Revisiting the topic….
Some years ago I wrote briefly about this interesting bloke
who appears often in Kerala History. Most of the discussions from readers focus
around his retirement actions where he distributes his kingdom and goes off on a
pilgrimage. I touched upon the topic a few times after that and more recently
JK at Varnam penned an interesting article about the event.
We see that in general the popular versions cover the
travails of a Chera king who leaves the West Coast of Malabar, bound for
another location which is purported to be variously Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Kailas
in North India and the abode of St Thomas in Mylapore (there are many other
versions too, but too obscure). We see
the possibilities of three or even four conversions in these stories, one to
Islam, the second to Buddhism, third Jainism and finally to Christianity. The
timelines vary widely, from the 9th to the 12th century.
But each of these myths found takers and were promptly spread by both the
Portuguese and the Dutch as well as Muslim scholars creating much confusion as
to which was most probable.
Armed with a fascinating and thorough study done well before
Indian independence by the doyen of Malabar history, Mr KV Krishna Ayyar, I decided
to revisit the topic. Ayyar starts by confirming that it is an unsolved puzzle
and after a thorough analysis, concludes with the Bhuvibhaga or Chera empire
partition. It is a very difficult 25 page treatise, especially for those uninitiated
to what is known as the Periyapuranam. It also requires you to have a working
knowledge of the Keralolpatti, at least the version authored presumably by
Tunjath Sankaran Ezhutachan in the 16th century. So without much ado
let us get to the points raised by KVK and more specifically get introduced to
the Tamil epic PeriyaPuranam (a.k.a Tiruttontarpuranam - the life stories of the
sixty-three Shaiva Nayanars) penned by Sekkizhar in the early 12th
century.
Set during the period of the Chola king Kulothunga II, the
story goes that Sekkizhar a poet chief minister of his decided to wean the king
away from his fascination of the 10th century Jain erotic epic
Civaka Chintamani. Now you can imagine that it is a difficult task, but then
again Sekkizhar wrote about the 63 Saivite saints, sitting in the thousand pillared
hall of the Chidambaram temple. Interestingly, all of the saints mentioned in
this epic are actual persons. Therefore, this is a recorded history of the 63
Saiva saints called as Nayanmars (devotees of Lord Siva), who incidentally belonged
to different castes, different occupations and lived in different times.
As you may guess, one of these saints was none other than
our Cheraman Perumal. KVK first of all establishes that the Malayalam sources
like Keralolpatti are all proto-history works which are somewhat haphazard and
purely inconsistent attempts at making a record of their history. As he himself
explains, with a little patience, one can remove the legendary encrustations to
reach the nucleus by reading through both works in detail. The entire work of Ayyar’s
painstaking detection and deduction is best left where it has originally been
published, so I will get to the crux of the matter, only briefly touching on
the meticulous work starting with the establishment of the fact that the Tamil
Cheraman is exactly the same person and the Malayalam Cheraman after carefully
analyzing the dates seen in the documents. KVK establishes Cheraman’s date of
birth as 742 AD, then his parentage, later his peculiar accession to the
throne, his progeny, internal and external events to Tiruvanjikulam
(Kodungallur), periods of strife, his division or partition of Malabar and
finally pilgrimage and ascension to the heavens in 826 AD, following which the
Kollam era was sanctioned.
In summary therefore, Cheraman was born in 742 AD at the
Chera capital Tiruvanjikulam or Cranganore. He was the son of the sister of
King Sengorporiayan. Interestingly his father was a Chola prince, who had
strayed to the Chera court, and in those days the powerbases at Tamilakam were
actually with the Pallavas and the Pandyas. Cheraman grew up in his uncle’s
palace, but was mostly found in the Mahadeva temple of Tiruvanjikulam,
interested mainly in the service of Siva. As times go by, he married a lady
from the Nediviruppu kovilakom and had a son through her. His sister
incidentally married the Perumbadappu Namboothiri. Cheraman’s son was
Manavikiraman (the first Zamorin of Calicut) the Nedivirippu Thamburan, while
his nephew became the Perumbadappu Thamburan (later known as the Cochin king).
The fact that the Cochin and Kolattiri kings were higher born Kshatriyas while
the Zamorin was a Nair born of the Sambandham with the Eradi lady has been the
biggest bone of contention since in all the acrimonious issues between the
three of them, for hundreds of years.
One thing bothered me though in this analysis. KVK is clear
that there was just one son named Manaivicraman, not two boys as all other
myths mention. He also details that the Cheraman sword is given to this one
boy, (not two boys Manavan and Vikraman) following the battle at Palghat. He
also states that this is the Manavikraman who becomes the first Zamorin. I
wondered for a moment at how Palghat comes up in all critical points of passage
in Malabar history! Later it comes to the fore again, when the Mysore Sultans
attacked.
Life seems to have been going well, till Rajasimha Pandya
decided to invade Kerala in 765AD. The powerful Pandya was not something the
Chera ruler could contend with, so he decided to abdicate and retire to the
forests, as the tale goes. The ministers of the palace were greatly perturbed,
and agitated. By conjecture, the only male who could be persuaded to take over
was young Cheraman as was the custom of Malanad (being the nephew and not the
son) or for some other good reason such as a recommendation by the invader
Rajasimha, who might have perceived that the ascetic ruler would be a good
proxy, a man without heroic and kingly ambitions or inclinations.
Nevertheless Cheraman Perumal was an able king who rebuilt
the 16 ports and temples, and built a fort Cheramankotta as well at the
Northern border town of Valarpattanam near Talipparamba. Around this time, the
great Sankaracharya was born in 788AD, adding luster to the King’s reign. However
there was further strife at the Eastern borders and we see Pandyan attacks near
Palghat, the establishment of the fort at Taravur (Tarur) and the takeover of
Vizinjam. As the war continues, Manavikraman his son (in other stories we hear
of two youngsters Manavan and Vikraman) rushes to his support and defeats the
Pandyan king Varaguna in 782AD.
From here on, KVK observes Cheraman’s disinterest in worldly
pursuits and in 810AD, he leaves on a pilgrimage after dividing up the land
among his feudatories. He goes on to Chidambaram and then to Tiruvalur where
he becomes a friend and disciple of Sundaramurti. They move on to tour various
temples and places in Tamilakam, and after all this Cheraman and Sundara turn back
to Malabar in 820AD. After a sojourn in Cranganore for another 6 years, both of
them depart from this world (or leave for Kailas) in 826AD. The day is called
Cheraman day which is an annual event since then, celebrated with pomp and
splendor.
So as you see, KVK links up filtered events from Kerala proto-historians
to the little bits of history he could dredge out from Periyapuranam in order to
create a coherent account on the life of Cheraman Perumal. Of course he debunks
the events leading to Perumal becoming a Muslim or a Christian.
But we can’t close the topic just like that, for there would
be many unanswered questions hovering around the conversions, the division of
land and so on. What could be the possible directions? Let’s check.
Quoting the words from the Census - The world knows nothing of its greatest men, and so it is with Cheraman
Perumal, for while he is the most familiar and famous of the Viceroys of Kerala,
while his name is in everybody's mouth from the most cultured Brahman down to
the most ignorant Paraiyan, there are no reliable materials affording any
definite information about his life and times. Cheraman Perumal's rule, from
the important events it contained and from the little direct knowledge we have
on the subject, has naturally attracted the attention of many diligent
scholars, and many are the traditions that have gathered round his name. The
Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Mahommedans all claim him as a convert to
their religion. There is the tradition of a Perumal having become a Buddhist,
or as others would have it, a Jain. It must be observed in this connection that
Buddha Matam or Buddhism has often been confounded with any religion other than
Hinduism, for in the days of the conflict between Hinduism and Buddhism, to a
Hindu all non-Hindus were Bouddhas or followers of Budha, which term acquiring
a general significance was indifferently applied in later times to the
followers of Mahomed, Christ, etc. To a Hindu in Kerala, any one professing any
religion other than Hinduism has been a Bouddha, a term which is even applied
to a low caste Hindu. One of the Perumals is said to have renounced his faith,
and become a Jain, and not a Mahommedan. His name is supposed to have been
Pallibana Perumal.
First we go to the Tuhfat Al Mujahideen. Sheik Zainuddin
admits that even during his period, the Hindus had stated that the king
ascended to the sky. They also believe that he will come down one day and that
is the reason why they keep a pitcher of water and a pair of sandals with lit
lamps and decorations at a place near Kodungallur on certain nights. So there
is a good amount of backing to the Periyapuranam story. Nevertheless, Zainuddin
does not provide any factual support to the story of this perumal going to
Makkah. Also there is confusion about the dates with Zainuddin stating this
happened in the 9th century while others state it was during the
reign of the Prophet Mohammed. Zainuddin is clear anyway that this person could
not have been the Cheraman Perumal. Ibn Batuta writing in 1342 mentions the
king of Balipatanam as the convert, dating it to the 13th century
and Abdul Razak visiting Calicut in 1442 does not mention these stories at all
(for him it would have held great propaganda value!). Ferishta, the Mohammedan
historian, is positive that the Malabar king who embraced the Moslem faith and went
on a pilgrimage to Mecca, at the end of the 9th century, is a Zamorin of Calicut.
Cheraman becoming a St Thomas Christian is alluded by
Decouto and Faria Souza, and here again there is confusion about the dates, and
there is also mention of the Cheraman being one of the three wise magi’s
visiting the infant Jesus. The problem is that the dates fluctuate between the
birth of Christ and the 4th or 6th century and so it
seems difficult to lend the stories too much credence.
So in all the conversions of Cheraman Perumal to Christianity
and Islam seem to be backed with little by way of fact or conjuncture. Buddhism
on the other hand was in the decline already by 850AD, and Jainism in Malabar predated
it by many centuries, so it is very probable that the Periyapuranam account
borders the truth that the Perumal eventually passes away while on his
pilgrimage. But there is another twist in the analysis of legends, for it is
stated in the Census of India as follows relating to the Jain link.
As far as the handing over of the kingdom is concerned, KVK
clarifies that this was how it always was and these local feudatories were
under the suzerainty of the Perumal at Cranganore. When the king left on his
trip, all he did was release them from that symbolic connection. He could have asked
his son Manavikraman to take over but that was not permitted in those days as
he was not a Kshatriya.
But when he left, he authorized the Zamorin to annex what he
could wisely, with his sword. As the Zamorin had no areas in profitable regions
or ports he could only annex them by might.
PC Alexander in his ‘Dutch in Malabar’ concurs by stating
that the Perumal died a Saivite and never converted. And he indicates that the
mural in the Brahadeeswara temple in Tanjore depicts the Perumal proceeding to
Kailas with his friend. MGS Narayanan agrees with KVK’s theories and connects
the first Cheraman Perumal to the Periyapuranam and names him the Rama
Rajashekara – Rajadhiraja Parameswara Bhattaraka of Makotai. Sadasivan says
that the king of Maldives was the person who converted to Islam.
I am sure the myth will remain for more decades, but the
above is a summary of the studies of KVK Ayyar, which I believe makes a lot of
sense.
References
Bharata
Kaumudi Pt 1, 1945 - Cheraman Perumal – A New study – KV Krishna Ayyar
Perumals of Kerala
– MGS Narayanan
Census of
India, 1901, Parts 1-2
20 comments:
Hi. Could you please point out to some article or info regarding the distinctive turban worn by Raja Ravi Varma and Kerala nobility in general. Those turbans can't be seen in Kerala anymore.
It's great post! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Ashik
I have to take a look at them as well...
Thanks Kiran
No I do not know why the Travancore/Cochin nobles wore a turban. I think they had a few Telugu Dewans and so on, it must have come in from the Tamil side..
Thanks DVGXSCB
Hi!
This is an interesting and well written article.However,I must say that the Uncle-nephew/marumakkathayam successions was not norm for the Perumals,since a Perumal could only reign for 12 years(the last Perumal,however,did reign a bit longer) and next Perumal would be elected through the famous Mamankam festival.This is mentioned in texts like Keralolpathi( a late work)and Keralamahatmyam(older than Keralolpati).The Nambuthiri Brahmins either imported Perumals from foreign lands or elevated the local lords(Samantans) to the Perumalhood for 12 years.I don't know if this system historically existed ,but from the traditional descriptions of the later Mamankam(which included Zamorin-Valluvanadu rivalry) it seems that there is some sort of historicity in this system.The Zamorins later proclaimed themselves as the supreme rulers(like Perumals) of Kerala after conquering Valluvanad(whose Valluvakonathiri Rajas had the right to conduct Mamankam before the Zamorins).
Also,I want to emphasize on this sentence:
\\The fact that the Cochin and Kolattiri kings were higher born Kshatriyas while the Zamorin was a Nair born of the Sambandham with the Eradi lady has been the biggest bone of contention since in all the acrimonious issues between the three of them, for hundreds of years//
The Cochin kings too,were born of Sambandham with Namboothiris by royal ladies.Most of the Cochin kings were fathered by Namboothiris.They had identical customs like Nairs(tali kettu,sambandham,marumakkathayam etc) but had higher ritual ranks than ordinary Nairs.Thus they wear sacred thread and are Dvija Kshatriyas.The Cochin kings were also frequently married to Nair women(called Nethyars).
And the Kolathiris were oridinary Nair cheiftians.The Travancore rulers were related to the Kolathiris and they needed to perform costly donations and rituals like Hiranyagarbha to gain Dvija Kshatriya status.This means that Kolathiris were also originally of the same non-Kshatriya stock like the Travancore kings.There were many adoptions from the line of Kolathiris into Travancore as well.
Zamorins on the remained as oridinary Nair rulers and did not conduct any rituals(as far as I know) to obtain the sacred thread and Kshatriya status.
*Zamorins on the other hand
Sorry for the typos :)
Hi Maddy,
This is in relation to the turban worn by the nobility of travancore.Probably they started wearing turban after the brief incursion of the Mughal sirdar into travancore.Subsequently they would have followed the customs of the Telugu and Tamil dewans
A History of Travancore from the earliest times-P.Shungoonny Menon,Madras ,Higginbotham & Co (1878)p:102-105
Taking advantage of this state of affairs in Travancore, in 855 M.E (1680 C.E), a petty sirdar, under the Mogul Emperor, wandering in the southern part of the Peninsula, with a number of horsemen and plundering the unprotected territories, invaded the southern part of Travancore and carried on depredations among the population. None of the nobles and chiefs being able to oppose the sirdar or arrest his progress, he advanced to Trevandrum and made his head quarters there.
The Devaswam Yogakar, fearing contamination, and the consequent loss of caste, shut the Trevandrum pagoda and fled for their lives. The Ettu Veetil Pillamar and Madempimar adopted the same course, leaving the country at the mercy of the Mogul sirdar, who was then at the liberty to lay waste the country with fire and sword and compel the people to become Mahomedans. But fortunately for the kingdom, such a calamity was warded off by a few faithful Patans or Mahomedan servants attached to the Travancore house who remained after the flight of the Ranee to Neduvangaud.
These sirdars presented themselves before the Mogul and brought to his notice the circumstances that lead to the proceedings of the confederates and of the departure of the breaved Ranee from her royal residence. They seem to have been successful in persuading the Mogul sirdar not to demolish or contaminate the Trevandrum pagoda and other places of worship, or to convert any of the Hindus to Mahomedanism.
The Mogul sirdar exercised his power up to Edavaye in the north, and became the sole master of the country between Thovalay and Edavaye on the coastline of Travancore, but he did not venture to proceed to Neduvangaud.
Possibly, out of some regard for the people and their sovereign, and also owing to the persuasion of the royalist Mahomedans, the Mogul chief encamped at Manacaud, outside the town of Trevandrum and remained there during his sway.
Though the sirdar did not attempt to convert the Hindus, still he insisted upon the Nairs adopting many of the Mahomedan customs, and they were compelled to do so. Some of these customs the Sudras still retain as useful and convenient.
The customs thus forced upon the Sudras,who reside between Vurkalay and Velavancode,and which are still observed by the community are the following:-
First.-Males to cover their heads and females to cover their bodies when they get out of doors.
Second.-Males to have the circumcision ceremony performed before they attain ten years of age.
Third.-That during the marriage ceremony, the relatives and the intimate friends of the family should sit like the Mahomedans in a circle and eat their meal from one vessel having their heads covered while eating.
Fourth.-Sudra females should encircle their bodies with a cloth like the males, and abandon the mode of dressing in vogue among their sisters in the north.
Fifth.-Every child, on being weaned, should have a handkerchief tied around its head.
Sixth.-Females should have their forehead, chin, and hands tattooed; the designs being either of simple spots or plants, leaves, flowers, &c., &c.
All these are of common observance even now among the lower order of Sudras between Quilon and Kulculam; but the higher orders of Sudras seem to have shaken them off retaining only the first, viz., the covering of their head, by the males, and the shoulders, by the females.
thanks Yajna..
There are some reported cases where the zamorin also did hiranya garbha to become a samantha kshatriya...
Thanks Dr Sabu
That is very interesting...
Explains a lot
Maddy,that's interesting.Do you have any further information on the performance of Hiranyagarbham by Zamorins?As far as I have read,all authors treated Zamorin as an ordinary Nair chieftain without sacred thread.Most authors refer the Zamorins as Shudras(as opposed to Kshatriyas who had performed Hiranyagarbham).
hi Yajna...
I will get back to this later..
If i recall right the Varikkumchey assisted a 16th century zamorin with the hiranyagarbha.
Thanks Maddy,I shall look into it :)
Yajna
chapter 2 of KVK iyers book provides details, it was performed just once
Mr sabu writing though interesting to read , likes to know back up, who told him?? Was he there??
Maddy sir,
Let me add few points , khatria as a caste did not exist in Kerala unlike in North india
After the decline of chera kingdom, all nair ( chera) sawroopmas like nediyiruppu( sammothiri) perupqmdampu;( Kochi ) and thrippapur ( venad , tvm) all became prominent and weild powers , and naboothrii s did some oath taking ceremony ( like hiranaga and arittiyu vazhacha) to see that the nair who got all powers take ruling of the territory, so in Kerala all raja and varmas are Nair's elevated as kshriyas, later all elevated Nair varmas and Raj's treat other fighting Nair soldiers as Sudra in collusion with namboothris,
One must understand in Kerala only nair clan was fighting and protecting land like Rajput's in North,
Nair's being a race rather than a caste , employed people for washing and Barber work and called them as vilakithala nair and veluthedathu nair and surprisingly keereeyathu nair ( who is soldier , has got sir names like Menon pilla nambiar, panikker kurup kaimal kartha uniithan valiyathan thampi, nayanar etc etc)
) later distanced from these people and never entertain marriage or any relation with other nair sub castes
So nair varma and raja consider keereeyathu nair as lower and keereeyathu nair consider ,veelakeethala nair and veluthedathu as lower
Not surprising vivekanada called Kerala as lunatic asylum , the land part of Bharath where Gita and upnanishad born!!!
A History of Travancore from the earliest times-P.Shungoonny Menon,Madras ,Higginbotham & Co (1878)p:102-105
I was quoting from-
A History of Travancore from the earliest times-P.Shungoonny Menon,Madras ,Higginbotham & Co (1878)p:102-105
Very informative and interesting article but have doubt on The quote "The world knows nothing of its greatest men" mentioned in the article
thanks Ajit
that's what the census writer had to say over a hundred years ago - somewhat of a hyperbole, expressing incredulity that not much is known about such 'a great king'.
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