Rama Rajasekhara
9th century Chera ruler of Kerala
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Rama Rajasekhara (fl. c. 870/71 – c. 883/84 AD?[2]) was a medieval Chera ruler of Kerala, south India.[3][4] Historians generally identify Rajasekhara with Cheraman Perumal Nayanar, the venerated Shaiva (Nayanar) poet-musician of the Bhakti tradition.[4][3][1]
| Rama Rajasekhara | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raja Rajadhiraja | |||||||||
![](#/media/File:Depiction_of_"Cherman_Perumal"_Nayanar_(Brihadisvara_Temple,_Thanjavur)_(cropped).jpg) Depiction of Cherman Perumal Nayanar, who is generally identified with Rajasekhara, in the Brihadisvara Temple | |||||||||
| Ruler of the Chera Kingdom[1] | |||||||||
| Reign | 870/71–c. 883/84 AD ? | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Sthanu Ravi Kulasekhara | ||||||||
| Successor | Vijayaraga | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| House | Chera (medieval Kerala) | ||||||||
| Religion | Hinduism (Shaiva) | ||||||||
Rajasekhara is believed to have succeeded Sthanu Ravi Kulasekhara around 870/71 AD.[2][5] "Tripuradahana" and "Saurikathodaya", Yamaka poems by Vasubhatta, were composed under the patronage of Rajasekhara.[6] Two temple records, from Kurumattur, Areacode and Thiruvatruvay, Vazhappally, mention king Rajasekhara.[2] The former contains the only available royal panegyric of a Chera Perumal ruler of medieval Kerala and notably links the dynasty to the mythical Solar Race.[7]
Rajasehara probably abdicated the throne toward the end of his reign and became a Shaiva nayanar known as Cheraman Perumal Nayanar.[2] He was likely succeeded by Vijayaraga (fl. c. 883/84-c.895 AD).[2]
Sources
In relation to Shankara
The "Shankaravijaya" by Vidyaranya mentions a Kerala king named "Rajasekhara" as a contemporary of the renowned Hindu philosopher Shankara.[6] Similarly, the "Shivanandalahari," attributed to Shankara, indirectly mentions the Kerala ruler as "Rajasekhara."[8]
Laghubhaskariyavyakhya
The Laghubhaskariyavyakhya, a mathematical commentary composed in the court of king Sthanu Ravi Kulasekhara in c. 869/70 AD, mentions a Chera ruler named "Ramadeva", who "marched out to fight the enemies on receiving information from the spies".[9] Some scholars identify this "Ramadeva" with Rama Rajasekhara.[10] Ramadeva is described as the king ("Raja") and a member of the Solar Dynasty ("ravi-kula-pati") in Chapter IIII of the Laghubhaskariyavyakhya.[9]
Patron of Vasubhatta
Vasubhatta, the celebrated Yamaka poet of medieval Kerala, names his patron king as "Rama" in his works "Tripuradahana" and "Saurikathodaya".[6]
The poem "Tripuradahana" also refers to Rama as "Rajasekhara":[6]
There ruled a king who was bowed to by poets, the sight of whose army scattered his enemy kings, who was as steady in punishing the wicked as ready in succouring the righteous, whose conduct was above calumny, who was extolled as the foremost of kings (rajasekhara = Siva) in being wealthy (bhutidhara = a smearer of ashes) in having proboscis-like arms (vyala-pati-sphurat-karam = serpent entwined arms) and in bestowing wealth upon the supplicants at his feet, who was considered as an incarnation of Rama himself in the sameness of his name, with the hero of the Ramayana and in (the identity of purpose) raksopayam (protection of his subjects: danger to Raksasas). In the reign of this king who was pleasing the eyes of his subjects...
Another poem by Vasubhatta, the "Yudhisthiravijaya", states that "Kulasekhara" was the regnal title of his patron king.[11] In the Keralolpatti legends on the origin of Kerala, the first Chera ruler (the Cheraman Perumal) is described as a contemporary of Vasubhatta, who is elsewhere in the same work portrayed as a courtier of king Kulasekhara and a disciple of a certain Mahabharata Bhatta.[12]
Two later commentaries on Yudhisthiravijaya — "Vijayadarsika" by Acyuta and "Ratnapradipika" by Sivadasa — argue that "Rama" was the personal name of the king whose regnal title was "Kulasekhara".[6] Modern scholars generally consider this interpretation to be the result of confusion on the part of these commentators, who lived long after the Chera rulers and may have conflated Sthanu Ravi Kulasekhara with Rama Rajasekhara.[11] Some scholars also identify king Rama Kulasekhara, a later Chera ruler of Kerala, as the patron of poet Vasubhatta, thereby placing Vasubhatta in 11th-12 centuries AD.[13] However, this view is generally regarded as unacceptable for several reasons.[14]
Rajasekhara is also tentatively identified with king referred to as "Co-qua-rangon" in the extant text of the Thomas of Cana copper plates.[15]
Epigraphic records
| Date | Regnal Year | Language and Script | Location | Contents | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nature | Notes | ||||||
| 871 AD[16] | N/A | Grantha (Sanskrit)[17] | Royal panegyric[18] |
||||
| 750 - 850 AD[22] | 12[23] | Vattezhuthu with Grantha/Southern Pallava Grantha characters (early Malayalam)[23] |
|
Temple committee resolution[23] |
| ||
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