Kulakkottan (Tamil:குளக்கோட்டன்) was an early Chola king and descendant ofManu Needhi Cholan who was mentioned in chronicles such as theYalpana Vaipava Malai and stone inscriptions likeKonesar Kalvettu. His nameKulakkottan means 'builder of tank and temple'.[2]
Kulakkottan was the son of Vararamatevan, said to have been ruler ofChola Nadu andMadurai.[1] The historian and author, Mudaliyar Rasanayagam states that Vararamatevan and Kulakkottan arrived inTrincomalee during the reign of KingPandu of Anuradhapura.[3] Vararamatevan found the Koneswaram temple destroyed by the BuddhistKing Mahasena. He decided to restore it, a work which was later continued by his son.[4] Kulakkottan was credited with the restoration of the ruinedKoneswaram temple and for buildingKantale Dam atTrincomalee in 438 CE, and theMunneswaram temple of the west coast. He is known as the royal who settled ancientVanniyars in the east of the island ofEelam.[5][2]
^abPatmanātan̲, Ci (2006).Hindu temples of Sri Lanka. Colombo: Thirukketheeswaram Temple Restoration Society & Kumaran Book House. pp. 68−70.ISBN9789559429913.
^abSchalk, Peter;Nākacāmi, Ira (Irāmaccantiran̲) (2002). Schalk, Peter;Vēluppiḷḷai, Āḷvāppiḷḷai (eds.).Buddhism among Tamils in pre-colonial Tamil̲akam and Īl̲am: Prologue − The Pre-Pallava and the Pallava period. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis; Historia religionum: 19−20. Vol. 1. Uppsala:Uppsala Universitet. pp. 159, 503.ISBN9155453570. [Citing:Pillay, K. K. (1963).South India and Ceylon].The Tamil stone inscriptionKonesar Kalvettu details King Kulakottan's involvement in the restoration of Koneswaram temple in 438 A.D.
^Vigneswaran, K. (2006). "Tirukkonesvaram". In Patmanātan̲, Ci (ed.).Hindu temples of Sri Lanka. Colombo: Thirukketheeswaram Temple Restoration Society & Kumaran Book House.ISBN9789559429913.
^Hellmann-Rajanayagam, Dagmar (1994). "Tamils and the meaning of history".Contemporary South Asia.3 (1). Routledge:3–23.doi:10.1080/09584939408719724.
Jayawardhana, Jayashantha (11 September 2022)."The Koneswaram Temple".Sunday Observer. (A trip to Trincomalee by train – Part 7). Retrieved23 September 2022.
Pillay, K. K. [K.P.K.] (1963).South India and Ceylon. Madras [Chennai]: University of Madras.OCLC250247191. [NOTE: The author "Kolappa Pillay Kanakasabhapathi PILLAY", is mostly cited as "K. K. Pillay" or sometimes, in error, as "K. Pillay & K. Pillay"].
