Page:A Descriptive Catalogue of the Oriental Manuscripts, Vol. 2.djvu/81

 ' ¥ Malay alam Books, Kerala Utfqtti. Palm leaves. A general account of the province of Kerala of. Malabar, giving a description of its origin, and a summary history from the time of Para su Rama by whom, it is supposed, the province was obtained from the sea, to the reign of the Cheruman Perumal who adopted the Mohammedan religion. The greater part of the work is however a statistical description of the divisions of the province, and the institutes that prevail amongst the Nairs. The composition is as- cribed to Sankara achdrya. and the original of sonfe portion of it may have been his work, but a great part is of a much more recent period aa it notices* evett the coming of the Portuguese. Some use was made of the Kerala Ufpatti by Mr. Duncan in his account of Malabar (Asiatic Researches voh V article 1) although he speaks of it as not a little confused and incoherent. Amongst Col. Mackenzie's papers are two incomplete translations of it, from which it would seem probable that copies vary considerably, the ■?