04-08-2025
Temple in Kozhikode's Panniyankara can now claim the legacy of three Chera kings
Recent examinations by the Kerala Archaeology department have revealed that a Durga Bhagavathi Temple at Panniyankara in Kozhikode city is linked with the legacy of three Chera kings.
According to department sources, it was the late historian M.G.S. Narayanan who first read and deciphered the three stone inscriptions recovered from the temple, which had close links with the history of the Porlathiri kings and the Zamorins as well in later years. He clearly identified the stone inscriptions belonging to the era of Bhaskara Ravivarman between AD 962 and AD 1021 and Ravi Kotha Rajasimhan, who ruled between AD 1021 and AD 1036. However, MGS could not clearly make out what was written on the backside of the inscription from the era of Bhaskara Ravivarman because it was worn down. He concluded that it could also belong to the era of one of the Chera kings, probably Kotha Ravi, in the eighth year of his rule.
These inscriptions kept at the University of Calicut were recently re-examined by a research team led by K. Krishnaraj, museum officer, Pazhassi Raja Archaeological Museum, Kozhikode. It was revealed that the above-mentioned inscription indeed belonged to the era of Kotha Ravi and was written during the 27th year of his rule in AD 910. Department officials said that this was now the oldest of the inscriptions found from Panniyankara. Mr. Krishnaraj pointed out that stone inscriptions belonging to three different Chera kings have earlier been found from very few places, such as Nedumpuram Thali Temple in Thrissur district and Vamana Moorthy Temple at Thrikkakara in Ernakulam district. 'Now, Panniyankara can also claim that legacy,' he said.
M.R. Manmadhan, Head of the Department of History, and K.S. Madhavan, and V.V. Haridas, Professors, University of Calicut, too were part of the team that studied the inscriptions. E. Dinesan, Director, Archaeology Department, said that such findings and their interpretations would be published and made available to researchers, history students and the people.
