Perum Cheral Irumporai, also known as Perum Kadungon, was a member of the Irumporai line of the

Chera dynasty The Chera dynasty ( or Cēra, ), also known as Keralaputra, from the early historic or the Sangam period in Tamil-speaking southern India, ruled over parts of present-day states Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Cheras, known as one of the mu-ventar ...

in early historic south India (c. 1st - 4th century CE). He is the hero of the Eighth Decade of the Pathitruppathu, composed by poet Arichil Kizhar. He is believed to have ruled for seventeen years and is also honored in the songs under the title "Kothai Marpa". Perum Cheral was likely a member of the Irumporai or Porai line, a collateral branch of the Chera family (dominating the Kongu country with Karuvur or Karur as their regional headquarters). His father, Chelva Kadungo Vazhi Athan, was notably praised for possessing the cities of Kodumanam (present-day

Kodumanal Kodumanal is a village located in the Erode district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was once a flourishing ancient trade city known as Kodumanam, as inscribed in ''Patittrupathu'' of Sangam Literature. The place is an important ...

) and Pandar (possibly

Koyilandy Koyilandy (;A Survey of Kerala History, A. Shreedhara Menon)is a major town Nagar Palika, municipality and a Tehsil, taluk in Kozhikode district, Kerala on the Malabar Coast. The historical town is located right in the middle of the coast of Koz ...

, on the

Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...

). Perum Cheral was renowned for his conquest of the fortified city of Thagadur, the stronghold of the Adiyaman ruler Ezhini (who was aided by the

Chola The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...

and

Pandya The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...

rulers). Adiyaman, also known as Neduman Anji, later made peace with the Chera and became his ally. He was eventually killed during a Chera raid on Pazhi, which belonged to Ezhimala Nannan. Perum Cheral also appeared to have defeated a minor Idayar chief called Kazhuval or Kazhuvul and emptied his city Kamur or Kazhur. He was praised as the overlord of Puhar, the

capital, the Kolli hills and the Puzhi people. He was also said to have offered a sacrifice to the goddess of victory on the Ayirai mountain. Perum Cheral is sometimes identified with Perum Kadungon, the Irumporai Chera royal mentioned in the two nearly identical

Pugalur Pugalur is a municipality in Karur district in Tamil Nadu, India. It has two parts: Nanjai Pugalur and Punjai Pugalur. Nanjai refers to land with plenty of water, and Punjai refers to land with few bodies of water. Geography Pugalur is on th ...

inscriptions. The inscriptions record the construction of a rock shelter for Chenkayapan, a Jain monk, on the occasion of the inauguration of Kadungon Ilam Kadungo — son of Perum Kadungon, who was in turn the son of king Athan Chel Irumporai — as the heir apparent ("Ilamgo"). These three Chera royals can be identified as Chelva Kadungo Vazhi Athan, Perum Cheral Irumporai, and Ilam Cheral Irumporai, who are mentioned in early Tamil literature (Decades 7-9, Pathitruppathu Collection).

References

Tamil monarchs People from the Chera kingdom Chera kings {{India-royal-stub