Chenkuttuvan

Chenkuttuvan (c. 180 CE, literally 'the Righteous Kuttuvan'), title Kadal Pirakottiya, identified with Kadalottiya Vel Kezhu Kuttuvan, was the most celebrated Chera ruler of early historic South India. He is also mentioned in Chilappathikaram, the Tamil epic poem purportedly composed by the Chera prince Ilanko Adikal''.''

Chenkuttavan is eulogized by the poet Paranar in the fifth decade of the Pathitrupathu Collection, part of the Ettuthokai anthology of early Tamil literature. He was likely a member of the Muchiri-Karur branch (associated with present-day central Kerala) of the Chera dynasty. During his reign, the Chera territory encompassed the Malabar Coast (present-day Kerala) and the interior Kongu country (western Tamil Nadu). The influx of Yavana (Greco-Roman) gold into south India through the Indian Ocean spice trade during Chenkuttavan's reign is memorably described in ancient Tamil poems.

According to Fifth Decade, Pathitrupathu, Chenkuttavan achieved a major victory against a northern "Arya" king, occupied the forests of "Idumbil", and won another significant battle at a location called "Viyalur" (possibly against the powerful chieftain Nannan). He also destroyed Kodukur (likely located in the Kongu country), defeated a chieftain named Mannan of Mokur, and successfully intervened in a succession dispute in the Chola country, installing his chosen contender on the throne.

The martial achievements of Chenkuttavan are described — albeit in an exaggerated manner — in the medieval Tamil epic poem Chilappathikaram''.'' A method known as the Gajabahu Synchronism/Triple Synchronism, based on Canto 30:160 of the text, is widely used by scholars to date Chenkuttuvan's reign to around the 2nd century CE.

Early Tamil texts

Chenkuttavan is praised by the poet Kacharu Cheyyul Paranar in the fifth decade of Pathitrupathu Collection, part of the Ettuthokai anthology. In the Pathitrupathu, he is described as the Lord of the Kudavar people (that is, of Kudanadu) and as the Kuttuvan (the Lord of the Kuttuvar people).

Chenkuttavan was the son of the Chera ruler "Imayavaramban" Nedum Cheralathan, the Lord of the Westerners, and Chola Manakilli, a princess from family of the Cholas of Uraiyur. "Kalankayakkanni" Narmudi Cheral and "Adu Kottu Pattu" Cheralathan were his elder and younger half-brothers, respectively (Pathitrupathu Collection). The wife of Chenkuttuvan was certain Illanko Venmal, the daughter of a velir chieftain (Chilappathikaram). According to Pathitrupathu, Chenkuttuvan ruled the Chera country for 55 years. His son was known as "Kuttuvan Cheral", possibly the ruler of the Umpar Kadu region.

The Pathitrupathu collection that praises Chenkuttuvan also contains important references to burial grounds with urns containing the remains of earlier Chera rulers.

The patikam to Pathitrupathu, Decad V, mentions Chenkuttuvan's expedition to bring the sacred stone for the creation of the Pattini idol, during which he defeated and killed an Arya king. Scholars believe that the exaggerated account of Chenkuttuvan's expedition to the Ganges Valley, as found in Chilappathikaram, may have been a later interpolation into this text or an associated ancient (now lost) tradition.

The ten Pathitrupathu songs praising Chenkuttuvan are;

# The Venkai-tree with Glowing Flowers
# The Shining Seat of Vessels
# The Shelves that Cannot be Climbed
# The Sturdy Limbs Destroyed by Pain
# The Food with Meat Curry
# The Wheels with Bloody Ridge
# Viralis with Delicate Forehead
# A Great and High Life
# The Warriors with Red Hands
# The Frightening Flood-like Vanguard

Relation to maritime trade

Poet Paranar praised the Chera ruler for his naval powers -

Early Tamil poems refer to the "hill products" and "sea products" — later mainly being precious pearls — associated with Chenkuttuvan, and to the Yavana (Graeco-Roman) gold that "reached ashore by boats" in exchange (Purananuru 343). Chenkuttuvan's mastery over the sea may have earned him the frequently used title "Kadal Pirakottiya", which roughly translates to "One Who Left the Sea Behind" or "One Who Drove Back the Sea".

In the Pathitrupathu, Chenkuttuvan is described as "the conqueror of the cool sea with sounding waves" and as the distributor of sapphire-coloured wine from the shining seat of vessels—a possible reference to Mediterranean wine.

Military achievements

Poet Paranar also praised Chenkuttuvan's military prowess -

The following are the military achievements of Chenkuttuvan from early Tamil poems.

# The panegyric to the fifth decade describes Chenkuttuvan as "the king feared by the northerners", who wanted to take a sacred stone for the idol of the goddess Pattini. He is also reported to have killed a certain "Arya king" and bathed in the sacred Ganges River.
# It is recorded that Chenkuttavan camped at a location called "Idumbil" with his warriors. He won a major victory at another location called "Viyalur" (perhaps in the country of Ezhimala Nannan and against Nannan). The "fort" of Kodukur, perhaps in the Kongu country, was also destroyed.
# He also defeated a chieftain called "Pazhaiyan" Mannan of Mokur (while aiding his ally Arukai, an enemy of the Mannan of Mokur) ( Pathitrupathu, 45, V Pathikam and repeated in Chilappathikaram, XXVIII, 124-26'').
# It is recorded that Chenkuttuvan successfully intervened in a succession dispute in the Chola country and established his relative (brother-in-law) Killi on the throne. The other nine Chola contenders to the throne were defeated in a battle at a location known as "Vayil" or "Neri-vayil".

Additional achievements described in Chilappathikaram include;

# In the Chilappathikaram, Chenkuttuvan is described as the ruler who "overthrew the Kadambu ribewith fences of the vast/dark water" or as the one "who overthrew the Kadambu of the Sea."
# He also conquered the Kongar (the people of the Kongu country) in a martial campaign (Chilappathikaram'', XXV, 152-53)''.

According to the Pathitrupathu, Chenkuttuvan was renowned for his chariots, adorned with flags swaying at their tops, as well as for his horses and elephants. The text contains multiple references to swords, bows and arrows, and walls protected by deep moats. It is also mentioned that Chenkuttuvan’s warriors used bull-hide shields to protect themselves from enemy darts ( Pathitrupathu, 45).

Chenkuttavan Chera in ''Chilappathikaram''

Authorship of the Tamil epic Chilappathikaram is traditionally ascribed to prince Ilanko Adikal (literally "the prince ascetic"; Kudakko Cheral Ilanko), who appears in the work as the younger brother of Chenkuttuvan Chera. The third part of Chilappathikaram (the Vanchi Kantham) narrates Chenkuttuvan's expedition to the Himalayas to collect the virakkallu (sacred stone) for an idol of the goddess Kannaki-Pattini.

According to the patikam of Chilappathikaram, the royal astrologer at the Chera king's court predicted that the younger prince, or the Ilanko, would succeed the king. In response, Ilanko immediately renounced his claim to the throne and chose to live as an ascetic. He relocated to a Jain monastery (the Kunavayir Kottam) on the outskirts of Vanchi, where he composed the epic Chilappathikaram.

Context

Chera king Chenkuttuvan and his queen, Ilanko Venmal, were moved by Kannaki's tragic story, and the queen wanted her to be worshipped as a "Goddess of Chastity". In response, Chenkuttuvan sought advice from his court, which suggested carving a stone block from the sacred Himalayas to create the "virakkallu" (the sacred stone) for the Kannaki idol.

The king then ordered a military expedition to the Himalayas. Setting out from his capital, Vanchi, Chenkuttuvan first led his army to the Blue Mountain (the Nilgiris), where he was welcomed by learned Brahmanas, the people of Konkana country, the Karunatar, and the people of Kongu country, as well as the Ovar. There, he also met Sanjaya, an envoy of king Nutruvar Kannar (the Satavahana). Sanjaya informed Chenkuttuvan that the Nutruvar Kannar had no conflicts with the Chera ruler. Chenkuttuvan responded that he needed vessels to cross the River Ganges.

The Chera army then marched to the Ganges, crossed it using the vessels provided by the Nutruvar Kannar, and camped in the "uttara country". Soon, the northern Arya rulers—led by Kanaka and Vijaya, sons of Balakumara, along with allied princes Uttara, Vichitra, Rudra, Bhairava, Chitra, Singha, Dhanurdhara, and Sveta—confronted Chenkuttuvan's forces with a massive army. After a fierce battle, the northern alliance was defeated, and the sacred stone for the Kannaki-Pattini idol was secured.

Princes Kanaka and Vijaya were taken as prisoners and brought to the southern country. Two and a half months after his departure, Chenkuttuvan returned victoriously to Vanchi, where the temple for Kannaki-Pattini was consecrated with the virakkallu from the Himalayas.

The Bhagavati Temple in Kodungallur, Kerala, is believed to be the Kannaki temple thus consecrated.

Dating Chenkuttavan Chera

A method known as Gajabahu Synchronism/Triple Synchronism, first propounded by scholar V. Kanakasabhai Pillai, is widely used by the scholars to date Chenkuttavan Chera to 2nd century CE. The method is often criticized for its dependency on numerous conjectures. However, complementary epigraphical/archeological evidence broadly seems to support the Gajabahu dating. The method was famously supported by historian K. A. Nilakanta Sastri.

Gajabahu Synchronism

As stated in Chilappathikaram (text proper, canto 30:160), several neighboring kings were invited by king Chenkuttavan to the installation of Kannaki-Pattini at Vanchi. These included the "Arya" kings Kanaka and Vijaya, the Kongu king of Kudaku, the king of Malva, and "Kayavaku", the king of Lanka.

The 30th Canto, 160, in translation, reads -

"The monarch of the world henkuttavancircumambulated the shrine thrice and stood there proffering his respects. In front of him the Arya kings released from prison, kings removed from central jail, the Kongu ruler of Kudaku, the king of Malva and Kayavaku, the king of sea-girt Ceylon, prayed reverently to the deity thus...

Kayavaku, the king of Lanka, can tentatively be identified with Gajabahu I, king of Sri Lanka (r. ''c.'' 173 — 195 CE). In this context, Chenkuttavan (and the early Tamil poems) can be dated to either the first or the last quarter of the 2nd century CE.

The Gajabahu dating is generally considered the "sheet anchor" for dating events in early historic Tamil texts (and the early historic rulers of southern India).

In popular culture

Films

* The Tamil-language film ''Raja Rani'' (1956) features Sivaji Ganesan playing the role of Chenkuttavan in a play within the film.
* Chenkuttavan is briefly portrayed by an uncredited actor at the beginning of the Tamil-language film ''Poompuhar'' (1964).

References

Bibliography

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*{{Cite book , last=Zvelebil , first=Kamil , url=https://archive.org/details/smileofmuruganontamilliteratureofsouthindiakamilzvelebilbrill_368_E , title=The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India , publisher=E. J. Brill , year=1973 , location=Leiden , pages=

People from the Chera kingdom
3rd-century Indian Jains
Chera kings