Naralokaviran, also known as Kalinga Rayan, was a general in the

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, 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 ...

army during the reign of

Kulottunga I Kulottunga I (;1025 CE - 1122 CE) also spelt Kulothunga (), was a Chola Emperor who reigned from 1070 CE to 1122 CE succeeding his cousin Athirajendra Chola. He also served as the Eastern Chalukya king from 1061 CE to 1118 CE, succeeding his ...

(1070 – 1120) and his successor

Vikrama Chola Vikrama Chola, known as Kō Parakēsari Varman, was a 12th-century ruler (''r. c''. 1118–1135 CE''The Cōḷas.'' 62-63.) of the Chola Empire in southern India. He succeeded his father Kulothunga I (''r. c.'' 1070–1120 CE) to the throne.''The ...

(1118 – 1135). He was the headman of Arumbakkam and a resident of Manavil in Manavil Nadu in Tondai Mandalam. He maintained a large fief at Manavil. Naralokaviran led many Chola campaigns in the deep south and distinguished himself in the Pandya Wars. He had many titles like Madurantaka Ponnambala-koothar, Sabharnataka, Kalinga Rayan, Porkoyil-Tondaiman, Koothan, Tondaiyarkon, the Lion of Kalinga. Naralokaviran is also known for subduing the rebelling

Chera Perumal 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 ...

king of

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 ...

for his Chola overlord. The port of

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 ...

was recovered by the Pandya-Chola forces in c. 1097 AD.Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 125-28. However, the Chera Perumals were able to recover

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

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 ...

region around 1100/02 AD (and thus fixing the southern limit of the country at Kottar). This losses were later (c. 1102 - c. 1118) recovered by Jatavarman Parakrama Pandya for

Family

A son of the general called Surainayakan alias Madhavarayan is known to us from inscriptions. He too served as an officer under

Religious contributions

Naralokaviran is known for a number of benefactions to Nataraja Temple in

Chidambaram Chidambaram is a town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to be of si ...

. He was responsible for the construction of two large temple gateways and for the expansion of the goddess shrine within the temple complex. He took interest in festivals and made contributions for the provision of lamps on the processional routes, watering the streets during the festivals, a bull vehicle for the deity to ride during the Bhikshatana procession and a bugle inlaid with gold to herald the arrival of god Siva. During the reign of Vikrama Chola, Naralokaviran built the hundred-pillar hall and named it after his overlord.

Inscriptions

Naralokaviran figures in many inscriptions of

(1070 – 1120) and his successor

(1118 – 1135) * Earliest reference: An inscription dated to of the 28th regnal year of Kulottunga I (1098 AD) (begins with ''Pugal madu'') from Neyvanai in South Arcot district states that some lands were renamed as Sungamtavirtta-sola-nallur (after the king) and were donated to Porkudangudutta-aruliyadeva at Tirunelvennai upon request by the general. * Naralokaviran continued to serve Kulottunga's successor

(1118 – 1135) as well. He figures in an inscription of the 4th regnal year of Vikrama Chola (begins with ''Pumadu Punara'') from Tiruvarur that states that he bought some lands from the sabha of Tirunallur for providing garlands of red lilies to the Sri-mulasthanam udaiyar (god) of Tiruvarur. * Latest reference: Another inscription of the 6th regnal year of Vikrama Chola (begins with ''Pumadu Punara'') from Tribhuvani (Pondicherry) states that the general set up some land for a temple site, a hall and a flower garden and dedicated it to Arulakara-Iswaram udaiyar for the prosperity of the king and the village. He is the subject of a bi-lingual metrical composition in Sanskrit and Tamil, an excerpt as follows:

References

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Family

Religious contributions

Inscriptions

References

See also