Vazhappally copper plate (c. 750 â 850 AD, c. 882/83 AD ?) is a copper plate inscription in the Malayalam language from Vazhappally, Kottayam, in the state of Kerala, south India. It is dated to the twelfth regnal year of the medieval Chera ruler of Kerala, Rama Rajasekhara (fl. c. 871 AD).
The copper plate documents a temple committee resolution regarding a land grant for daily worship in the temple. The amount of paddy available from the granted land in two seasons is estimated to be over 12,200 kilograms (or around 12 tons).
The record is engraved on a single copper plate (with five lines on each side) in an early form of Malayalam, using the Vattezhuthu (script) with necessary Grantha characters. The contents of the plate are incomplete. It was discovered by V. Srinivasa Sastri from Thalamana Illam near Changanassery. The plate is currently owned by Muvidathu Madham, Thiruvalla.
The inscription begins with the invocation "Namah Shivaya" ("Respect to Lord Shiva"), instead of the usual medieval Chera invocation "Swasti Sri" ("Hail! Prosperity!") In the record, king Rajasekhara is described with the titles "Sri, Raja Rajadhiraja, Parameswara Bhattaraka, Rajashekhara Deva", and "the Perumal Atikal". The copper plate documents a temple committee resolution by the Thiruvatruvay Pathinettu Nattar and the Urar of Vazhappally, in the presence of king Rajasekhara, regarding a land grant for daily worship in the temple. The inscription also prescribes fines for those who obstruct daily worship in the temple. Notably, it mentions a coin called the "dinara".
The Vattezhuthu characters in the Vazhappally copper plate are noted for their similarity to those in the Madras Museum Plates of Jatila Varman Parantaka Pandya. The Grantha characters in the plate exhibit a later form compared to the Kasakudi and other early Pallava grants. The plate also resembles Quilon Syrian copper plates (mid-9th century AD), another early Chera record, in both script and language. Medieval Chera king Rajasekhara is commonly identified by scholars with Cheraman Perumal Nayanar, the venerated Shaiva (Nayanar) poet-musician.