Kurumathur inscription (9th century AD) is a royal inscription by the Perumal [ruler] Rama Rajasekhara, the founder of the Chera Perumal dynasty in Kerala. The three-stanza eulogy [prasasthi], engraved on a granite slab in Pallava Grantha script, was unearthed during a renovation of the Kurumathur Vishnu temple, near Areekode [ Malappuram ] in February, 2011. The text is composed in Sardula Vikridita metre in Sanskrit.
Epigraphist MR Raghava Varier, who deciphered the text, said the epigraph provided the first objective and direct proof to establish the date [9th century] and rule of Perumal Rama Rajasekhara. The inscription is noted for giving the name of Rajasekhara in full. It validates the inferences made by historian MGS Narayanan about the name of the first Chera ruler. Narayanan, after referring various supplementary records, had inferred that Rajasekhara's first name was Rama.
According to Dr. Varier, the inscription gives May 24, AD 871, as an exact regnal date of Rajasekhara in the form of a kali dina chronogram. “You will get this exact regnal date if you decipher the chronogram with the help of Swamikannu Pillai's ephemeral calculator,” said Dr. Varier. Professor MGS Narayanan told The Hindu daily that he concurred with the decipherment, but felt the dating of the inscription [871 AD] needed further investigation.