Navamukundakshethra for Ahas land which produce 32 times of a single kazhanju seed and for sacred bath in the ponnadi (Ponnani river) year-long in Thrithaala (Ponthaala) and for conducting the sadas of the sad (good learned people) on Aavana(Sravanam day ) ……

Sathasathsa or the the sadas of the good is also read as sathasatheesa –the sabha of those who have done a 100 yaaga –sathakarni .

Explanation: The second reading is entirely in prose.Here Chenchuruni is dropped as the third place and Thrithaala is included instead. The language is entirely Tamil .But lipi or script remains the mixture or manipravaala.The person who has written knows minimum of 5 languages (both reading and writing) and is an expert in many of the styles of ancient writers who read from left and right and also from below up so that the same script gives several meanings .The word sakapallavappon is likely to be interpreted by historians as a later timespan .But even during Mahabharatha period Vyasa had mentioned Saka,pallava,pulinda,sabara as dwellers of south India and as sons of Rajarshi Viswamithra .Therefore ,the time of saka and pallava is not what the historians assume it to be. They are the oldest inhabitants we find in the hills and forests of south India.Saka is the corrupted name for Sakha ,and pallava means the new shoots.They are the branches and shoots of the ancient vedavriksha. Moreover saka food means vegetarian food in entire south India.The people who take only vegetarian food is meant by Saka .And to this date such vegetarian people are unknown in any other part except India

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.Therefore categorizing saka and Pallava(Pahlava in pronounciation in prakrith) as foreigners by modern historians has to be reconsidered.

The prose reading is an instruction to all concerned regarding the expenditure of produce received from lands for the sake of education of the land which was the ancient custom of vedic Gurukula.

1 Right marked Top with red ink :-

I have read this only in one direction.The lines are irregular and therefore lot of effort was needed to decipher this .This also being incomplete (probably entire script is there in the temple) the reading is incomplete.

Line 1.Pa (ga)Sreeme merkku thripuvane (thipuvane) Vene Hridarnasamsad(stham)

Line 2 .Nathoosyaa(rnyyaa)Velwi(Velivi)thyuvverukku eNallwavevevvu Pekavivernayala lavanauku aandu 791 pajame(padime/paschime)

Line 3:Velph (lnu)nthame 2311 harnametham 12 kanniviyaalam 22

Line 4:VacharnemneNala 27 ka na(ka)mmeythoonathunu 73 aamtheelu oo

Line 5: Mnu .Mnavavattdra(mnavee)vyome vaka 013 ve naa ve 1 vidinchu yathapa(pha)nineem (yathaphani 1 degree)

Line 6 : veenaavenumelulanuNeelee(laa)naathanaadathamyepaadhakshavuneememeesurarasusrim(kwam)ghaambhom…

Line 7 :Sreevalsasya(tyathulwee(Nalwee)dandwa(dandhaka)Aiyyatharvwathwe venue Aimthina (sa)

Line 8 : is doubtful .probably it may indicate the people who assembled –as mrigapakshisikhinaaga sakala(sthalajala)chandravanseeya Melaka irudharanichathraadhipathi (or the old Perumpadappa lineage) but not certain as the reading is difficult in the last line which is also incomplete .We don’t know what the entire saasana is about ,only the prasasthi part being available.

Meaning :

1.Gosree .(This represents the old Vanneri Perumpadappu Kochi King’s swasthi name ).The parishad or sabha of the good learned people ,On the west Melaka( merkku is west in Tamil.Melaka is Mahagriha as per Airavatham Mahadevan’s Indus script reading ) in the three worlds ,in the Venaa (Venaad is the kingdom at the southernmost part of Kerala where the Thiruvananthapuram kings rule.They are the nephews of old Perumpadappu emperors )in the ocean of hearts (and the milky ocean ).

2 Atha (asya oornyaa (After that ,in that area /land)for the revealed (velivithu) God(thevarukke) nallwe(in the nallu ava /good sabha /also read as Nalli sabha )Pekavi(the poet who writes in the pe language or paisacha language)Vernayaala( can be read as Varnayaala or one who makes varna/akshara

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.If we join Pekaviver and and nayaala as separate pekaviveru or kavivara is a good scholar of dharmanaya too).When For that paisachakavivara Lavanukku (Lavaleesa) year 791 ended

3. After the Velppan or veliyettam (the pralaya in sea) 2311 years ,Medam (month)12th ,Jupiter in Kanni 22 degree,

4.The naali or naadika of the ocean of Vaak (veda) –described as that of the lotus stem’s naadi- 27 ganaka(calculators/or mathematicians) as the upper pillars on sky (the stars) 73 had ended .(27 +27+19) and the 2oth started (which means the star poorvaashada star )

5.Umana(the sellers of saltpeter),and students(maanava/maanavi) when the sky brightens at 013 naadika and 1 vinaadika in the early hours,starts work in their pani .(workplace).

6.At that time when veena (lyre)and venu(flutes)and mela(vadya)accompany in the lower banks of Neeli(Nilaa river) Suragana( Divine beings) assembled with their akshouhini armies and praised the Goddess Sringhaamba (the one who dwells in the sringa /Parvathi).Om

7.The one who is incomparable among the Sreevatsa ( The race of yaadava who has trefoil as the symbol) and who carry her Dandaka rule( Dhandaneethi) is Aiya (The Devi of Ay vansa).The one who is for the Ainthina (the 5 lands of ancient division of India –seacoast,plains,forest,deserts and hills) of the Venaa(Venaad or Thiruvananthapuram)….

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Explanation:-

The Velppasthaanam ,or Vailasthanam ( if we take that reading instead of the rise of tide-veliyettam) in 3rd line is mentioned in the Rgveda (1.133.1.3) In Purananoor which is a sangham literature mentions that Vailasthaanam or Vailathoor was the original place of Irumko Vel where his ancestors lived 49 generations before hi s time and those ancestors had great fortified cities and army .The akshouhini mentioned in line 6 also points out this.

Regarding the work of the salt merchants and the students as pani .The students start their learning of Paanini and merchants start their job of selling .It is interesting to note that the sathakarni rulers of India did sell salt (internal merchandide)and made a fortune with it before BC 4th century and they were called Umana .Sometimes corrupted as Amana (and such scripts seen on jars and other containers read even by scholars as Sramana or Jaina .).The travelling merchants and learning students start job early just as the worshippers of God and and kings who engage in day to day activities.Yathaphani means Raahu /earthly people who does yatha(work and hence are yathi/those who do penance )and are phani( the serpent race with hood/headdress similar to a hood ) .These were the old phaneeswara or corrupted Phoenician travelers.When Yathaphani or earth called Raaho( Hora ) has reached the first degree lagna of Mesha ,and Sun was in the 12th degree of the same raasi ,Jupiter had entered Kanni 22nd degree and moon was in Dhanu poorvaashaada star the event of assembly of akshouhini took place .

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We know in 3102 BC there was a tidal wave that took away Dwaraka in Gujrat ,and at the same time Pandian’s southern ports and the Srimoolavaasa of ancient Ay Vel kings in Thiruvananthapuram also was lost according to Tamil records and the kings ,to protect from further calamities made a Gosaalakkota( fort of Gosala) in Thiruvanantapuram or Venad .After this event 791 years had passed according to this record (that is in kali 2311) when the yearly sraadha of Guru Lakuleesa as PaisaachaKaviveru (Great poet of Paisacha language) was celebrated by the kings and students of the Mithraka dynasty on western coast .This implicates that almost when Dwaraka ended ,the incarnation of Lakuleesa also came to an end.If we consider the purananooru part the Irukkuvel (who were the same race as Venad Ayvels ,but were worshippers of Thripuranthaka Shiva being a warrior class and were uncles to Chola Monarchs ) ancestors of 49 generations before ,and Ayvels had assembled on this date in the lower banks of Nila river.And the Goddess Parvathy was worshipped as Paradevatha with music and dance .The poetry which is musical which we read at first possibly commemorates the music the musicians of Maheswara cult played on that day mentioning Chenjuruni in Venad and Navamukunda and Mahadeva in Perumpadappa .

In Kouseethaki Upanishad we find :

Thrisirasaanaam Thwaashtram ahanam

Arumnakaan yatheen

Phaneesa or Phoenicians are the ornaments of Shiva and the cot of Vishnu .They are anthropologically the Naaga race of Oviyar /yogins and sthapathi(architects) ,artists and scholars who keep the productivity,economy and fertility of entire land so that it has Sri ( wealthy) and Valsa( full of cattle).In the fifth line we find Mnu ,yathi (as in kouseethaki ) and also ahanam (ahas) is seen in the other part which we already discussed.The three heads or capitals are the thrikoota/Thrikalinga of ancient people .Such ancient usages show how old the writing is.

The people who wrote these were teachers who had not forgotten their ancient history ,as well as their ancient practices and cults is evident from this.Brahmi,Vattezhuthu,Kolezhuthu and multiple language usage as manipravaalam also points out the antiquity .According to Mooshakavansakavya ,and archeological evidences from the time of Parasurama (8000-7000 BC) Brighukatcha and Narmada were centers of old dynasties and they ruled the southern and northern parts of India .The southern kings were controlling the Three oceans and the trade routes as well .Therefore ,the matter conveyed in this stone inscription is very important archeologically as well as anthropologically ,nothing to speak about the music,poetry and dance traditions of India and its antiquity.

Picture 2 This can be read in two ways just as we did the first left inscription .The two readings will give two different meanings.One is poetical,musical rhythmic and having beautiful rhyming and intended for the dancers for their offering at the temple.The second is in prose and seems to be an instruction for the dancers ,as well as a document to show that they were the people responsible for

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funding the institution partially along with the merchant guilds and there was a sabha or committee who decided these matters.

First reading as musical sthuthi:

Dhanaartha dhiya sree puthra jithasu Mutheenjaazhalu

(The one who conquered the son of Sree –Kaamadeva-for the sake of the wealth of intellect –The three fires of the sun -Muthee is three fires of the yajna and Njaazhalu is Njayiru a Tamil word for the sun .)

Gadya: (A)tha U(maa)saamisa eezhu mumhuthalitasyasyuthutarjathuluda

Paattu:- Udathaaliduyugachithraratheelwa-

Rdhadhavalajadalaaasthadhithamathayamajayaha

Nathithadhararamuraariratha

Lathalillarithasathavishua(vishuva)pura

Rajasajila(sachila)maathradhara

Sikhisthadaasisararurukara/sikhisatha,daseeswara,rurukara

Thuda(tha)ra satha(dha)sa dhwee(dhee)vara(ru)jooda

(udarasathaasadheevarajooda)

This part is a dance piece with thaala (rhythm )predominating the sahitya(literature) part and the Mahishasuramardhini type of dance must have been performed with this particular rhythm ,if my guess is correct .

Second reading :

Nalweemana malaalalazhappam bhagathamuniju

Manjularthaja Malagallapu saamisa

Allapayaagalalananatanapeetam(peetu)

Nijamamava yajamaa paadimu(pathaaya)

Phuva(puva)paala(zha)pakhathi(Bhagathi)tha

Ssaaduphbhassaami sakhadhyaksha(mu)

Swaamiruyapathradhavaru®thakakaparuva

(Meaning: For the sake of the Malayalathappan Swami of Nallwi Mana.

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For the sake of Malagallappu swami born of Manjulaartha.

For the sake of music(note the word aalaapa is used which is Sanskrit) yaaga ,and for the establishment of the dance school of women ,and for awakening the Swami(God) Yajamaana by singing ,in the presidentship of Saadubhaswami(Saaluvaswami) the friend and worshipper of the swami ,in the presence of the great Bhuvapaala (God) ,under the swami’s umbrella ,the merchant guilds and the guilds of paruva(dancers) ……)

The rest of the part is not available to me for completing the reading .Since these are read from the digital photographs sent partially ,I assume that the entire part may be available in the temple .Since the stones are within the sanctum sanctorum ,where we cannot enter ,if the family of the Thanthri can sent it to me ,I may be able to read it for them.The stone being in the temple the rituals associated with it must have been secret rites of the Maheswara thanthric cult in which the thanthri and possibly the dancing girls too took part in ancient times .

An important point with this script is the bilingual reading of the first and second lines.Nalweemana is Manjulaartha ,and Malayaalathappan is Malagallappu and Bhagavathmuni is Saami in the translated second line .The translations are used when there is need for teaching a new language or when a communication is passed on to a different language-speaking people .It is usually done in academic circles .Valabhi university had been such an academic teaching Gurukula .We find Indian seals in India and Babylonia right from 6000 BC but nowhere have we found a translated bilingual seal so far .On the other hand we find such seals in Ceylon as shown by Professor Indrapaala of Jaaffna university ( A bilingual metal seal in Brahmi Indus epigraphs.Hindu 25th April 1985)In that seal there were 3 Sindhu scripts and the 3 brahmi scripts as their translation.The reason was ,the universal Indus script was being replaced by Asokan Brahmi in Gupta period.So that people should understand what the new language meant .Asokan used such bilingual inscriptions in Kashmere where Greeks and Armenians came after the time of Alexander ,so that they too understand the meaning .

Here we find three words –not three letters –translated showing a higher state of educational development .And both are Indian languages so that ,the reason for translation is a cosmopolitan population of merchants using both Thulu/Telugu /Prakrith as well as Tamil/Malayalam in the region ,where the educational medium had already been Sanskrit for a very long time.Or ,in other words by this time Valabhi university had been catering to entire India in educational pursuits .And this translation is for the disciples ,by a learned Guru .The entire sentence having three words is a mix of Tamil,Telugu,Karnataka ,Malayala ,prakrith and Sanskrit usages and words.The praakritha of Abheera as Saamisa is used .Therefore this complete sentence with so many language usages ,could be the most ancient example we have at present available for the translation work Valabhi Indian university did .Later on we have both Nalanda and Valabhi universities sending translators to Tibet and China as well as to various other parts of the world.I could read a bilingual even trilingual translation in Thirunelli temple inscriptions but they are single words and not a complete sentence like this .

The word Nallwimana deserves special mention.Here Nallwi is translated as Manjulaartham .(Nalla/or Nalam )Nalweemana also means the Mana or Capital of the Nalwi people.Because during the time of

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Alexander the word Mana meant the capital of the people.For the capital of the Sindhu people their writers use the word Sindhumana. And Ptolemy use the term Paalaisaamundamana (The capital of the milky ocean) to denote the southernmost end of India where the three oceans meet .It is here the God Vishnu sleeps on his eternal bed Anantha serpent ,which holds the sankhanidhi ,padmanidhi (the treasures of the conch and the wheel) in the underworld Paathaala which is the serpent’s dwelling place.Therefore Nalweemana or the capital of the blessed good people is the place where all prosperity and peace occurred .