Colin Mackenzie at Kumbakonam 1817

     Col.Colin Mackenzie a Scottish army officer of the East  India  Company  surveyed South India collecting important inscriptions,  palm leaf manuscripts on History and Religion  He was a great  orientalist.  He had his Indian assistants  one of whom was Babu Rao  a Mahratta  translator. In one of his visits he happen to visit  Kanchi Sankara Mutt at Kumbakonam  on 10th April 1817 which was their at that time in Kumbakonam . The pontiff was Chandrasekharendra Saraswati VI(1813-1851).  A first hand account of his visit on that day as recorded by him.

"  I visited the  Chief  priest of Sankar  Achari expending  four rupees on fruit to introduce myself  and requested  him to give  me a copy of  copper  inscriptions  he had in his  Mattham  but some of the  Karyesthalu  (Managers) of the Mattham directly denied that there were any inscriptions on copper plates being  afraid of losing their original  documents  which they had saved through many years  from the  destruction of  different wars. I encouraged them assuring them that I would  take no originals only wanted a copy. They answered  that if  I assure them that only  a copy was to be taken   and that I would  give them  a recommendation  to  my master regarding their  discontinued  Jagir and obtain their restoration of any of the  discontinued villages,  that  he would  get me a particular  account of Cholen,  Cheran and  Pandian  together  with  that of the  Raja of Bijaynagar . I accordingly  gave them  a recommandatory  letter; then confiding in my assertion  that I had come  only to  copy  inscriptions  and collect  historical information  he was much  pleased  and promised to get me a particular  account of the  Rajas  that had ruled from the commencement of  Kaliyugam he took me into his Agraharam and showed   me about  125 Copper Sasanams  each contained in five or six plates. He gave me a copy of two and gave me  leave promising to  get a particular  account of the Chola  Rajas  together with several coins if I recommend him to my Master at Madras and got  any assistance to get  recover their  discontinued villages".

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