Perumals of Mahodayapuram (800-1102 AD)
1-Kulasekharas of Mahodaya puram is also known
as the Second Chera Empire.
2-Kulasekhara Varman / Ramarajasekharan /
Kulasekhara Alwar was the founder of Second Chera Empire.
3-The age of Kulasekharas is known as the ‘Golden
Age of Kerala.
4-The first king of this dynasty was Rajasekhara
devan.
5-Vazhappalli plate (AD-832) is the oldest plate of
6-Kulasekhara Alwar wrote Perumal Thirumozhi
in Tamil and Mukundamala in Sanskrit.
7-The Terisapalli Copper Plate of 849 AD was issued
by Ayyan Adikal Thiruvadikal of Venad for
the Kulasekhara ruler Sthanu Ravi Varman.
8-It was also known as Kottayam plates.
9-Sthanu Ravi established a planetarium at
Mahodayapuram.
10-The Arab traveller Sulaiman (851AD) visited
Kerala during the reign of Sthanu Ravi Varman.
11-The Jewish Copper plate of 1000AD (175 Kollam
Era) was issued by Bhaskara Ravi Varman I.
12-This plate granted the right to collect taxes and
the position of ‘Anchuvannam’ to the Jewish noble, Joseph Rabban.
13-Raja Raja Cholan attacked Vizhinjam and Kantalur
Sala during the period of Bhaskara Ravivarman
(AD 962-1021)
14-Kulasekhara empire began to disintegrate during
this period.
15-The famous ‘‘Hundred Years War’’ between the
Cholas and Cheras began during the reign of Bhaskara Ravi Varman I..
16-Shift from Makkathayam to Marumakkathayam
took place during this period of Hundred Years
War.
17-VeeraRaghava Pattayam (Iravikorthan Cheped)
was given to a Christian noble by Veera Ravi Varma.
This plate was discovered by Lord Macauley from Cochi.
18-Devadasi system came to be popular during the
period of Second Chera Empire.
19-Chokkur plate (Kozhikode) has the earliest historical mention of the devadasis in Kerala.
20-Koothu and Koodiyattom were two artforms developed during the period in Kerala
21-Ramavarma Kulasekhara (1090-1102) was the last
of Kulasekharas of Mahodayapuram.
22-Ramavarma Kulasekhara shifted his capital from
Mahodayapuram to Quilon and Quilon came to be
called ‘Ten Vanchi’ (Vanchi of the South)
23-The Cheraman Legend says that the last Chera Emperor (Cheraman Perumal) received Islam and went
to Arabia and met Prophet Muhammed at Jeddah.
24-The ‘‘Tuhafat-ul-Mujahidin’ of Sheik Zainuddin
refers about the Cheraman legend.
25-‘Munnuttuvar’ and ‘Arunnuttuvar’ were local assemblies to look after the administration.
26-Manigramam, Anchuvannam and ‘Valanchiur’
were famous merchant’s guilds of the period.
27-Sankaracharya founded four mutts in four corners
of India; Badrinath in the North (Jyotir Mutt) Puri
in the east (Govardhan) Dwaraka in the West
(Sarada Mutt) and Sringeri in the south.
28-Malayalam became an independent language,
freed from Tamil during the period of the
Kulasekharas (9th Century AD).
PERUMAL’S LITERATURE
1-Aattaprakarm & Kramadeepika ....Tholan.
2-Yudhishtira vijayam, Thripuradahanam .....Vasudeva Bhattathiri
3-Subhadra Dhananjayam, Vichinnabhishekam ...... Kulsekhara Varma
4-Sankara narayaneeyam, Gauri Kathodayam........Sankaranarayanan
5-Sivananda lahari, Saundarya lahari ....Sankaracharyar.
Cheraman Perumal 'embraced' Islam, not 'received' Islam. Please correct.
ReplyDeleteSecond Chera empire theory is not accepted by many historians. PK Balakrishnan vehemently opposed it. Any thoughts/discussions on the same?
ReplyDeleteThe origin of the Kolathiris is shrouded in obscurity. In the Sangam Age the Kolathunad area was ruled by a dynasty of kings with their capital at Mount Eli or Ezhimala. It is claimed that, according to the Tirunelli inscriptions of Bhaskar Ravi Varma, the Wayanad – Tellicherry area of North Malabar was under the Kulasekharas. It is also claimed that in the 14th century the old Mushaka country was known as Kolathunad and a new line of rulers called the Kolathiris (the English called them Colastri) came to power. But the traditional accounts preserved in the Kerala Mahatmyam and the Keralolpatti (ancient Malayalam works) connect the Kolathiris with the Parasurama and the Cheraman Perumals (ancient kings of Kerala). But this view has no historical basis. The general belief among historians is that the Kolathiris were the descendants of the old Mushaka kings. Keralolpathi mentions this dynasty as a direct line of the Cheras tracing its origin to Cheraman Perumal. Like Elayeduthuswarupam, Kolathiri kingdom was also known as Kolaswarupam. Some writers imagine that the Kolathiri dynasty came into existence in the power vacuum caused by the evaporation of the Kulasekharas or Perumal rulers of Mahodayapuram by. Any reference to Perumals is mere mythology and there are weaknesses or errors in our understanding of traditional Kerala chronology and it is good to leave our minds open to accept alternative to traditional chronology which has become a subject of conflicting interpretations by historians. According to other legends, Parasurama is said to have appointed Ramaghata Mushika as the first king of Mushika dynasty. Unlike many legends whose origins have been lost in the mists of time, we know exactly when and where the story of Parasurama first appeared. This story to boost Brahmin tradition is taken from a 18th-century compilation, the Kerlolpatti, and this legendary saga produced after several centuries may not give the actual political and historical conditions of that period. Due to the sparsity of sources throughout the ancient and medieval period of Kerala, the history of the mythological Perumals down to the end of the rule of Rama Kulasekhara (1102 or 1124) is a "floating chronology". In other words, it fits together internally as a "relative chronology" but not as an "absolute chronology". Chronological factors in ancient Kerala, therefore, should not be expected to conform exactly to modern systems whereby all events are mathematically dated in relation to one fixed point in the past, such as the start of the Common Era. So the in-depth research on inscriptions and epigraphy made by Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai and M.G.S. Narayanan to reconstruct the long period from the genesis of the Chera kingdom may not be ‘absolute chronology’. The belief that the Perumals (Kshatryas from over the mountains) chosen for a period of twelve years was a figment of imagination of the compliers of Keralolpatti, although some current Kerala historians give credence to this myth while computing the ruling period of Chera rulers. This narrative by the authors of Keralolpatti was a fabrication to establish a primal Brahmin claim to the land of Kerala. The fallacy of this traditon can be proved from the fact that none of the Kerala kings surrendered their kingship after tweleve years rule during the historical period which begins with the coming of the Portuguese chroniclers. As a matter of fact they were zealous to remain in power and for this purpose they even sought the help of colonial powers. The earliest references to the Kingdom of the Kolathiris in the modern period are found in the Travels of Marco Polo
ReplyDeleteThe origin of the Kolathiris is shrouded in obscurity. In the Sangam Age the Kolathunad area was ruled by a dynasty of kings with their capital at Mount Eli or Ezhimala. It is claimed that, according to the Tirunelli inscriptions of Bhaskar Ravi Varma, the Wayanad – Tellicherry area of North Malabar was under the Kulasekharas. It is also claimed that in the 14th century the old Mushaka country was known as Kolathunad and a new line of rulers called the Kolathiris (the English called them Colastri) came to power. But the traditional accounts preserved in the Kerala Mahatmyam and the Keralolpatti (ancient Malayalam works) connect the Kolathiris with the Parasurama and the Cheraman Perumals (ancient kings of Kerala). But this view has no historical basis. The general belief among historians is that the Kolathiris were the descendants of the old Mushaka kings. Keralolpathi mentions this dynasty as a direct line of the Cheras tracing its origin to Cheraman Perumal. Like Elayeduthuswarupam, Kolathiri kingdom was also known as Kolaswarupam. Some writers imagine that the Kolathiri dynasty came into existence in the power vacuum caused by the evaporation of the Kulasekharas or Perumal rulers of Mahodayapuram . Any reference to Perumals is mere mythology and there are weaknesses or errors in our understanding of traditional Kerala chronology and it is good to leave our minds open to accept alternative to traditional chronology which has become a subject of conflicting interpretations by historians. According to other legends, Parasurama is said to have appointed Ramaghata Mushika as the first king of Mushika dynasty. Unlike many legends whose origins have been lost in the mists of time, we know exactly when and where the story of Parasurama first appeared. This story to boost Brahmin tradition is taken from a 18th-century compilation, the Kerlolpatti, and this legendary saga produced after several centuries may not give the actual political and historical conditions of that period. Due to the sparsity of sources throughout the ancient and medieval period of Kerala, the history of the mythological Perumals down to the end of the rule of Rama Kulasekhara (1102 or 1124) is a "floating chronology". In other words, it fits together internally as a "relative chronology" but not as an "absolute chronology". Chronological factors in ancient Kerala, therefore, should not be expected to conform exactly to modern systems whereby all events are mathematically dated in relation to one fixed point in the past, such as the start of the Common Era. So the in-depth research on inscriptions and epigraphy made by Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai and M.G.S. Narayanan to reconstruct the long period from the genesis of the Chera kingdom may not be ‘absolute chronology’. The belief that the Perumals (Kshatryas from over the mountains) chosen for a period of twelve years was a figment of imagination of the compliers of Keralolpatti, although some current Kerala historians give credence to this myth while computing the ruling period of Chera rulers. This narrative by the authors of Keralolpatti was a fabrication to establish a primal Brahmin claim to the land of Kerala. The fallacy of this traditon can be proved from the fact that none of the Kerala kings surrendered their kingship after tweleve years rule during the historical period which begins with the coming of the Portuguese chroniclers. As a matter of fact they were zealous to remain in power and for this purpose they even sought the help of colonial powers. The earliest references to the Kingdom of the Kolathiris in the modern period are found in the Travels of Marco Polo
ReplyDeleteGood knowledges
ReplyDeleteYes. Baalakrishnan and Shreedharamenon say there was no Perusal rule in Kerala. There may be some local rulers named Perumal not en emperor of whole Kerala.
ReplyDelete