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The charter has two sections, one in Sanskrit, one in Tamil. The Sanskrit section (5 plates) deals with the genealogy of the Chola dynasty, starting with a praise of Vishnu and the names of mythical divine (solar) ancestors. The Tamil section deals with the reign of king Rājarāja I (r. 985-1012 AD), the father of Rājendra Chola I. The inscription says that king Rājarāja I in the 21st year of his reign declared that the entire revenue of a village and its land was to be donated in order to build a Buddhist shrine (vihara). The shrine was build by the Malay king of Sriwijaya in Nagapattinam, a port town on the Coromandel coast.
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Provenance: Donated in 1862 by the successors to the estate of professor Hendrik Arent Hamaker (1789-1835). This charter and another one (Or. 1688) were brought from India by Mr Florentius Camper (1675-1748), minister of faith in Batavia in 1703-1712. By inheritance both charters (Or. 1687, Or. 1688) came into possession of his great-granddaughter Johanna Camper (1797-1835) who was married to H.A. Hamaker.
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