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''Irreverent History: Essays for M.G.S. Narayanan''
','' Primus Books, New Delhi, 2014.
The Chera Perumals of Makotai claimed that they were descended from the Cheras who flourished in pre-
Chera Perumals of Makotai, also known as the Perumal dynasty of KeralaThapar, Romila'', The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300.'' Penguin Books, 2002. 331-32., or Cheraman Perumal dynasty of MahodayapuramNoburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143-44., (''fl.'' ''c.'' 9th–12th century CE) were a ruling dynasty in present-day
hegemony".
According to the third model, the power of the Perumal was restricted to the capital Makotai (Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
, south India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
.Thapar, Romila'', The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300.'' Penguin Books, 2002. 326-27. Makotai, or Mahodayapuram, the seat of the Cheraman Perumals, is identified with present-day Karur
Karur () is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Karur is the administrative headquarters of Karur district. It is located on the banks of River Amaravathi, Kaveri and Noyyal.
Karur is well known for the export of Home Textile products to ...
in central Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations.'' New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143-44.Veluthat, Kesavan. 2004. 'Mahodayapuram-Kodungallur', in ''South-Indian Horizons'', eds Jean-Luc Chevillard, Eva Wilden, and A. Murugaiyan, pp. 471–85. École Française D'Extrême-Orient. Initially, their influence appeared limited to the area between present-day Quilon
Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...
and Quilandy
A Survey of Kerala History, A. Shreedhara Menon ar, Fundriya pt, Pandarani
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, but later extended to up to Chandragiri river
The Chandragiri River also known as Perumpuzha River is the longest river in Kasaragod district, Kerala, India. It was named after the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya.
The 17th century Chandragiri Fort is located on the river.
Perumpuzha r ...
in north Kerala and to Nagercoil
Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on an ...
in the south.
The medieval Cheras claimed that they were descended from the Cheras who flourished in pre-Pallava
The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as fe ...
(early historic) south India.Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 89-90 and 92-93. The exact relationship between the medieval Chera rulers of present-day Kerala and that of western Tamil country is not known to scholars.Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 80-81. The Chera Perumals are often described as the members of Surya Vamsa (the Solar Race).
The Chera Perumal kingdom derived most of its wealth from maritime trade relations (the spice trade) with the Middle East.Thapar, Romila'', The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300.'' Penguin Books, 2002. 364-65. The port of Kollam
Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...
, in the kingdom, was a major point in overseas India trade to the West and the East Asia. Periyar Valley. The Cheraman Perumals are known for employing a single script (Vattezhuthu with Grantha characters) and language (early form of Malayalam) in all of their records in Kerala.
Historiography
* An earlier version of conventional Kerala historiography had believed that the "Second/Later Chera Empire", or "Kulasekhara Empire" was a highly centralized monarchy (unitary or imperial state model, emphasising centralised administration).Veluthat, Kesavan. "History and Historiography in Constituting a Region: The Case of Kerala." ''Studies in People's History'', vol. 5, no. 1, June 2018, pp. 13–31.Ganesh, K. N. (2009). ''Historical Geography of Natu in South India with Special Reference to Kerala.'' Indian Historical Review, 36(1), 3–21. Modern scholars have accused early Kerala historians of inventing a "Second Chera Empire" to rival the glories of the imperialCholas
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...
.Freeman, Rich (2003), 'Genre and Society', in ''Literary Cultures in History'', ed., Sheldon Pollock. Berkeleyand Los Angeles: University of California Press. 444-445.
* However, critical research in the late 1960s and early 1970s offered a major corrective to this (a monarchy supported by a Brahmin oligarchy).Veluthat, Kesavan. "History and Historiography in Constituting a Region: The Case of Kerala." ''Studies in People's History'', vol. 5, no. 1, June 2018, pp. 13–31. The theories of a Chera "empire", propounded by the early writers, were rejected. It was also discovered that the Chera kings did not bear the specific abhisekanama "Kulasekhara". Some recent scholarship also proposes a gradual transition from 'a monarchy' to a 'ritual monarchy'. They question the general inclination to treat the three centuries of Chera Perumal rule as a "single historical block".
*Suggestions pointing to the other extreme, that the king at Kodungallur had only a "ritual sovereignty" and the actual political power rested with "a bold and visible Brahmin oligarchy" has also emerged.Narayanan, M. G. S. 2002. 'The State in the Era of the Ceraman Perumals of Kerala', in ''State and Society in Premodern South India'', eds R. Champakalakshmi, Kesavan Veluthat, and T. R. Venugopalan, pp. 111–119. Thrissur, CosmoBooks. It describes "a fragmented array of local chiefdoms ... held in check by a loose Tamil language">Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...Kodungallur
Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...
).Noburu Karashmia (ed.), ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations.'' New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143-44. His kingship was only ritual and remained nominal compared with the power that local chieftains (the udaiyavar) exercised politically and militarily. Brahmins also possessed huge authority in religious and social subjects ('ritual sovereignty combined with a bold and visible Brahmin oligarchy').
Index to Chera inscriptions
An index of most of the so-called Chera Perumal inscriptions can be found in 'Perumals of Kerala' (1972) by M. G. S. Narayanan. This general catalogue lists records discovered till 1972 (some of the recently discovered inscriptions remain unreported and undeciphered).'Changes in Land Relations during the Decline of the Cera State,' In Kesavan Veluthat and Donald R. Davis Jr. (eds)''Irreverent History: Essays for M.G.S. Narayanan''
','' Primus Books, New Delhi, 2014.
History
The Chera Perumals of Makotai claimed that they were descended from the Cheras who flourished in pre-Pallava
The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as fe ...
(early historic) south India.Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 89-90 and 92-93. There are clear indications as to how different branches of the Chera family managed different centres of power in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the early Tamil poems.
The Chera/Perumal dynasty introduced rule through kingship in Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
(a departure from the early historic system of clan-based societies). It is speculated that there was little economic pressure on the Kerala rulers for territorial conquest, the region being naturally rich and obtaining income from the trade with the Middle East.Thapar, Romila'', The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300.'' Penguin Books, 2002. 368-69. The Perumal kingdom had alternating friendly or hostile relations with the Cholas
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...
and the Pandyas. The kingdom was attacked, and eventually forced into submission, by the Cholas in the early 11th century CE (in order to break the monopoly of trade with the Middle East).
The Perumal kingship remained nominal compared with the power that local chieftains, the so-called "nattu-udaiyavar" or "nadu-vazhumavar", exercised politically and militarily. Chiefdoms under Chera Perumal rule, known as "", are roughly comparable to the "rashtra" under the Rashtrakutas
Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their ...
and "padi" under the Cholas
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...
. These chieftains wielded militaristic authority over their country (even over the Brahmin temples and settlements in the nadu). The udaiyavar chieftains were liable to serve the Chera Perumal in battles (against invading Pandyas and Cholas) and the chiefdoms functioned as revenue collection units for the Chera kingdom. The Chera Perumal only held direct authority over the country that extended from Palakkad to Vembanad Lake, including the port of Kodungallur
Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...
. Koyil Adhikarikal/Al Koyil, the Chera royal present in a chiefdom, collected regular dues (the and ) from the chiefdoms for the Perumal at Kodungallur.
Bhakti saints Cheraman Perumal Nayanar
Cheraman Perumal Nayanar (literally meaning Chera king the Nayanar) was a bhakti poet-musician and religious teacher (one of the sixty-three nayanars) of Tamil Shaiva tradition in medieval south India. The Cheraman Perumal's friendship with Chun ...
and Kulasekhara Alvar
Kulasekhara (Tamil: ''குலசேகரர்'') (''fl.'' 9th century CE), one of the twelve Vaishnavite alvars, was a bhakti theologian and devotional poet from medieval south India (Kerala). He was the author of Perumal Tirumoli in Tamil ...
are generally identified as Perumal kings of Kerala. Shankaracharya
Shankaracharya ( sa, शङ्कराचार्य, , "Adi Shankara, Shankara-''acharya''") is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The title derives from Adi ...
, founder of the Vedanta advaita, is also traced to 8th century Kerala. Copper-plate charters of the Perumals show grants to Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
merchants of West Asia. The West Asian Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
had also established themselves as traders in the kingdom. Merchant guilds such as manigramam, and anjuvannam were active in the Perumal kingdom.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations.'' New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 136-37. The origin of the Malayalam language
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
is also dated to the Chera Perumal period in Kerala. Temple architecture style known as " Kerala-Dravida" can be seen from the 11th century CE.
In the 12th century, the Perumal kingdom was dissolved into several local powers. The Perumal dynasty was succeeded in south Kerala (Venad
Venad was a medieval kingdom lying between the Western Ghat mountains and the Arabian Sea on the south-western tip of India with its headquarters at the port city of Kollam/Quilon.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Is ...
) by the Kulasekhara dynasty (whose kings were also known as the CherasThapar, Romila'', The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300.'' Penguin Books, 2002. 368.). In other parts of Kerala, chieftains of Kolathunad, Kozhikode
Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...
and Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
succeeded the Perumals.
Organs of the Perumal state
Koyil Adhikarikal or Ala Koyil was the Chera royal appointed to a chiefdom. This prince collected regular dues (the and ) from the chiefdoms for the Chera Perumal. The managers of the four Nambudiri-Brahmin temples around Kodungallur, known as the Nalu Thali, acted as Chera Perumal's permanent council or ministers.Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 161-63. The Thousand or the Ayiram were the personalNair
The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom histor ...
protection guards of the Chera Perumal king (related to the Kodungallur Bhagavathi Temple). They functioned as the 'companions of honour' of the Perumal. Padai-nayakar or Padai-nair was the commander of the armed forces of the kingdom or a chiefdom. The Hundred or the was the military organisation of each chiefdom (this body had no defined limits of territorial jurisdiction). The Hundred multiple generally indicated the number of households in the nadu that could join the militia. The Shadow or the were the personal protection guards of the udaiyavar. They functioned as the 'companions of honour' of the udaiyavar. Prakrithi was a body of non-Brahmin or Vellala notables assisting the udaiyavar. The Adhikarar were the temple or royal servants involved in management and collection of dues or a local arbitrator.
Major chieftaincies
Through the analysis of the medieval Kerala inscriptions relating to the Chera Perumal period, scholars have substantiated the existence of several chieftaincies. From north to south, they are as follows: Kolla-desam (or) Kolathu-nadu (proposed nameNarayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 118-119.), Purakizha-nadu, Kurumporai-nadu, Erala-nadu, Valluva-nadu, Kizhmalai-nadu (the Eastern Hill Country), Vempala-nadu, Munji-nadu, Nanruzhai-nadu andVenad
Venad was a medieval kingdom lying between the Western Ghat mountains and the Arabian Sea on the south-western tip of India with its headquarters at the port city of Kollam/Quilon.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Is ...
u or Kupaka (Kollam).Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 234-36.
Kolathu-nadu came under the influence of the Perumals during the 11th century and Venad
Venad was a medieval kingdom lying between the Western Ghat mountains and the Arabian Sea on the south-western tip of India with its headquarters at the port city of Kollam/Quilon.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Is ...
u was probably formed under the influence of the Perumals during the early 9th century. The Perumal held direct authority over the country that extended from Palakkad
Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...
to Vembanad Lake
Vembanad is the longest lake in India, as well as the largest lake in the state of Kerala. The lake has an area of 230 square kilometers and a maximum length of 96.5 km. Spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Ve ...
(including Kodungallur
Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...
in the Periyar Valley). Within this country, the were present as militaristic/revenue units (with members of martial families serving the Perumal king appointed as the Udayaivar).
Chera Perumal genealogy
Abhisekanama
An earlier version of conventional Kerala historiography had believed that the kings of the "Second/Later Chera Empire", or "Kulasekhara Empire" borne the specific abhisekanama "Kulasekhara" (hence "Kulasekhara dynasty"). However, critical research in the late 1960s and early 1970s offered a major corrective to this. The theories of a Chera "empire", propounded by the early writers, were rejected. It was also discovered that the Chera Permal kings did not bear the specific abhisekanama "Kulasekhara".Chera Perumal genealogy
Corrected by M. G. S. Narayanan (1972) from E. P. N. Kunjan Pillai (1963)Pillai Elamkulam, P. N. Kunhan. ''Cila Keralacaritra Prasnangal'', (Kottayam, 1955 Second Ed. 1963), pp. 152-4. Recent corrections (2014 and 2020) on Narayanan are also employed.Chera Perumal epigraphic records
See also
*Jewish copper plates of Cochin
Jewish copper plates of Cochin (Malayalam: ജൂതശാസനം), also known as Cochin plates of Bhaskara Ravi-varman, is a royal charter issued by the Chera Perumal king of Kerala, south India to Joseph Rabban, a Jewish merchant magnate of K ...
(early 11th century CE)
* Quilon Syrian copper plates
Kollam/Quilon Syrian copper plates, also known as Kollam Tarisappalli copper plates, or Kottayam inscription of Sthanu Ravi, or Tabula Quilonensis record a royal grant issued by the chieftain of Kollam (Ayyan Adikal) to a Syrian Christian merc ...
(9th century CE)
References