Ajay Kumar at 03:37, 30 August 2023

2023-08-30T03:37:42Z

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{{Short description|Sri Vaishnava religious leader}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox saint
| honorific_prefix=
| name = Kulasekhara
| image = Kulasekhara Alwar.png
| caption = Depiction of the Alvar
| titles = [[Alvar]]
| residence =
| tradition =[[Vaishnavism|Vaishnavite tradition]] ([[Bhakti]])
| major_works =
* [[Perumal Tirumoli]] (Tamil)
* [[Mukundamala]] (Sanskrit)
|venerated_in = [[Hinduism]]
|major_shrine =* Trikkulasekharapuram Temple, [[Kodungallur]]
}}
{{Vaishnavism}}
'''Kulasekhara''' ([[Tamil language|Tamil]]: ''குலசேகரர்'') (''fl.'' 9th century CE), one of the twelve [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnavite]] [[Alwars|alvars]], was a [[bhakti]] theologian and devotional poet from medieval south India. The '''Trikkulasekharapuram Temple''' in [[Kodungallur]] is considered as the Alvar's birth place. ([[Kerala]]).'''<ref name=":22">{{Cite book|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-concise-history-of-south-india-9780198099772?cc=us&lang=en&|title=A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|editor-last=Karashima|editor-first=Noboru|pages=146–47|chapter=States in Deccan and Kerala|isbn=978-0-19-809977-2 }}</ref>'''<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Ramanujan|first=A. K.|date=|title=South Asian Arts: Bhakti Poetry|language=|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/South-Asian-arts#ref65180|url-status=live|access-date=}}</ref> He was the author of [[Perumal Tirumoli]] in [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and "[[Mukundamala]]" in [[Sanskrit]]. The Perumal Tirumoli, whose second decade is known as "Tetrarum Tiral", is compiled as a part of [[Naalayira Divya Prabhandham|Nalayira Divya Prabandham]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Veluthat|first=Kesavan|date=2018|title=History and Historiography in Constituting a Region|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2348448918759852|journal=Studies in People's History|volume=5|pages=13–31|doi=10.1177/2348448918759852|via=|s2cid=166060066}}</ref> The '''Trikkulasekharapuram Temple''' in [[Kodungallur]] is considered as the Alvar's birth place.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Veluthat|first=Kesavan|url=https://publications.efeo.fr/en/livres/628_south-indian-horizons-felicitation-volume-for-francois-gros-on-the-occasion-of-his-70th-birthday|title=South Indian Horizon: Felicitation Volume for François Gros|publisher=École Française D'Extrême-Orient|year=2004|pages=471–85|chapter=Mahodayapuram-Kotunnallur: a Capital City as a Sacred Centre}}</ref><ref name=":34">{{Cite book|last=Narayanan|first=M. G. S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0YDCngEACAAJ&q=perumals+of+kerala|title=Perumāḷs of Kerala|publisher=CosmoBooks|year=2013|isbn=9788188765072|location=Thrissur (Kerala)|pages=65–66, 95–96, 383–85 and 436|orig-date=1972}}</ref>

Vaishnavite traditions describe the Alvar as a king of the Chera royal family of the western coast (Kerala).<ref name=":34" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Veluthat|first=Kesavan|date=1977|title=The Socio-Political Background of Kulasekhara Alvar's Bhakti|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44139063|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=38|pages=137–145|jstor=44139063|issn=2249-1937|via=}}</ref> Scholars identify Kulasekhara with royal Chera playwright Kulasekhara Varma and [[Sthanu Ravi Varman|Sthanu Ravi Kulasekhara]] (ruled 844/45 – c. 870/71 AD), the earliest known [[Chera dynasty|Chera Perumal]] king of Kerala.'''<ref name=":22" />'''<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":02" />

== Sources ==
Scholars generally identify Kulasekhara with [[Sthanu Ravi Varman|Sthanu Ravi Kulasekhara]], the earliest known [[Chera dynasty|Chera Perumal]] king of Kerala.'''<ref name=":22" />'''<ref name=":3" />
*It is known that "[[Perumal Tirumoli]]" was recited in Srirangam Temple in 11th century AD.<ref name=":02" /> An inscription dated in the 18th regnal year of [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] king [[Kulottunga I]], i. e. 1088 AD, mentions the daily recital of "Tetrarum Tiral" in the [[Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam|Srirangam Temple]].<ref name=":1" />
*A record from Kulasekhara Alvar Koyil, [[Mannarkovil|Mannarkoyil]], says that it was consecrated to the memory of Kulasekhara Perumal (by certain Vasudevan Kesevan of Mullappalli, Malai Mandalam).<ref name=":33">{{Cite book|last=Narayanan|first=M. G. S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0YDCngEACAAJ&q=perumals+of+kerala|title=Perumāḷs of Kerala|publisher=CosmoBooks|year=2013|isbn=9788188765072|location=Thrissur (Kerala)|pages=400|orig-date=1972}}</ref> The earliest known inscription from the temple is dated to c. 1015 AD.<ref name=":33" />
*An inscription in Trikkulasekharapuram Temple in [[Kodungallur]] (dated in temple era 195) has been dated palaeographically to the 11th or 12th century AD.<ref name=":02" />
*A 13th century Tamil inscription from [[Bagan]] in [[Mandalay Region|Mandalay]] is prefaced by a sloka from ''Mukundamala''. The inscription describes the construction of a mandapa for god Vishnu and the endowment for a lamp by [[Irayiran Chiriyan|Rayiran Chiriyan Kulasekhara Nampi]] from [[Kodungallur|Makotayar Pattanam]] in Malai Mandalam.<ref name=":34" />

== Biography ==
[[File:Aerial_view_of_Sri_Rangam_temple_near_Tiruchirapalli_1.jpg|thumb|320x320px|[[Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam|Srirangam Temple]]]]
[[File:Trikkulashekarapuram Srikrishna temple (cropped).jpg|thumb|320x320px|Trikkulasekharapuram Temple]]
The following is the traditional biography of king Kulasekhara from sources generally dated to 12th-14th century AD.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=|first=|title=Travancore Archaeological Series|publisher=Government of Travancore|year=1925|isbn=|editor-last=Ayyar|editor-first=A. S. Ramanatha|volume=V (II)|location=Trivandrum|pages=105–06|chapter=Kulasekhara Perumal}}</ref>

Kulasekhara was born at [[Thiruvanchikulam Siva Temple|Vanchi]], in the western country, in Kali Era 28 to the Chera ruler Dridhavrata.<ref name=":1" /> When the prince came of age, his father abdicated the kingdom and retired from public life, and the new king Kulasekhara ascended the throne.<ref name=":1" />

Kulasekhara was a great devotee of god [[Vishnu]]. His piety was so great that on one occasion when the story was being narrated as to how demon king Ravana abducted princess Sita, he at once issued orders to marshal out his army for the invasion of Lanka. In another instance, a minister who felt jealous of the favor showered by the king on [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnavites]], trumped up on the devotees a false charge. The king vindicated their innocence by inserting his own hand in a pot containing snakes and drawing it out unscathed.<ref name=":1" />

Kulasekhara later threw off the reigns of kingdom and started out on a pilgrimage to the holy site of [[Srirangam]].<ref name=":1" /> He spent there some years, worshiping his deity, and married his daughter Cherakula Valli Nachiyar to the Srirangam Temple.<ref name=":1" /> He also gave away his whole wealth as dowry, built the Chenaivenran Mandapa and repaired the prakara of the temple (which was thereafter called "Kulasekhara Tiruvidi").<ref name=":1" /> He then visited the holy temples of Tiruvenkatam, Tiruvayodhya, Tillai-Chitrakutam, Tirukannapuram, Tirumalirunjolai and Tiruvitruvakkode and finally settled down at Brahmadesam near Tirukkurukur, the birthplace of [[Nammalvar|Namma Alvar]] (where he died at the age of sixty seven).<ref name=":1" />

The shrine of Cherakula Valli Nachiyar within the [[Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam|Srirangam Temple]] complex commemorates the daughter of king Kulasekhara.<ref name="raja">Raja, K. Kunjunni, ''The Contribution of Kerala to Sanskrit Literature''; University of Madras 1980; page 2.</ref><ref name=":02" />

== Literary contributions ==
Kulasekhara was the author of "Perumal Tirumoli" in [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and "[[Mukundamala]]" in [[Sanskrit]].<ref name=":3" />

Kulasekhara Alvar's poems are devotional in nature, being dedicated to the most prominent [[avatar]]as of god [[Vishnu]] - [[Rama]] and [[Krishna]]. He identifies himself with several roles in the events of their lives.<ref name=":0" /> A devotee of god Rama, he considered the painful experiences of Rama or his aging father [[Dasharatha|Dasaratha]] to be his own. His devotion was so intense that he worshipped the devotees as forms of Vishnu. In one song, he identifies himself with [[Devaki]], the real mother of Krishna, from whom Krishna was taken away to [[Gokul]]a where [[Nanda Baba|Nanda]] and [[Yashoda|Yasoda]], the foster parents, looked after him. Kulasekhara expresses Devaki's desolation at being separated from her child and for union with him.<ref>{{Cite book|last=V. K.|first=Subramanian|title=101 Mystics of India|publisher=Abhinav Publications|year=2007|isbn=978-81-7017-471-4|location=New Delhi}}</ref><ref name="varadpande">{{cite book|last=Varadpande|first=Manohar Laxman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TaF603WEv4IC&pg=PA87|title=Krishna Theatre In India|publisher=Abhinav Publications|year=1982|isbn=9788170171515|page=87}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> In some poems, Kulasekhara also identifies himself with a gopi in love with god Krishna.<ref name=":0" />

=== Kulasekhara Varma ===
Kulasekhara Alvar is generally identified with Kulasekhara Varma, the medieval dramatist from the Chera royal family.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12">{{Cite book|last=Devadevan|first=Manu V.|url=https://www.cambridge.org/in/academic/subjects/history/south-asian-history/early-medieval-origins-india?format=PB&isbn=9781108748513|title=The 'Early Medieval' Origins of India|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2020|isbn=|location=|pages=227|chapter=The Semantic Universe of the Kudiyattam Theatre}}</ref> Kulasekhara Varma describes himself as the Keralakula-chudamani or "the Crown Jewel of the Chera dynasty", the Keraladhinatha or "the King of the Chera Country" and Mahodayapura-paramesvara or "the Lord of the City of Makotai".<ref name=":3" /> He is known as the author of two Sanskrit plays called "Tapatisamvarana" and "Subhadradhananjaya" and the Sanskrit champu kavya "Ascharya Manjari" (perhaps also the author of the Sanskrit play "Vicchinnabhiseka").<ref name=":3" /> An inscription from Chembra (954/55 AD) also mentions the performance of the play "Tapatisamvarana".<ref name=":132" />

The art-form known as [[Koodiyattam|Kudiyattam]] is traditionally associated Kulasekhara Varma and his courtier [[Tolan (medieval poet)|Tolan]].<ref name=":333">{{Cite book|last=Narayanan|first=M. G. S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0YDCngEACAAJ&q=perumals+of+kerala|title=Perumāḷs of Kerala|publisher=CosmoBooks|year=2013|isbn=9788188765072|location=Thrissur (Kerala)|pages=24–25|orig-date=1972}}</ref> "Dhananjaya Samvarana Dhvani", or the "Vyangyavyakhya", also mentions king Kulasekhara of Mahodayapuram.<ref name=":132" /> Kulasekhara Varma is sometimes identified with king [[Rama Varma Kulashekhara|Rama Kulashekhara]] (and as the patron of poet Vasubhatta).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Vielle|first=Christophe|date=2012|title=Real and Ideal Kings in Matrilineal Kerala|url=https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/11188|journal=Religions of South Asia|volume=5|issue=1|pages=369–70|doi=10.1558/rosa.v5i1/2.365|via=}}</ref> This identification is generally found unacceptable on several counts.<ref name=":132">{{Cite book|last=Devadevan|first=Manu V.|url=https://www.cambridge.org/in/academic/subjects/history/south-asian-history/early-medieval-origins-india?format=PB&isbn=9781108748513|title=The 'Early Medieval' Origins of India|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2020|isbn=|location=|pages=229–31|chapter=The Semantic Universe of the Kudiyattam Theatre}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
* The name of the British rock band [[Kula Shaker]] was inspired by Kulasekhara.

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*''Perumal Tirumoli'' (ed. by M. Raghava Aiyangar, ''Ceraventar Ceyyutkovai,'' Trivandrum, 1951)
*''Mukundamala'' (1, ed. by T. A. Gopinatha Rao, Travancore Archaeological Series, II, II)
*''Mukundamala'' (1, ed. by K. R. Pisharoti, Annamalai, 2. ed. with commentary by V. V. Sharma, Trivandrum, 1947)
*''Tapatisamvarana'' (Trivandrum Sanskrit Series No. 11)
*''Subhadradhanjaya'' (Trivandrum Sanskrit Series No. 13)

==References==
*Noburu Karashima (ed.), ''A Concise History of South India.'' New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014.
*K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, ''The Colas'' (Madras, revised 2nd ed. 1955)
*M. G. S. Narayanan, ''Perumals of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013.
*S. K. Aiyengar, ''The Early History of Vaisnavism in India'' (Madras, 1920)
*R. G. Bhandarkar, ''Vaisnavism, Saivism and other Minor Religious Systems'' (Poona, 1913).
*A. S. R. Ayyar, "Kulasekhara Perumal", ''Travancore Archaeological Series,'' Volume, II.
*K. R. Pisharoti, Kulasekharas of Kerala, ''Indian Historical Quarterly,'' VII.
*K. G. Sesha Iyyer, "Kulasekhara Alvar and his Date", ''Indian Historical Quarterly,'' VII.
*''Kerala Society Papers,'' Volume I (Trivandrum, 1928–32)
*S. V. Pillai, ''History of Tamil Language and Literature'' (Madras, 1956)
*K. K. Raja, ''The Contribution of Kerala to Sanskrit Literature'' (Madras, 1958)

{{Azhwars}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varman, Kulashekhara}}
[[Category:Alvars]]
[[Category:Bhakti movement]]
[[Category:Sri Vaishnava religious leaders]]
[[Category:Medieval Kerala]]
[[Category:People of the Kodungallur Chera kingdom]]
[[Category:9th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Vaishnava saints]]
[[Category:Kodungallur Chera kings]]
[[Category:Tamil Hindu saints]]

Kulasekhara Alvar - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 03:37, 30 August 2023