Rulers of the Chera dynasty

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The Rulers of the Chera dynasty or Rulers of the Chera Perumals were the kings of Chera dynasty of Kerala. [1] The first Chera Perumal was "brought" from a country east of the Ghats to Kerala by Nambudiri Brahmins.

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The Chera Perumals of the legend are generally associated with the establishment the Kollam Era (Malayalam Era), inauguration of the Onam festival, introduction of the matrilineal system of inheritance in Kerala, settlement of different castes in Kerala, and foundation several temples, churches and mosques in Kerala. [1]

Sources of the Chera Permuals

The validity of the legend as a source of history once generated much debate among south Indian historians. The legend is now considered as "an expression of the historical consciousness rather than as a source of history". [2] The legend of the Cheraman Perumals exercised significant political influence in Kerala over the centuries. The legend was used by Kerala chiefdoms for the legitimation of their rule (most of the major chiefly houses in medieval Kerala traced its origin back to the legendary allocation by the Perumal). [3] [4]

Popular written versions of the legend are infamous for inconsistencies and contradictions (in names of the kings and dates). [1] Even the dates of their compositions are problematic. The Cheraman Perumals mentioned in the legend can be identified with the Chera Perumal rulers of medieval Kerala (c. 8th - 12th century AD). [5]

The ghost of the [Chera] Perumal haunted the land [of Kerala] in many ways...Each of the large number of principalities that came into existence on the ruins of the Chera Perumal kingdom claimed to be not only a splinter of the old kingdom but also deriving its authority from the donation of the last Cheraman Perumal...Many of these rulers also claimed to step into the shoes of the Perumal in claiming to be the overlord of Kerala. Thus the ruler of Venad or the Zamorin or the raja of Cochin staked this claim in various ways... [6]

Sister of the first Chera Perumal was married to a Brahmin and it was decided that the son/daughter would be a Kshatriya. The Brahmins arranged that each Perumal should rule for twelve years. [7] [8]

List of Chera Perumals

The following is a list of Cheraman Perumals found in the tradition. [9] According to K. V. Krishna Ayyar, the list [9] goes as follows:

Cheraman PerumalOriginal home of the PerumalDate (AD)Residence
Keya/Kerala Perumal [8] Keya/Keralapuram [8] 216-225 Kodungallur
Choya/Chola Perumal [8] Choya/Chola Mandalam [8] 225-236Kodungallur
Pandi Perumal [10] Pandi Mandalam [10] 236-245Kodungallur
Bhutarayar Pandi Perumal [10] N/A245-257Kodungallur
Keralan [10] Choya Mandalam [10] 257-269Trikkata Matilaka [10]
Pandyan or Chennar [10] Pandya country [10] 269-281N/A
Choyiyan [10] Choya country [10] 281-293N/A
Bana Perumal [11] Banapuram [11] 293-297 Kodungallur
Tulubhan Perumal [12] Northern country [12] 297-303Kotiswaram [12]
Indra Perumal [12] N/A303-315 Kodungallur
Arya Perumal [12] Aryapuram [12] 315-327N/A
Kannan Perumal [13] Eastern country [13] 327-339Kuntivaka [13]
Kotti Perumal [13] N/A339-340Kottikkollam [13]
Mata Perumal [13] 340-352N/A
Eli Perumal [13] 352-364Matayiel
Komban Perumal [13] 364-368N/A
Vijayan Perumal [13] 368-80Vijayankollam
Valabhan Perumal [13] 380-391Valarbhattukotta
Harischandra Perumal [13] 391-403Purali
Mallan Perumal [13] 403-412Nallurmallan
Kulasekhara Perumal [13] 412-430N/A

Corrected by M. G. S. Narayanan (1972) from E. P. N. Kunjan Pillai (1963), [14] [15] taking recent corrections (2014 and 2020) on Narayanan into account, [16] [17] the list is as follows:

Lists of Chera Perumals
Chera PerumalRegnal years (tentative)

[16] [17]

Notes
Sthanu Ravi Kulasekhara 844–870 [16]
Rama Rajasekhara 870–883 [16]
Vijayaraga 883–895 [16]
  • Married the daughter of king Kulasekhara. [22]
  • Married off his two daughters to Chola king Parantaka. [23] [24]
Goda Goda895—905 [16] [25]
Kerala Kesari
  • Probably identical with king Goda Goda (above) [25]
Goda Ravi 905–943 [16] [25]
Indu/Indesvaran Goda943–962 [26]
Bhaskara Ravi Manukuladitya962–1021 [17] [27]

(or)

959–1025 [16]

Ravi Goda [28] 1021—1089 [29] [30] [28]
Rajasimha [28] [a]
  • Contemporary to Chola king Rajendra [28]
  • Contemporary to Chola viceroy Jatavarman Sundara Chola-Pandya [28]
  • Probably identical with king Ravi Goda (above) [28]
Raja Raja [30]
  • Contemporary to Chola viceroy Jatavarman Sundara Chola-Pandya. [30]
  • Contemporary to Chola viceroy Maravarman Chola-Pandya. [30]
Ravi Rama [29]
Adityan Kota Ranaditya [29]
Rama Kulasekhara 1089—1122 [33]

Last Chera Perumal

Rayar, the overlord of the Chera Perumal (Kulasekharan) in a country east of the Ghats, invaded Kerala during the rule of the last Perumal.[ clarification needed ] To drive back the invading forces the Perumal summoned the militia of his chieftains (like Udaya Varman Kolathiri and Manichchan and Vikkiran of Eranad). The Chera Perumal was assured by the Eradis that they would take a fort established by the Rayar. [7] The battle lasted for three days and the Rayar eventually evacuated his fort (and it was seized by the Perumal's troops). [7]

The last Chera Perumal divided the Kerala or Chera kingdom among his chieftains (kingsfolk) and disappeared mysteriously. The Kerala people never more heard any tidings of him. [3] [4] The Eradis, or the later kings of Calicut, who were left out in the cold during the allocation of the land, was granted the Chera Perumal's sword (with the permission to "die, and kill, and seize"). [4] [7]

King Thajuddin

According to the Cheraman Juma Mosque the king converted to Islam after witnessing a strange event that Hindu astronomers had not predicted. [35] [36] [37] Modern writers claim that, Al-Tabari of the 9th century in his Firdousul Hikma [ volume & issue needed ][ page needed ] and Ferishta in his Tarikh Ferishta [ volume & issue needed ][ page needed ] agree with this. [38] [39] Sebastian R. Prange maintains that historical research has found this story to be fictitious. [40] With the oldest and most complete version of the tale, only dated at earliest to the mid 12th century for the composition. [41]

S. N. Sadasivan, in his book A Social History of India, argues that it was the king of Maldives, Kalimanja, who converted to Islam. Mali, which was known to seafarers then, might have been misunderstood as Malabar (Kerala) and this might have given rise to the tale of Tajuddeen in the Cochin Gazetteer. [42]

Notes

  1. ↑ Both Rajasimha and Raja Raja, from the Pandya inscriptions at Ambasamudram, were categorically identified as Chera Perumals by M. G. S. Narayanan (1972). [31] This was confirmed in a recent book edited by Kesavan Veluthat (2014). [17] The claim is disputed by Daud Ali (2007). [32]

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References

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  2. ↑ Kesavan Veluthat, ‘The Keralolpatti as History’, in The Early Medieval in South India, New Delhi, 2009, pp. 129–46.
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