Consider the following statements regarding the Tharisapalli Copper Plates of Quilon: 1. They were issued during the reign of the Later Chera monarch Ayyan Atikal Tiruvadikal in the ninth century. 2. They granted extensive land endowments, tax immunities, and social privileges to the Christian merchant community represented by Mar Sapir Iso. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

💡 Solution & Explanation

The Tharisapalli Copper Plates, engraved in ancient Vattezhuttu script, represent a foundational historical document detailing the integration of trading communities in medieval Kerala. Issued with royal sanction, the plates recorded commercial rights, guild privileges, and landed properties assigned to the church and merchant settlers in Quilon. Such epigraphical records underline the pluralistic mercantile environment sustained by the Mahodayapuram Chera rulers.