Kulasekhara Alvar

Kulasekhara
Depiction of the Alvar
Alvar
Venerated inHinduism
Major shrine
Tradition or genre
Vaishnavite tradition (Bhakti)
Major works
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Vaishnavism
Closeup of Vishnu, seated in the lotus position on a lotus. From depiction of the poet Jayadeva bowing to Vishnu, Gouache on paper Pahari, The very picture of devotion, bare-bodied, head bowed, legs crossed and hands folded, Jayadeva stands at left, with the implements of worship placed before the lotus-seat of Vishnu who sits there, blessing the poet.
Supreme deity
Vishnu / Krishna / Rama
Important deities
Dashavatara
Other forms
Consorts
Related
Holy scriptures
Puranas
Sampradayas
Others
Teachers—acharyas
Related traditions

Kulasekhara (Tamil: குலசேகரர்; IAST: Kulaśekhara) (fl. 9th century CE), one of the twelve Vaishnavite alvars, was a bhakti theologian and devotional poet from medieval south India. The Trikkulasekharapuram Temple in Kodungallur is considered as the Alvar's birthplace, located in modern-day Kerala region.[1][2] He was the author of Perumal Tirumoli in Tamil and "Mukundamala" in Sanskrit. The Perumal Tirumoli, whose second decade is known as "Tetrarum Tiral", is compiled as a part of Nalayira Divya Prabandham.[3] The Trikkulasekharapuram Temple in Kodungallur is considered as the Alvar's birthplace.[4][5]

Vaishnavite traditions describe the Alvar as a king of the Chera royal family of the western coast (Kerala).[5][6] Scholars identify Kulasekhara with royal Chera playwright Kulasekhara Varma and Sthanu Ravi Kulasekhara (ruled 844/45 – c. 870/71 AD), the earliest known Chera Perumal king of Kerala.[1][3][4]

  1. ^ a b Karashima, Noboru, ed. (2014). "States in Deccan and Kerala". A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. Oxford University Press. pp. 146–47. ISBN 978-0-19-809977-2.
  2. ^ Ramanujan, A. K. "South Asian Arts: Bhakti Poetry". Encyclopedia Britannica.
  3. ^ a b Veluthat, Kesavan (2018). "History and Historiography in Constituting a Region". Studies in People's History. 5: 13–31. doi:10.1177/2348448918759852. S2CID 166060066.
  4. ^ a b Veluthat, Kesavan (2004). "Mahodayapuram-Kotunnallur: a Capital City as a Sacred Centre". South Indian Horizon: Felicitation Volume for François Gros. École Française D'Extrême-Orient. pp. 471–85.
  5. ^ a b Narayanan, M. G. S. (2013) [1972]. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks. pp. 65–66, 95–96, 383–85 and 436. ISBN 9788188765072.
  6. ^ Veluthat, Kesavan (1977). "The Socio-Political Background of Kulasekhara Alvar's Bhakti". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 38: 137–145. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44139063.