MarvinGrenier8 at 04:46, 27 March 2026

2026-03-27T04:46:32Z

>Marcocapelle: /* References */removed parent categories of Category:Nayanars

2021-05-24T08:34:29Z

References: removed parent categories of Category:Nayanars

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{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2020}}
{{short description|Hindu poet and religious teacher}}
{{Infobox saint
| honorific_prefix=
| name = Cheraman Perumal Nayanar
| image = Depiction of "Cherman Perumal" Nayanar (Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur) (cropped).jpg
| caption = Depiction of "Cherman Perumal" Nayanar in [[Brihadisvara Temple]], [[Thanjavur]]
| titles = [[Nayanars|Nayanar]]
| residence = [[Thiruvanchikulam Siva Temple|Thiruvanchikulam]] ([[Kerala]])
| tradition =
| major_works =
*''Ponvannattandadi''
*''Thiruvarur Mummanikkovai''
*''Adiyula/Thirukkailayajnana Ula''
|venerated_in = [[Hinduism]]
|major_shrine = [[Thiruvanchikulam Siva Temple|Thiruvanchikulam Shiva Temple]]
}}'''Cheraman Perumal Nayanar''' (literally meaning '''Chera king the Nayanar'''), one of the sixty-three [[Nayanars]], was a [[bhakti]] poet-musician and religious teacher from medieval south India.<ref name=":222">Noburu Karashmia (ed.), ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations.'' New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143.</ref> Historians tentatively identify the Perumal with [[Rajashekhara (Chera king)|Rajasekhara]], the 9th century ruler of the [[Chera/Perumals of Makotai|Chera Perumal kingdom]] of [[Kerala]].<ref name=":2" />'''<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":22" />'''

Cheraman Perumal's friendship with [[Sundarar|Chundara Murti]], one of the so-called three Nayanars, is celebrated in the bhakti tradition.<ref name=":2">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.</ref>'''<ref name=":0">Veluthat, Kesavan. "The Temple and the State in Medieval South India." ''Studies in People’s History'', vol. 4, no. 1, June 2017, pp. 15–23.</ref><ref name=":22">Noburu Karashmia (ed.), ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations.'' New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143.</ref>''' The Perumal is considered as the author of ''Ponvannattandadi'', ''Thiruvarur Mummanikkovai,'' and ''Adiyula/Thirukkailayajnana Ula,'' [[Tamil language|Tamil]] devotional hymns in honour of god [[Shiva]].<ref>Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 48-50.</ref><ref>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.</ref> The story of Cheraman Perumal is narrated in ''[[Periya Puranam|Periyapuranam]],'' composed by [[Sekkizhar|Chekkizhar]], a courtier of Chola [[Kulothunga Chola II|Kulottunga II]], in mid-12th century CE. The collection is based on an earlier work by [[Nambiyandar Nambi|Nambi Andar Nambi]] (10th-11th centuries CE)<ref name=":3">''Periyapuraṇam'', ed. with commentary C. K. Chuppiramaṇiya Muthaliyar (Coimbatore: Kovait Tamil Cankam, 1954).</ref><ref>Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 46-47.</ref>

[[Thiruvanchikulam Siva Temple]] in [[Kodungallur]] is often associated with the Perumal and Chundara Murti Nayanar.<ref name=":1">Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 152-153.</ref> Thiruvanchikulam Siva Temple in the city, "where the mountainous waves of the ocean beat against the shore", figures in the lyrics of Chundara Murti.<ref name=":1" /> ''Periyapuranam'' also gives a full account of the city of Kodungallur ("Tiru-Makotai") as the capital of the Perumal.<ref>Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 102.</ref>

== Cheraman Perumal and Chundara Murti Nayanar ==
Cheraman Perumal, according to Chekkizhar, was a son of the ruling Poraiyan king who lived at [[Kodungallur|Kodungallur or Tiru -Makotai]]. When the king retired for sanyasa, the Chera ministers consulted among themselves and requested the young prince to take up the reins of the kingdom. The prince, a passionate devotee of Shiva at the [[Thiruvanchikulam Temple|Tiruvanchikkulam Temple]], was initially unwilling to accept this responsibility. He was worried of the impact such a career would have for his routine of daily worship. The Cheraman reluctantly agrees to become the king of Kerala.<ref name=":3" /> Time goes by and the Cheraman turns out to be a just and generous ruler.<ref name=":3" />{{quote box
| title = '''Cheraman Perumal Nayanar'''
| quote = Devotional hymns composed
*''Ponvannattandadi'' — praise of the Lord of Chidambaram<ref name=":7">Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 382-383.</ref><ref>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.</ref>
* ''Thiruvarur Mummanikkovai —'' in honor of the deity of [[Thiruvarur]]<ref name=":7" /><ref>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.</ref>
* ''Adiyula/Thirukkailayajnana Ula'' — in praise of Shiva (first of the ''Ulas'')<ref name=":7" /><ref>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.</ref>
| source =
| align = left
| fontsize = 100%
| bgcolor = #ffffff
}}

Cheraman Perumal then learns about lyricist [[Sundarar|Chundara Murti]], another Shiva devotee, and plans to meet him in the neighboring Chola kingdom. At [[Thiruvarur]], the king meets Chundra and prostrates before him. The two become close friends over time and start on a long pilgrimage across south India, through the Chola, Pandya and Chera lands.<ref name=":3" />

Years later, Chundara pays a visit to his friend in Makotai and stays in the city as a guest of his fellow-devotee.<ref name=":3" /> One day messengers from Shiva arrive in [[Thiruvanchikulam Temple|Tiruvanchikkulam]] inform Chundara that it was now time for him to return to [[Mount Kailash|Mount Kailasa]]. Chundara ascents to Kailasa on a white elephant sent by Shiva (with the Chera king following him on horseback).<ref name=":3" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Nayanars|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Nayanars]]
[[Category:Indian Shaivite religious leaders]]
[[Category:People of the Kodungallur Chera kingdom]]
[[Category:Kodungallur Chera kings]]

Cheraman Perumal Nayanar - Revision history

MarvinGrenier8 at 04:46, 27 March 2026

>Marcocapelle: /* References */removed parent categories of Category:Nayanars