Varunakulattan (also identified as Khem Nayak or Chem Nayak) was a 17th-century

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

lord and military commander from the

Jaffna Kingdom The Jaffna Kingdom ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, si, යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1624 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came i ...

. He led a rebellion as the military commander of

Thanjavur Nayak The Thanjavur Nayak kingdom or Thanjavur Nayak dynasty were the rulers of Thanjavur in the 15th and 17th centuries. The Nayaks of the Balija social group, were originally appointed as provincial governors by the Vijayanagara Empire, Vijayanagar ...

against the Portuguese in their conquest of the Jaffna kingdom in 1619. Although the nominal king was

Cankili II Cankili II ( ta, சங்கிலி குமாரன், translit=Caṅkili Kumāraṉ; died 1619) was the last king of the Jaffna kingdom and was a usurper who came to throne with a palace massacre of the royal prince and the regent A ...

, Varunakulattan was described as the king of Karaiyars, and wield the real power in the Jaffna Peninsula.

Origin theories

Varunakulattan is known in various letters under names such as ''Varunakulattan'', ''Chem Nayak'' and "the King of '' Careas''" as pointed out by scholars such as

Chandra de Silva Professor Chandra Richard de Silva is a Sri Lankan academic, historian and author. A lecturer of history at the Old Dominion University, de Silva has written a number of books on Sri Lankan history. Early life and family After his secondary educa ...

and Rev. Gnananaparakasar. The name "Varuna Kulattan" means "he of the clan of ''Varuna''".

Varuna Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, such ...

is the sea god of the ''Neydal

Sangam landscape The Sangam landscape (Tamil: அகத்திணை "inner classification") is the name given to a poetic device that was characteristic of love poetry in classical Tamil Sangam literature. The core of the device was the categorisation of poe ...

'' and the

totem A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While ''the wo ...

of the Karaiyars (maritime martial caste).

Life

First appearance

After the death of Jaffna king

Ethirimana Cinkam Ethirimanna Cinkam ( ta, எதிர்மன்னசிங்கம்) (died 1617) was the penultimate ruler of the Aryacakravarti line of Kings of the Jaffna Kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. He came to power due to the second Portuguese expedi ...

, three men claimed the throne; ''Arasakesari'' the king's brother, ''Periya Pillai Arachchi'' a powerful

Karaiyar Karaiyar is a Sri Lankan Tamil caste found mainly on the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and globally among the Tamil diaspora. They are traditionally a seafaring community that is engaged in fishing, shipment and seaborne t ...

chief and

the nephew of the king.

killed the other two triggering a local uprising against him.

Migapulle Arachchi Migapulle Arachchi ( or ) also known as ''Chinna Migapillai'', was a feudal lord from the Jaffna Kingdom who became a rebel leader just after its Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom, annexation by the Portuguese Empire in 1619. His title ''Ara ...

, the son of Periye Pillai Arachchi, with the aid of the Portuguese, raised a revolt against Cankili II and drove him to

Kayts Kayts ( ta, ஊர்காவற்துறை, translit=Ūrkāvaṟtuṟai'','' ), is one of the important villages in Velanai Island which is a small island off the coast of the Jaffna Peninsula in northern Sri Lanka. There are number of oth ...

in August-September 1618. Cankili II sought help from

Raghunatha Nayak Raghunatha Nayak was the most powerful king of the Thanjavur Nayak Dynasty. He was the third ruler of Thanjavur, southern India, from the Nayak dynasty. He ruled from 1600 to 1634 and is noted for the attainments of Thanjavur in literature, art, ...

, the king of

. Raghunatha Nayak sent a troop of 5000 men under the command of Varunakulattan who put down the uprising.

Second appearance

The Portuguese hanged

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

and conquered the Jaffna Kingdom in 1619. Six revolts were led by

chieftains from 1620-1621. After the failure of the first revolt in March 1620, the second failed revolt was led by Migapulle Arachchi with the aid of Prince of

Rameswaram Rameswaram (; also transliterated as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is a municipality in the Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 40 kilo ...

and one thousand Thanjavur Nayak soldiers who came with 12 dhonies.{{Cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hsYLAAAAIAAJ, title=Jaffna under the Portuguese, last=Abeyasinghe, first=Tikiri, date=1986, publisher=Lake House Investments, pages=12, isbn=9789555520003, language=en

started a third revolt on 5 December 1620 with the aid of two thousand soldiers of Thanjavur Nayak kingdom under the command of Varunakulattan, again resulting in another defeat.

Third appearance

Varunakulattan led the fourth revolt. His new army landed in

Achchuveli Achchuveli is a small town in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democrati ...

and was ambushed and destroyed by Portuguese admiral ''Antao da Motta Galvao'' and his force on 11 February 1621.

References

Sri Lankan Tamil rebels Jaffna kingdom Sri Lankan rebels 17th-century Sri Lankan people Sri Lankan Tamil royalty