Kulakkottan ( ta, குளக்கோட்டன்) was an early Chola king and descendant of

Manu Needhi Cholan Ellalan ( ta, எல்லாளன், translit=Ellāḷaṉ; si, එළාර, translit=Eḷāra) was a member of the Tamil Chola dynasty, also known as "Manu Needhi Cholan", who upon capturing the throne became king of the Anuradhapura King ...

who was mentioned in chronicles such as the ''

Yalpana Vaipava Malai Yalpana Vaipava Malai ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண வைபவமாலை) is a book written by a Tamil poet named Mayil Vaakaanar ( ta, மயில் வாகனார்) in 1736. This book contains historical facts of the early Tam ...

'' and stone inscriptions like Konesar Kalvettu. His name ''Kulakkottan'' means 'builder of tank and temple'. Kulakkottan was the son of Vararamatevan, said to have been ruler of

Chola Nadu Chola Nadu is a cultural region of the Tamil Nadu state in southern India. It encompasses the lower reaches of the Kaveri River and its delta, and formed the cultural homeland and political base of the Chola Dynasty which ruled large parts of S ...

and

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

. The historian and author, Mudaliyar Rasanayagam states that Vararamatevan and Kulakkottan arrived in

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

during the reign of King Pandu of Anuradhapura. Vararamatevan found the Koneswaram temple destroyed by the Buddhist

King Mahasena Mahasena, also known in some records as Mahasen, was a king of Sri Lanka who ruled the country from 277 to 304 CE. He started the construction of large tanks or reservoirs in Sri Lanka, and built sixteen such tanks. After becoming king, Mahasena ...

. He decided to restore it, a work which was later continued by his son. Kulakkottan was credited with the restoration of the ruined Koneswaram temple and for building

Kantale Dam The Kantale Dam ( si, කන්තලේ වැව, translit=Kantaḷe Wewa, ta, கந்தளாய் அணை, translit=Kantaḷāy Aṇai) is a large embankment dam built in Kantale, Trincomalee District, Sri Lanka, used for irrigation. I ...

in , and the

Munneswaram temple Munneswaram temple ( ta, முன்னேசுவரம் கோயில், si, මුන්නේශ්වරම් කෝවිල) is an important regional Hindu temple complex in Sri Lanka. It has been in existence at least since 1000 ...

of the west coast. He is known as the royal who settled ancient Vanniyars in the east of the island of

Eelam Eelam ( ta, ஈழம், ''īḻam'', , also spelled Eezham, Ilam or Izham in English) is the native Tamil name for the South Asian island now known as Sri Lanka. The exact etymology and the original meaning of the word are not clearly know ...

See also

References

Further reading