Sthanu Ravi Varma

Sthanu Ravi Varma (Early Malayalam and Tamil: Ko Tanu Iravi), known as the Kulasekhara, was the Chera Perumal ruler of Kerala in southern India from 844/45 to 870/71 AD.[4][5][6] He is the earliest Chera Perumal ruler known to scholars.[6]

Sthanu Ravi
"Kulasekhara" Deva
The art-form known as Kudiyattam is associated Kulasekhara.
Ruler of Chera Perumal Kingdom
Reign844/45 – 870/71 AD
PredecessorN/A
SuccessorRama Rajasekhara
IssueKizhan Atikal Ravi Neeli[1]
Regnal name
Kulasekhara[2]
HouseChera Perumal of Makotai[3]
ReligionHinduism

The Chera Perumal relations with the Chola dynasty were inaugurated during the reign of Sthanu Ravi.[7] The famous Quilon Syrian Christian copper plates are dated in the fifth regnal year of king Sthanu Ravi. Two more inscriptions dated in the regnal years of Sthanu Ravi can be found at Irinjalakuda Kudalmanikyam Temple, and at Thiruvatruvay, Thiruvalla.[8] Koyil Adhikarikal (the Royal Prince) during the time of Sthanu Ravi was his son-in-law (husband of his daughter) Vijayaraga.[7] Sthanu Ravi had a son born to him in or about 870 AD.[9] He was succeeded by Rama Rajasekhara (870/71–c. 883/84).[6]

Sthanu Ravi probably abdicated the throne toward the end of his reign and became a Vaishnavite alvar saint known as Kulasekhara Alvar (seventh of the twelve mystic alvars).[10] He is also identified with playwright Chera king Kulasekhara Varma.[11][12][13]

Career
Remains of the Thillaisthanam inscription (9th century AD, Aditya Chola)

Present-day central Kerala probably detached from Kongu Chera or Kerala kingdom (around 8th-9th century AD) to form the Chera Perumal kingdom.[14] Central Kerala was under some form of viceregal rule prior to this period.[15]

The direct authority of the Chera Perumal king was restricted to the country around capital Makotai (Mahodaya, present-day Kodungallur) in central Kerala.[16] His kingship was only ritual and remained nominal compared with the power that local chieftains (the udaiyavar) exercised politically and militarily. Nambudiri-Brahmins also possessed huge authority in religious and social subjects (the so-called ritual sovereignty combined with Brahmin oligarchy).[16][17]

Chola contemporary of Sthanu Ravi
Chola-Chera Perumal relations (c. 9th-10th centuries AD)

Sthanu Ravi was a partner in the Chola king Rajakesari Varma's campaign in Kongu country (central Tamil Nadu).[18] It is known that the two rulers jointly conferred military honours on a chief of Tanjore called Vikki Annan (who was the husband of Kadamba Mahadevi), probably a Ganga prince. Vikki Annan, son of Prithvipati, is mentioned in a Ganga inscription of the mid-9th century AD.[19][20] The title "Kadamba" suggests a relationship with the Kadamba lineage.[21][18]

King Rajakesari Varma can be identified either with Aditya Chola (c. 871–907 AD[22]) or with Srikantha Chola (817–845 AD).[23]

  • Identification of Rajakesari Varma with Aditya Chola (c. 871–907 AD) (followed Elamkulam P. N. Kunjan Pillai) – Elamkulam also assumes that Sthanu Ravi ruled up to 885 AD to be able to become the junior partner in Aditya Chola's wars in Kongu Nadu.[9] – this view is found acceptable by the recent scholarship.[22][24]
  • Identification of Rajakesari Varma with Srikantha Chola (817–845 AD) – this puts the joint action in 844/45 AD and Sthanu Ravi's final regnal year in 883 AD[9] – this view was found acceptable by M. G. S. Narayanan (following T. V. Mahalingam).[9]

Astronomy

An astronomer called Sankara Narayana (c. 840 – 900 AD) was a member of the royal court of Kulasekhara. Narayana is best known as the author of Laghu Bhaskariya Vyakha, a detailed commentary of on the works of mathematician Bhaskara I (early 6th century AD).[25]

An observatory functioned at Kodungallur under the charge of Narayana.[26] There are references to an instrument called "Rashi Chakra" marked by a "Yanthra Valaya" in the Vyakha. This instrument might be the same as the Gola Yanthra/Chakra Yanthra mentioned by famous polymath Aryabhata. The Chakra Yanthra was developed further and called Phalaka Yanthra by Bhaskara I.[27]

Inscriptions

As Sthanu Ravi

Ayyan Adikal, the chieftain of Quilon (Kollam) under Sthanu Ravi, issued the famous Quilon Syrian Christian copper plates in c. 849 AD. The inscription records that Ayyan Adikal granted land and serfs to a Christian church at Quilon, built by Mar Sapir Iso, and entrusted its maintenance to trade guilds anjuvannam and manigramam.[18] The grant was made in the presence of Chera Perumal prince Vijayaraga.[28] Daughter of Kulasekhara, with the title Kizhan Adikal Ravi Neeli, was married to Vijayaraga (who was probably the son of the sister of Kulasekhara also).[29]

Year Inscription Nature (language) Royal Name Notes
849 AD Quilon Syrian Christian copper plates Royal charter (Malayalam)
  • "Tanu Ravi"
  • "Koyil Adhikarikal Vijayaraga Deva"
  • The oldest Chera Perumal inscription from Kerala.[30]
  • Dated in the 5th regnal year (849-50) of king Tanu Ravi.[31]
  • Ayyan Adigal, the chieftain of Venad, grant land and serfs to the Christian church of Tarsa, Quilon.[31]
  • Koyil Adhikarikal (the Royal Prince) Vijayaraga is present when Ayyan Adigal gives privileges to Christian merchant Mar Sapir Iso.[32]
855 AD Irinjalakkuda inscription (Kudalmanikyam Temple) - a single granite slab currently fixed on the bottom portion of the inside wall of the first prakara of the temple.[33] Temple committee resolution (Malayalam) "Tanu Ravi, Ko"
  • Dated in the 11th regnal year (855-56) of king Tanu Ravi.[33]
  • A council of the "Irungadikkudal" Parathaiyar (the Temple Committee) and Ilayavar.[33]
  • The council unanimously decide to lease out land for some purpose.[33]
861 AD Thiruvatruvay copper plate - owned by Muvidathu Mecheri Illam (Thiruvalla) Temple committee resolution (Malayalam) "Tanu Ravi, Ko"
  • Dated in the 17th regnal year (861-62) of king Tanu Ravi.[33]
  • Earliest reference to Onam Festival in Kerala.[33]
  • A council of the Thiruvatruvay Sabha (the Temple Assembly) and Adikalmar (the Respected People).[33]
  • The council unanimously wrap up Avani Onam feast arrangements with the land donated by certain Punchappatakarathu Chenthan Sankaran.[33]
c. 870/71 AD Thillaisthanam inscription (Tanjore) - a single granite slab[18] on the south wall of the central shrine in the Ghrithasthaneshwara Temple, Thillaisthanam. Temple inscription (Tamil) "Cheraman Tanu Ravi, Ko"

Hail Prosperity!

The wife of Vikki Annan, who was honoured by the king Kandan Rajakesari Varma who was the possessor of several elephants ["tondai-nadu-pavina-cholan-pal-yanai-ko-kandan"] and by the Cheraman Ko Tanu Iravi, with [the privilege of using] the seat [of honour], the chauris, the palanquin, the drum, a palace, [royal] dinner, [participation in it perhaps] and the bugle and [who was presented] with a battalion of elephants and the hereditary title of Sembiyan Tamilavel - Kadamba Mahadevi gave to the god Mahadeva at Tiruneyyttanam a perpetual lamp, for which the number of sheep given by her is a hundred.

My these [charities] be under the protection of the several mahesvaras.

— Travancore Archaeological Series (Volume II)

As Kulasekhara
9th century AD Thirunanthikarai inscription - a single slab of granite in the courtyard of the structural temple Temple committee resolution (Tamil)
  • "Kulasekhara Deva"
  • "Vijayaraga Deva"
  • A donation by Chera/Perumal princess Ravi Neeli Kizhan Adigal to Thirunanthikkarai Temple.[34]
  • Thirunathikkarai Perumakkal (the Village Elders), the Thaliyalvan, and the Kanakar (members of the temple trust) meeting to receive 10 kalanju of gold from (princess) Ravi Neeli Kizhan Adigal for the Permanent Lamp (the nanda-vilakku) in the Thirunathikkarai temple.[34]
  • Princess Ravi Neeli Kizhan Adigal is described as the daughter of king Kulasekhara Deva and wife of Vijayaraga Deva.[34]

Literary references

An anonymous work called Padmapada Acharya Charita says that the protagonist who was the disciple of philosopher-theologian Sankara flourished in time of king "Kulasekhara".[35] 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.[36] Scholars generally consider this a result of confusion on the part of the commentators (between Sthanu Ravi Kulasekhara and Rama Rajasekhara) who were separated in time from Vasubhatta.[36] Some scholars also identify king Rama Kulasekhara as the patron of poet Vasubhatta (and thus placing Vasubhatta in 11th-12 centuries AD).[37] This view is generally found unacceptable on several counts.[38]

Laghu Bhaskariya Vyakha

The opening verse of Laghu Bhaskariya Vyakha, composed in the court of Ravi Kulasekhara, gives an indirect invocation to the lord called "Sthanu" (carefully composed to be applicable to god Siva and the ruling king).[25]

sa sthanurjayati trirupasahito lingepi lokarcitah

— Laghu Bhaskariya Vyakha, Chapter I

The commentary also gives the current date as Kali Era and as Saka Era.

angartvambara nanda devamanubhir yate dinanam gane
graste tigma mayukhamalinitamobhute parahne divi
prsta praggrahanad dvitiyaghatika grasa pramanam raver
bharta sri kulasekharena vilasad velavrtaya bhuva

— Laghu Bhaskariya Vyakha, Chapter IV
  • Anga = 6, Rtu = 6, Ambara = 0, Nanda = 9, Veda = 4, and Manu = 14
  • Order - 6609414
  • Reverse Order - 1449066
  • Kali Date - 3967 years and 86 days = 25 Mithuna, Kollam Era 41 = 870 AD

evam sakabdah punariha candra randhramuni sankhyaya asambhiravagatah

— Laghu Bhaskariya Vyakha, Chapter 1 (c. 870 AD)
  • Candra = 1, Randhra = 9, and Muni = 7
  • Order - 197
  • Reverse Order - 791 (Saka Year) = 870 AD

It was on the basis of certain statements in Laghu Bhaskariya Vyakha, the date coronation of Ravi Kulasekhara was fixed at 844 AD. [25]

capapravista guru sauri samatva kalam
yamyottaram gamanamantaratah pramanam
acaksvya sarvamavagamya bhatoktamargad
ityuktavan ravirasena nrpabhivandya
tada pancavimsati varsanyatitani devasya

— Laghu Bhaskariya Vyakha, Chapter VII
  • Meeting of Guru (=Jupiter) and Sauri (=Saturn) in Capa (Dhanu) = 25th regnal year of the king = 870 AD

See also

References
  1. As per MGS, 1972
  2. As per MGS, 1972
  3. As per MGS, 1972
  4. Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143-44.
  5. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 65-66.
  6. '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. 74-75.
  7. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 64-66 and 78-79.
  8. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 436.
  9. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 79-80.
  10. '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. 74-75 and 78.
  11. Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143.
  12. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 46-48 .
  13. 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.
  14. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 89-90 and 92-93.
  15. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 80-93.
  16. Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143-44.
  17. 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.
  18. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 435-437.
  19. Tillaisthanam Inscription (844-5 CE, Tanjore) of "Tondainadu Pavina Cholan Palyanai", Ko Kandan, Rajakesarivarman. South Indian Inscriptions 23 (1979), no. 129.
  20. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 95-96.
  21. Menon, A. Sreedhara (1967). A Survey of Kerala History. Kottayam (Kerala): DC Books, 2007.
  22. Ali, Daud. “The Death of a Friend: Companionship, Loyalty and Affiliation in Chola South India.” Studies in History, vol. 33, no. 1, Feb. 2017, pp. 36–60.
  23. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 436-37.
  24. Devadevan, Manu V. (2020). "Changes in Land Relations and the Changing Fortunes of the Cēra State". The 'Early Medieval' Origins of India. Cambridge University Press. p. 150. ISBN 9781108494571.
  25. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 78-79.
  26. George Gheverghese Joseph (2009). A Passage to Infinity. New Delhi: SAGE Publications. p. 13. ISBN 978-81-321-0168-0.
  27. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 390-391 and 408-409.
  28. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 435 and 37.
  29. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 65-67 and 437-438.
  30. Devadevan, Manu V. (2020). "Changes in Land Relations and the Changing Fortunes of the Cēra State". The 'Early Medieval' Origins of India. Cambridge University Press. p. 150. ISBN 9781108494571.
  31. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 435-437.
  32. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 437-38.
  33. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 436.
  34. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 437-438.
  35. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 65-66, 95-96, 383-5, 436.
  36. Veluthat, Kesavan (1982). "The Status of the Monarch". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 43: 147–157. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44141225.
  37. Vielle, Christophe (2012). "Real and Ideal Kings in Matrilineal Kerala". Religions of South Asia. 5 (1): 365–387. doi:10.1558/rosa.v5i1/2.365.
  38. Devadevan, Manu V. (2020). "The Semantic Universe of the Kudiyattam Theatre". The 'Early Medieval' Origins of India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 229–30.
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