Kulasekhara | |
|---|---|
 A 19th century depiction of Kulasekhara Alvar (from 'A History of Travancore from the Earliest Times' by P. Shungoonny Menon) | |
| Alvar | |
| Venerated in | Hinduism |
| Majorshrine |
|
Tradition or genre | Vaishnavite tradition (Bhakti) |
| Major works |
|
Kulasekhara (Tamil:குலசேகரர்;IAST: Kulaśekhara;fl. 9th century CE), one of the twelveVaishnavitealvars, was abhakti theologian and devotional poet from medieval south India.[1][2] He was the author of "Perumal Tirumoli" inTamil and "Mukundamala" inSanskrit. The Perumal Tirumoli, whose second decade is known as "Tetrarum Tiral", is compiled as a part ofNalayira Divya Prabandham.[3] The Thrikkulasekharapuram Temple inKodungallur is associated with Kulasekhara Alvar.[4][5]
Vaishnavite traditions portray Kulasekhara as a ruler from theChera royal family of the Western Country (present-day Kerala).[5][6] Based on these accounts, scholars identify Kulasekhara with the Chera playwright-king Kulasekhara Varma orSthanu Ravi Kulasekhara, who reigned from 844/45 to c. 870/71 CE and is considered the earliest knownChera ruler of medieval Kerala.[1][3][7]
Epigraphical references to the compositions of Kulasekhara appear from 11th century CE onwards in the Tamil country. According to aSrirangam inscription dated to the 18th regnal year ofChola kingKulottunga I (1088 CE), the Tetrarum Tiral (or thePerumal Tirumoli) was recited daily at theSrirangam Temple.[4][8] Additionally, an inscription at the Thrikkulasekharapuram Temple inKodungallur, Kerala, dated to temple era 195, has been epigraphically assigned to the 11th or 12th century CE, thereby placing the foundation of the temple in the 9th or 10th century CE).[4]
A record from the Kulasekhara Alvar Koyil inMannarkovil,Tirunelveli notes that the temple was consecrated in memory of "Kulasekhara Perumal" by certain Vasudevan Kesevan from "Mullappalli" in "Malai Mandalam" (Kerala). It is noteworthy that the earliest extant inscription from the temple dates to c. 1015 CE (4th regnal year ofRajendra Chola).[9]
A 13th-century Tamil inscription fromBagan inMandalay (Myanmar) is prefaced by a sloka from "Mukundamala". It records the construction of a mandapa for god Vishnu, along with an endowment for a lamp byRayiran Chiriyan "Kulasekhara Nampi" from"Makotayar Pattanam" (Kodungallur) in "Malai Mandalam" (Kerala).[5]
.jpg)
The following is the traditional biography of king Kulasekhara, based on sources generally dated to the 12th–14th centuries CE.[8]
Kulasekhara was born atVanchi, in the Western Country (Kerala), inKali Era 28 to the Chera ruler "Dridhavrata".[8] When Kulasekhara came of age, his father abdicated the throne and retired from public life, as was customary, allowing Kulasekhara to ascend as the new king.[8]
Young Kulasekhara was a devoted follower of godVishnu. His devotion was so profound that it is said that, upon hearing the story of how the demon king Ravana abducted princess Sita, he immediately ordered his warriors to prepare for an invasion of Lanka. On another occasion, a jealous minister, envious of the king's favor towardVaishnavites, falsely accused the devotees of wrongdoing. To prove their innocence, Kulasekhara successfully underwent the Trial by Ordeal, placing his hand into a pot containing snakes.[8]
Later, Kulasekhara renounced his throne and embarked on a pilgrimage to the holy site ofSrirangam.[8] He spent several years there worshiping lord Vishnu and arranged the marriage of his daughter, "Cherakula Valli Nachiyar", to the deity of the Srirangam Temple.[8] As part of the dowry, he donated all his royal wealth, constructed the "Chenaivenran Mandapa", and repaired the temple's prakara, which was thereafter known as "Kulasekhara Tiruvidi." He continued his pilgrimage, visiting the sacred temples of Tiruvenkatam, Tiruvayodhya, Tillai-Chitrakutam, Tirukannapuram, Tirumalirunjolai, and Tiruvitruvakkode, before finally settling in Brahmadesam near Tirukkurukur, the birthplace ofNamma Alvar. He died there at the age of sixty-seven.[8]
The shrine of Cherakula Valli Nachiyar within theSrirangam Temple Complex commemorates the daughter of king Kulasekhara.[4][10]
Kulasekhara was the author of "Perumal Tirumoli" inTamil and "Mukundamala" inSanskrit.[3] Kulasekhara Alvar's poems are deeply devotional, dedicated to the principalavataras ofVishnu —Rama andKrishna. He immerses himself in their lives, identifying with various roles in their divine narratives.[2]
As a devotee of Rama, Kulasekhara internalizes the suffering of both Rama and his aged father,Dasaratha, as his own. His devotion is so profound that he regards Vishnu's devotees as manifestations of the god himself. In one composition, he adopts the perspective ofDevaki, Krishna's birth mother, from whom Krishna was taken toGokula to be raised by his foster parents,Nanda andYasoda. Kulasekhara movingly expresses Devaki's sorrow at being separated from her child and her longing for reunion.[2][11][12] In other poems, he sometimes envisions himself as agopi deeply in love with Krishna, embodying the intense devotion and yearning characteristic of the bhakti tradition.[2]
Kulasekhara Alvar is generally identified with "Kulasekhara Varma", the dramatist-king of medieval Kerala.[4][13] Kulasekhara Varma is credited with authoring two Sanskrit plays, Tapatisamvarana and Subhadradhananjaya, as well as the Sanskritchampu kavya Ascharya Manjari. He is also possibly the author of the Sanskrit play Vicchinnabhiseka.[3] In his works, Kulasekhara Varma refers to himself as Keralakula-chudamani ("the Crown Jewel of the Chera dynasty"), Keraladhinatha ("the King of the Chera Country"), and Mahodayapura-paramesvara ("the Lord of the City of Makotai").[3] An inscription from Chembra (954/55 CE) records a performance of Tapatisamvarana.[14]
The Kerala art-formKudiyattam is traditionally associated with Kulasekhara Varma and his courtierTolan.[15] Additionally, "Dhananjaya Samvarana Dhvani", or the "Vyangyavyakhya", makes reference to a king Kulasekhara of Mahodayapuram.[14]
Kulasekhara Varma, the dramatist, is sometimes identified with kingRama Kulashekhara, another medieval Chera ruler of Kerala (and as the patron of the Yamaka poet Vasubhatta, author of "Tripuradahana", "Saurikathodaya", and "Yudhisthiravijaya").[16] This identification, however, is not generally regarded as reliable.[14]
