Vazhappally is a suburb of Changanasserry Municipality,

Kottayam District Kottayam () is one of List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Kerala, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettu ...

, in central Kerala. The famous Vazhappally Shiva Temple is situated in Vazhappally. Vazhappally is a part of Changanacherry Taluk in Kottayam District. It is located in the city of Changanacherry and Vazhappally Panchayath. The ancient Vazhappally gramam (village) was shifted to the Changanassery Municipality, so small portions of the village were reunited in the Municipal Town of Changanassery, while the rest were reconstructed in the Vazhappally Gram Panchayat.

The origin of the name

Vazhappally is "Vazhkai Pally" () means let the temple win. There are various theories as to the origin of the word 'Pally'. Pally is a word in the

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

language.SN Sadasivan - A Social History of India പുറം 9

/ref>

History

The temple was very popular in the second

Chera dynasty The Chera dynasty ( or Cēra, ), also known as Keralaputra, from the early historic or the Sangam period in Tamil-speaking southern India, ruled over parts of present-day states Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Cheras, known as one of the mu-ventar ...

. After the fall of the Cheras, the place came under several rulers, the Thekkumkur and Travancore kings were prominent, witnessed many brutal wars, treachery, murder and annihilation. However, in all these cases, the temple was saved from destruction. The

Vazhappally Maha Siva Temple Vazhappally Maha Siva Temple is a Hinduism, Hindu temple located in Vazhappally near Changanassery in Kottayam district in the Indian state of Kerala. The temple is administered by the Devaswom boards in Kerala, Travancore Devaswom Board. The t ...

is located in the heart of the ancient Vazhappally village. In the Chera dynasty, Changanacherry was part of Vazhappally Gramam. The old highway passes (Thiruvananthapuram -

Tripunithura Thrippunithura or Tripunithura (Malayalam:തൃപ്പൂണിത്തുറ) is a prominent historical and residential region in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. Located about 7 km (4 mi) from the city centre, Tripunithura wa ...

Road) through the eastern boundary of Vazhappally. During the rule of the Chera kings, the rulers of the state were in the Vazhappally Mahadeva temple. Many of the commands issued are examples of this (eg:-

Vazhappally copper plates Vazhappally copper plate (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 (882/83 AD) of the medieval Chera ruler of Ke ...

. Ancient Vazhappally was also an area where caste system, feudalism and untouchability were strong.

Vazhappally Inscription

Vazhappally copper plate, dated to around 830 AD, is the earliest available inscription in

Malayalam language Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

. It is a temple committee resolution in the presence of the

Chera The Chera dynasty ( or Cēra, ), also known as Keralaputra, from the early historic or the Sangam period in Tamil-speaking southern India, ruled over parts of present-day states Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Cheras, known as one of the mu-ventar ...

king of

Kodungallur Kodungallur (; formerly also called as Cranganore (anglicised name), Portuguese language, Portuguese: Cranganor; Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of Per ...

Rama "Rajasekhara" (9th century ADNoburu Karashmia (ed.), ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations.'' New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143.)Veluthat, Kesavan. “The Temple and the State in Medieval South India.” ''Studies in People’s History'', vol. 4, no. 1, June 2017, pp. 15–23.. The copper plate (incomplete) is engraved in an old form of

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

Vattezhuthu ''Vatteluttu'' (, ' and , ', ), also transliterated as ''Vattezhuthu'', was an alphasyllabic or syllabic writing system of south India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) and Sri Lanka formerly employed for writing the Tamil language, Tamil and Malayalam ...

and

Grantha script The Grantha script (; ; ) is a classical South Indian Brahmic script, found particularly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Originating from the Pallava script, the Grantha script is related to Tamil and Vatteluttu scripts. The modern Malayalam script ...

s.Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 64-66, 88-95, 107. Rajasekhara is usually identified by scholars with Cheraman Perumal Nayanar, the venerated

Shaiva Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the supreme being. It is the second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in ...

( Nayanar) poet-musician. The inscription of Vazhappally who contributed immensely to the historical writing tradition of Kerala was written by AD 830. According to historians, Raja Rajasekhara Deva ruled from 820 to 844 AD.

References

Villages in Kottayam district {{Kottayam-geo-stub