Perumals Of Makotai

Cheraman Perumal dynasty, also known as the Perumal dynasty of Kerala, or the Chera Perumals of Makotai or MahodayapuramNoburu Karashima (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 145-47. (''fl.'' c. 844 — c. 1124 CE), was a ruling dynasty in present-day Kerala, south India.Thapar, Romila'', The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300.'' Penguin Books, 2002. 326-27. Mahodayapuram, or Makotai — the capital of the Cheraman Perumals — is identified with present-day Kodungallur in central Kerala.Noburu Karashima (ed.), ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations.'' New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 145-47.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 appears to have been limited to the area between present-day Quilon and Quilandy, but it later extended up to the Chandragiri river in northern Kerala and to Nagercoil in the south.

The medieval Cheras claimed descent from the early historic Cheras who flourished in pre-Pallava south India.Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 1972 013 89-90 and 92-93. Present-day central Kerala probably detached from larger Kongu Chera or Kerala kingdom around 8th-9th century CE to form the Chera Perumal kingdom.Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 1972 013 89-90 and 92-93. The exact relationship between the different collateral branches of the Chera family remains unclear to scholars.Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 1972 013 80-81. The Chera Perumals are often described as members of the Surya Vamsa (the Solar Race).

The Chera Perumal kingdom derived most of its revenue from maritime trade (the Indian Ocean spice trade) with the Middle East.Thapar, Romila, ''The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300.'' Penguin Books, (2003) 002 364-65. The port of Kollam, located within the kingdom, was a major point in overseas India trade to the West and the Southeast Asia. Nambudiri-Brahmin settlements of agriculturally rich areas (the fertile wetlands) were another major source of support for the Chera state. The Cheraman Perumals are known for primarily employing a single script (Vattezhuthu) and language (an early form of Malayalam) in all of their records in Kerala. It is speculated that the transformation of land relations, among other factors, played a crucial role in the collapse of the Chera state in the early twelfth century.

Historiography

An earlier version of conventional Kerala historiography held the belief that the medieval Chera state in Kerala was a highly centralized imperial monarchy (following a "unitary or imperial state model", emphasizing centralized 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. The state was also erroneously referred to as the "Second/Later Chera Empire" or the "Kulasekhara Empire".

However, critical research in the late 1960s and early 1970s offered a major corrective to these views Accusing early Kerala historians of inventing a "Second Chera Empire" to rival the glories of the imperial Cholas (in the Tamil country), scholars rejected the theory of a Chera "empire" and instead proposed the existence of a traditional (medieval) monarchy in Kerala (Narayanan, 1972).Freeman, Rich (2003), 'Genre and Society', in ''Literary Cultures in History'', ed., Sheldon Pollock. Berkeleyand Los Angeles: University of California Press. 444-445. It was also found that not all Chera kings bore the specific abhisekanama "Kulasekhara", and therefore the dynasty cannot accurately be referred to as the "Kulasekhara dynasty".

At the other end of the spectrum, suggestions emerged in the early 2000s proposing that the Chera king at Mahodayapuram only held "ritual sovereignty", while actual political power rested with "a bold and visible Brahmin oligarchy" (Narayanan, 2002).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. This perspective describes "a fragmented array of local chiefdoms... held in check by a loose Tamil hegemony".
According to this third model, the Chera ruler's sovereign power was largely confined to the capital, Mahodayapuram-Kodungallur. His kingship was purely "ritual" and remained nominal compared to the political and military power that local chieftains (the Udaiyavar) in distant northern and southern Kerala. Nambudiri-Brahmins throughout Kerala also held significant authority in social and religious matters ("ritual sovereignty combined with a bold and visible Brahmin oligarchy").

Publication of the sources

A general catalogue of most of the so-called Chera Perumal inscriptions was found in the "Index to Chera Inscriptions", an appendix to "Perumals of Kerala" (University of Kerala PhD thesis, 1972) by noted historian M. G. S. Narayanan. However, this text remained unpublished and in private circulation until 2013.'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. Furthermore, some recently discovered inscriptions remained unreported and undeciphered, while others were published in a form that was far from satisfactory. A notable recent effort to catalogue these inscriptions was the publication of South Indian Inscriptions (SII), Volume 43, edited by epigraphist M. R. Raghava Varier and published by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 2021.

History

The medieval Chera rulers of Kerala, based at the port of Mahodayapuram (identified with present-day Kodungallur) on the Malabar Coast, were perhaps descendants of the legendary Cheras who flourished in pre-Pallava (early historic) south India. Early Tamil poems. or the Sangam Literature, provide clear indications that different branches of the Chera family simultaneously managed various centers of power in ancient Kerala and Tamil Nadu — Muchiri-Vanchi, located in central Kerala at the mouth of the Periyar River, being one of them. The Chera Perumal dynasty of Mahodayapuram, in the early 9th century CE, notably introduced "kingship" as a form of rule in Kerala, marking a major departure from the early historic system of clan-based social and political structures.

It is speculated that Kerala's Chera rulers faced little economic pressure for territorial conquest, as the region was naturally rich and derived substantial income from maritime trade with the Middle East.Thapar, Romila'', The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300.'' Penguin Books, (2003) 002 368-69. The Chera Perumal kingdom had alternating friendly and hostile relations with the neighboring Cholas and the Pandyas. The kingdom was attacked and eventually forced into submission by the Cholas in the early 11th century CE, primarily to break its near-monopoly on Indian Ocean trade with the Middle East.

The Chera Perumal kingship likely remained nominal compared to the power that regional rulers or chieftains — the so-called "nadu-udaiyavar" or "nadu-vazhumavar" — exercised politically and militarily. Chiefdoms in Kerala under Chera Perumal rule, referred to as "", were roughly comparable to the "rashtra" under the Rashtrakutas and "padi" under the Cholas. These chieftains likely wielded considerable militaristic authority over their country, including even over the Nambudiri-Brahmin temples and Brahmin settlements within their nadu. However, the udaiyavar chieftains were obligated to serve the Chera Perumal in battles — against invading Pandyas and Cholas — and the chiefdoms perhaps functioned as revenue collection units for the Chera kingdom. It is recorded that the Koyil Adhikarikal or Al Koyil, the Chera royal representative in a chiefdom, collected regular dues ( and ) from the chiefdoms on behalf of the Perumal at Kodungallur. It is probable that the Chera Perumal only held direct authority over the country extending from the Palakkad Gap to Vembanad Lake, including the port of Mahodayapuram-Kodungallur.

The Bhakti saints Cheraman Perumal Nayanar and Kulasekhara Alvar are generally identified with some of the earliest recorded Chera Perumal kings of Kerala. Shankaracharya, the founder of the Vedanta advaita school of philosophy, is also traced to 8th-century Kerala. Copper-plate charters of the Chera Perumals notably record grants to Jewish and Christian merchants of the Middle East. The Middle Eastern Muslims had also established themselves as traders in the kingdom. Merchant guilds such as manigramam, and anjuvannam were active in the Perumal kingdom.Noburu Karashima (ed.), ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations.'' New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 136-37. The earliest attestation of Malayalam language as an inscriptional variety is also tentatively dated to the Chera Perumal period or shortly thereafter in Kerala. The temple architecture style known as " Kerala-Dravida" is also visible from the 11th century CE onward.

In the early 12th century, the medieval Chera kingdom of Kerala dissolved into several local powers.Noburu Karashima (ed.), ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations.'' New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 124-25. The gradual transformation of land relations, among other factors, played a crucial role in the collapse of the Chera state. Over time, the Chera Perumal state had gradually lost its role as the primary regulator of land ownership and transactions. The Perumal dynasty was succeeded in southern Kerala by the rulers of Venad (Kollam), whose kings, tracing their descent from the Cheras of Mahodayapuram, were variously known as the Cheras or the "Kulasekhara dynasty".Thapar, Romila'', The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300.'' Penguin Books, (2003) 002 368-69. In other parts of Kerala, the chieftains of Kolathunad, and the future rulers of Kozhikode (Calicut) and Kochi (Cochin) succeeded the Chera Perumals.

Administration

The medieval Chera state in Kerala featured a range of administrative organs that reflected its structure. The "Koyil Adhikarikal", or "Al/Ala Koyil", was the Chera royal prince appointed to individual chiefdoms, responsible for collecting regular dues — such as the and ''arantai'' — on behalf of the Chera Perumal at Mahodayapuram.Ganesh, K. N. (2009). ''Historical Geography of Natu in South India with Special Reference to Kerala.'' Indian Historical Review, 36(1), 3–21. The managers of the four prominent Nambudiri-Brahmin temples around Kodungallur, collectively known as the "Nalu Thali", likely functioned as the Chera Perumal's permanent council or ministers.Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 1972 013 161-63.

The Ayiram ("The Thousand") served as the Chera Perumal's personal guard, composed of a thousand Nair warriors who acted as the king’s "Companions of Honour" and were also tasked with managing and protecting the Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple.Noburu Karashima (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 145-47.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. The Padai-nayakar (or nayakan or Padai-nair) was the commander of the armed militia, either for the kingdom as a whole or for individual chiefdoms.Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 1972 013 161-63.

Each chiefdom maintained its own militia known as The Hundred (Nutruvar), an armed contingent whose size was often indicated by the number of households within the nadu that could contribute fighters.Ganesh, K. N. (2009). ''Historical Geography of Natu in South India with Special Reference to Kerala.'' Indian Historical Review, 36(1), 3–21. The Nizhal ("The Shadow") formed the personal protection guard of the udaiyavar chiefs, serving them as loyal "Companions of Honour". Supporting the chiefs further was the Prakrithi, a body of non-Brahmin notables who assisted in administration. Lastly, the Adhikarar were temple or royal functionaries responsible for local administration, including the collection of dues and arbitration of disputes.

Major chieftaincies

Through the analysis of medieval Kerala inscriptions from the Chera Perumal period, scholars have substantiated the existence of several chieftaincies or chiefdoms (the "nadus"). From north to south, they are as follows: Kolla-desam [or Kolathu-nadu?Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 1972 013 118-119.] or Mushika country, Purakizha-nadu, Kurumporai-nadu, Erala-nadu, Valluva-nadu, Kizhmalai-nadu (meaning "Eastern Hill Country"), Vempala-nadu, Munji-nadu, Nanruzhai-nadu, and Venadu or Kupaka country (also known by the name of its major port, Kollam).Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 1972 013 234-36. Kolathu-nadu (in northern Kerala) came under the influence of the Chera Perumals only during the 11th century CE, while Venadu (in southern Kerala) was likely developed under their influence in the early 9th century CE.

The Chera Perumal held direct (sovereign) authority over the country extending from the Palakkad Gap to Vembanad Lake, including the port of Mahodayapuram-Kodungallur in the Periyar Valley. Within this territory, the were present as militaristic or revenue units, with members of martial families serving the Chera Perumal king in appointed roles known as the Udayaivar.

Chera Perumal genealogy

Abhisekanama (regnal title)

An earlier version of conventional Kerala historiography believed that all the rulers of the medieval Chera dynasty of Kerala used the specific abhisekanama (regnal name) "Kulasekhara". Hence, the ruling lineage was referred to as the "Kulasekhara dynasty". However, critical research conducted in the late 1960s and early 1970s provided a significant corrective to this view. It was found that not all rulers used the regnal name "Kulasekhara" — only two, Sthanu Ravi Kulasekhara and Rama Kulasekhara, are known to have done so. The Chera rulers of Kerala were known by several common titles, as evidenced by inscriptions and literary sources.Narayanan, M. G. S.
Perumāḷs of Kerala
'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 1972 013 149-50. These included "Cheramanar" or "Cheraman", "Keralaraja", "Cheran", and "Cheralan". Some rulers were also referred to by the titles "Kothai/Kotha" or "Kothan", as well as "Udayan/Uthiyan". Additionally, the kings employed prestigious early historic Chera titles such as "Vanavan" and " Villavan".

Chera Perumal genealogy

Originally revised by M. G. S. Narayanan (1972) from Elamkulam P. N. Kunjan Pillai (1963)Pillai Elamkulam, P. N. Kunjan. ''Chila Keralacharitra Prasnangal'', (Kottayam, 1955 Second Ed. 1963), pp. 152-4. Recent corrections (2014 and revised in 2020) on Narayanan by Manu V. Devadevan (edited by Kesavan Veluthat) are also employed.

Chera Perumal epigraphic records

See also

* Jewish copper plates of Cochin (early 11th century CE)
* Quilon Syrian copper plates (9th century CE)

References

{{Kerala topics

Chera dynasty
Medieval Kerala
12th-century disestablishments in India
Kingdoms of Kerala