->George.Marlin at 05:46, 2 January 2022

2022-01-02T05:46:56Z

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{{Short description|9th century Chera Perumal ruler from South India}}
{{about||title used by Chera rulers|Cheraman Perumal}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Rajasekhara
| title = Sri Raja Rajadhiraja Parameswara Bhattaraka "Rajashekhara" Deva Peruman Adigal
| image = Depiction of "Cherman Perumal" Nayanar (Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur) (cropped).jpg
| caption = Depiction of "Cherman Perumal" Nayanar (who is generally identified with Rajasekhara) in [[Brihadisvara Temple]], [[Thanjavur]]
| succession = Ruler of Kodungallur Chera (Perumal) Kingdom<ref name=Narayanan1972>Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala''. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 64-65.</ref>
| reign = 870/71–c. 883/84 AD
| coronation =
| cor-type =
| full name = Rama Rajashekhara<ref name=Narayanan1972 />
| predecessor = [[Sthanu Ravi Varma|Sthanu Ravi Kulasekhara]]
| successor = [[Vijayaraga]]
| spouse =
| issue =
| regnal name = Rajasekhara
| house = [[Chera/Perumals of Makotai|Chera Perumals of Makotai]]
| father =
| mother =
| religion = [[Hinduism]] ([[Shaivism|Shaiva]])
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| place of burial =
| date of burial =
| signature = Vazhappally copper plate, king's name cropped (version 2).jpg
| signature_type = Grantha
}}

'''Rama Rajasekhara''' (''fl.'' 870/71–c. 883/84 AD<ref name=":32">'Changes in Land Relations during the Decline of the Cera State,' In Kesavan Veluthat and Donald R. Davis Jr. (eds), ''[https://books.google.co.in/books?id=6Uz0oQEACAAJ&dq=Irreverent+History:-+Essays+for+M.G.S.+Narayanan&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjLhMPmipjuAhWjxzgGHWHICewQ6AEwAHoECAAQAg Irreverent History:- Essays for M.G.S. Narayanan],'' Primus Books, New Delhi, 2014. 74-75.</ref>) was a [[Chera/Perumals of Makotai|Chera Perumal]] ruler of medieval [[Kerala]], south India.<ref name=":22">Noburu Karashmia (ed.), ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations.'' New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143.</ref>'''<ref name=":12">Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 64-66, 88-95, 107.</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>''' Rajasekhara is usually identified by historians with '''[[Cheraman Perumal Nayanar]],''' the venerated [[Shaivism|Shaiva]] ([[Nayanars|Nayanar]]) poet-musician.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":22" /><ref name="Narayanan1972" /> Two temple records, from Kurumattur, [[Areekode|Areacode]] and Thiruvatruvay, [[Vazhappally]], mention king Rajasekhara.<ref name=":3" />

Rajasekhara probably succeeded [[Sthanu Ravi Kulasekhara]] around 870 AD.<ref name=":32" /><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> It is also suggested that Cheraman Perumal Nayanar was on friendly terms with the Pallava dynasty.<ref name=":1">Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 80-93.</ref>

The direct authority of the Chera Perumal king was restricted to the country around capital [[Kodungallur|Makotai (Mahodaya, present-day Kodungallur)]] in central Kerala.<ref name=":43">Noburu Karashmia (ed.), ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations.'' New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143-44.</ref> His kingship was only ritual and remained nominal compared with the power that local chieftains (the udaiyavar) exercised politically and militarily. [[Nambudiri]]-[[Brahmin|Brahmins]] also possessed huge authority in religious and social subjects (the so-called ritual sovereignty combined with Brahmin oligarchy).<ref name=":43" /><ref>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.111–19. Thrissur, CosmoBooks.</ref>

Rama Rajasehara probably abdicated the throne toward the end of his reign and became a [[Shaivism|Shaiva]] [[Nayanars|nayanar]] known as [[Cheraman Perumal Nayanar]].<ref name=":3" /> He was succeeded by Vijayaraga (fl. c. 883/84-c.895 AD).<ref name=":32" />

== Sources ==

*''Shivanandalahari'', attributed to Hindu philosopher [[Adi Shankara|Shankara]], indirectly mentions the Chera ruler as Rajasekhara.<ref name=":4">Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 64 and 77.</ref>
* Rajasekhara is also tentatively identified with king "Co-qua-rangon" mentioned in the [[Thomas of Cana copper plates]].<ref name=":02">Narayanan, M. G. S. ''[https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0019464614537142 Perumals of Kerala: Brahmin Oligarchy and Ritual Monarchy—Political and Social Conditions of Kerala Under the Cera Perumals of Makotai (c. AD 800–AD 1124)]'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 302-303.</ref>

=== Rama Deva ===
''Laghu Bhaskariya Vyakhya,'' a mathematical commentary composed in the court of king Ravi Kulasekhara in 869/70 AD, mentions a Chera Perumal royal called Rama Deva, who marched out to fight the enemies on getting information from the spies.<ref name=":5">Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 64-66 and 78-79.</ref> A possibility identifies Rama Deva with Rama Rajasekhara.<ref name=":72">Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 79-80.</ref> Rama Deva is described as a member of the Solar Dynasty ("ravi-kula-pati") in Chapter IIII, ''Laghu Bhaskariya Vyakhya''.<ref name=":5" />

=== Patron of Vasubhatta ===
Vasubhatta, a famous Yamaka poet of medieval Kerala, names his patron king as "Rama". A later commentary on a poem by Vasubhatta says that "Kulasekhara" was the regnal title of king Rama.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last=Veluthat|first=Kesavan|date=1982|title=The Status of the Monarch|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44141225|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=43|pages=147–157|jstor=44141225|issn=2249-1937|via=}}</ref> Scholars generally consider this a result of confusion on the part of the commentators (between [[Sthanu Ravi Varma|Sthanu Ravi Kulasekhara]] and Rama Rajasekhara) who were separated in time from Vasubhatta.<ref name=":8" /> Some scholars also identify king [[Rama Kulasekhara]] as the patron of poet Vasubhatta (and thus placing Vasubhatta in 11th-12 centuries AD).<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=365–387|doi=10.1558/rosa.v5i1/2.365|via=}}</ref> This view is generally found unacceptable on several counts.<ref name=":13">{{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=229–30|chapter=The Semantic Universe of the Kudiyattam Theatre}}</ref>

== Epigraphic records ==
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |Date
! rowspan="2" |Regnal Year
! rowspan="2" |Language and Script
! rowspan="2" |Location
! colspan="4" |Contents
|-
!Nature
!Notes
|-
|871 AD<ref name=":3">'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. 58 and 74-75.</ref>
|N/A
|[[Grantha script|Grantha/Southern Pallava Grantha]] ([[Sanskrit]])<ref name=":7">Veluthat, Kesavan (1 June 2018). "History and historiography in constituting a region: The case of Kerala". ''Studies in People's History''. '''5''' (1): 13–31. [https://doi.org/10.1177/2348448918759852]</ref>
|Kurumattur Vishnu temple, [[Areekode|Areacode]]. - engraved on a loose, granite slab.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":3" />
|Temple inscription''<ref name=":05">''Indian Archaeology 2010-2011 – A Review'' (2016) (p. 118) [http://www.asihyderabadcircle.com/storage/files/Qs6R3biq0ujJZZbFRTK7gMsChc1eNwA40BeNhyG7.pdf]</ref>'' 
|
* Date is given as a Kali Day chronogram (871 AD).<ref name=":04">''Indian Archaeology 2010-2011 – A Review'' (2016) (p. 118) [http://www.asihyderabadcircle.com/storage/files/Qs6R3biq0ujJZZbFRTK7gMsChc1eNwA40BeNhyG7.pdf]</ref>

* Rajasekhara belonged to the illustrious [[Ikshvaku dynasty]] of god [[Rama]].<ref name=":05" />
* Rajasekhara ruled the country with justice and never deviated from the [[Manusmriti|Laws of Manu.]]''<ref name=":05" />''
* During Rajasekhara's righteous rule, twelve [[Brahmins]] dug a temple tank and also installed an idol of god [[Vishnu]].<ref name=":05" /><ref name="th">Naha, Abdul Latheef. ''[http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/ancient-inscription-throws-new-light-on-chera-history/article1200089.ece Ancient inscription throws new light on Chera history]''. February 11, 2011 ''[[The Hindu]]'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20190920155438/https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/Ancient-inscription-throws-new-light-on-Chera-history/article15293183.ece] [https://archive.today/WZon6]</ref>
|-
|c. 882/83 AD<ref name=":3" />
|13<ref name=":6">Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala''. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 435.</ref>
|[[Vattezhuthu]] with [[Grantha script|Grantha/Southern Pallava Grantha]] characters (early Malayalam)<ref name=":6" />
|
* Thiruvatruvay, [[Vazhappally]].<ref name=":6" />

* The plate is owned by Muvidathu Madham, [[Thiruvalla]].<ref name=":6" />
* The plate is said to belonged to and discovered from Talamana Illam or madham, near the eastern tower of Vazhappally Temple, [[Changanassery]].<ref name=":23">Rao, T. A. Gopinatha. ''Travancore Archaeological Series'' (Volume II, Part II). 8-14.</ref>
|Temple committee resolution<ref name=":6" />
|
* Records a temple committee resolution presided over by king Rajasekhara.<ref name=":2" /> The resolution describes Thiruvatruvay Pathinettu Nattar, Vazhappally Urar and the king deciding on land grant for muttappali (daily offering in temple).<ref name=":6" />
* The inscription begins with the invocation "Namah Shivaya" ("Respect to Shiva") in place of the usual "Swasti Sri" ("Hail! Prosperity!").<ref name=":6" />
* The record also mentions a coin called "dinara".<ref name=":6" />
|}
 <center>{{Gallery|File:Vazhappally copper plate (9th century AD).jpg|[[Vazhappally copper plate|Vazhappalli copper plate]]|File:Kurumathur inscription.jpg|[[Kurumathur inscription|Kurumattur inscription]]|width=200|height=200|title=}}</center>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==

* Mathew, Alex - ''[http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/7061 Political identities in History]'' (2006) Unpublished Doctoral Thesis (M. G. University)
{{Nayanars|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajashekhara, Rama}}
[[Category:Nayanars]]
[[Category:9th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:People of the Kodungallur Chera kingdom]]
[[Category:Indian Shaivite religious leaders]]
[[Category:Kodungallur Chera kings]]

Rama Rajasekhara - Revision history

->George.Marlin at 05:46, 2 January 2022