Historical aspects of the legend of cheraman perumal. Narayan pointed out that there was no reason to reject the. Jul 26, 2014 31 responses to unraveling the cheraman perumal myth ramachandran guruswamy iyer july 26, 2014 at 7. May 30, 2009 keralolpathi portrays cheraman perumal as a generic figurehead of the chera dynasty, along with a chola perumal and pandi perumal. According to the book the chronology of ancient india. Perumal murugans most popular book is madhorubhagan. Legend of a king abdicating his throne to vindicate his certitude is a glorious chapter in any history. What do the religious legends say about when cheraman perumal lived. Sir,i read somewhere that its bana perumal and not cheraman perumal who converted to islam first and malik ibn dinar lived in 9th century. The written sources were an absence in early history of kerala that i had already noticed, but oral traditions or rumors especially about a mythical hero was particularly important in kerala society. Cheraman perumal, the king of early kulashekhara dynasty did not. All the historians agreed that one of the kings of kerala accepted islam and disappeared in unknown circumstances. Depiction of cherman perumal nayanar in brihadisvara temple, thanjavur. In different times in history, jews had fled their homeland and it was only natural that they came.
Cheraman perumal, of kodungallur, kerala, was the first indian to accept islam. And according to it, the conversion process began when cheraman perumal, who was the reigning of kodungallur, when a group of muslim. Some history books say that a temple named arathali was converted to a mosque and named after cheraman. After the death of cheraman perumal at mecca, malik ibn dinar came to kerala with letters written by cheraman. I want to know the story behind construction of this mosque by a nonmuslim who by some history is said to be a converted muslim. So i doubt if this cheraman perumal of keralolpathi was a chera to begin with. The myth of cheraman perumals conversion varnamvarnam. The sahya mountains which form part of the western ghats is the main mountain range in kerala. He went to mecca and met prophet mohammad and died there. Munnuttuvar and arunnuttuvar were local assemblies to look after the administration. The bewildered king confirmed with his astrologers that the incident had taken place, but didnt know what to make of it.
Cheraman perumal nayanar rajasekhara varmanperiyapuranam accountfriendship with sundaramurthirise of temples xi. Btw most accounts say he is burried in shahr al mukalla. Nagarchennai was previously called as hensman road is where kannadasan resided from and it was renamed kannadasan street in his honour after his demise. Cheraman perumal, the last king of kerala and his arabian connection. Cheraman perumal bhaskara ravi varma was a king of the ancient tamilspeaking chera dynasty in the eighth century ad. The legend is now considered as an expression of the his. In this historical novel, his poetic writings add so much of flavor. Cheraman juma masjid, first mosque in india during 629 ce. Kerala, the southernmost state of kerala has been ruled by the cheran dynasty. Now that the muziris project is spending more than a crore rupees on its restoration, it is important to delve into the heritage of this ancient. Jul 18, 2010 according to this narrative, the king is identified as cheraman perumal and at jeddah the prophet pbuh himself gives him a new name tajuddin and the king later marries the sister of the king of arabia and stays at the port city for five years and on his way back passes away in yemen.
He read the thiruppavai of andaland was amazed at its mystic poetry, which was to have a deep and lasting impact on him. In kerala, the ubiquitous lamp has been burning continuously for over a thousand years at cheraman masjid, regarded widely as the worlds second and the subcontinents first centre of islamic worship. Ravikumar pillay is a passionate scholar of indian history, an avid traveller, photographer, writer, counsellor, and teaches meditation. Many historians have recorded this fact in their writings. It was the capital city of malai nadu the present kerala. According to the muslims, cheraman perumal lived during muhammads lifetime as they claim he witnessed the splitting of the moon incident. The tuhfat is the first book of history by a keralite, and is written in arabic.
This is the board outside the cheraman perumal juma masjid near present day kodungallur, kerala which proclaims that the mosque was established when prophet muhammad was alive. Knanaya history the archeparchy of kottayam leading the. Cheraman perumal nayanar one of the sixtythree nayanars, was a bhakti poetmusician and. The legend of cheraman perumals is the medieval tradition associated with the cheraman. The fifth and the longest chapter discusses the arrival of the portuguese in malabar and sheikh zainuddins work on malabar. According to saiva tradition, he had an association with a sundaramurti, the last of the three hymnists of devaram. The history of perumathura dates back from the period of the legendary king cheraman perumal who ruled south india during the 8th century a. Some history books say that a temple named arathali was converted to a mosque and named after cheraman in kodungallore. The time of origin of the legend is not known to scholars. The story of cheraman perumal is narrated in periyapuranam, composed by chekkizhar, a courtier of. Real truth about indias gift to saudi king on the legend. Examining the historicity of cheraman legend trueindology.
Aug, 2005 but there seems to have been a cheraman perumal, whose history is overlaid by legend. Cheraman perumal is also thought to be rajasekhara varman 820844. The sources of the legend include popular oral traditions and later literary compositions. Located at methala, some 35km north of kochi, the mosque is believed to have been built by then cheraman perumal local ruler or at his instruction in the seventh or eighth century. It seems the legend once had a common source well known to all kerala people. But there seems to have been a cheraman perumal, whose history is overlaid by legend. Followers of both the faith claim that he was a hindu, who later converted. Although this story has a lot of mythological elements, a lot historical support also there to held the story as a true incident. He agrees that cheraman perumal was a great king who distributed his kingdom and undertook a voyage.
A malayalam version of this book is also being brought out simultaneously. The name perumathura meaning residence of perumal was derived from the late kings name. Was he a christian, as the christians claim him to be. Cheraman perumal the king of the chera dynasty once experienced a vision and finally, he traveled all the way to mecca to meet mohammed nabi. Apr 12, 2016 cheraman perumals legend is distorted with questions on his rule and the kingdom in south india there has been a proliferation of perumals, mostly petty chieftains. 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. He was born in the royal family of kothayars, otherwise known as the uthiyan family. Lamp of amity shines in cheraman masjid for a thousand years. The tuhafatulmujahidin of sheik zainuddin refers about the cheraman legend. Their object in writing such works was to impress the. After a while, when malik ibn dinar came to kerala.
Cheraman perumal was the last king of the chera dynasty and popular legend tells how he divided his country among his relatives and dependents, converted to islam and left for mecca. Did he take the boat and go to mecca or did he undertake a penultimate journey to break the chain of births and rebirths. In some historic books we can see that cheraman perumal lived in 9th century. Kulasekhara alwar dynastic history of the kulasekharasgeneral cultural progress kulasekhara alwaras a religious leaderas a dramatist x. The cheraman juma masjid at kodungallur, glorified by the moslems of kerala as the most ancient mosque of the world barring mecca is claimed to be the built by the last of the early chera kings, cheraman perumal, who is considered as the first follower of islam by the same sect of people. I happened to pass through hb stall in chennai and never failed to get the book. The chera king, saiva saint, sundarars best friend cheraman perumal s sudden disappearance lead to many speculations. Cheraman perumal the first indian to accept islam cheraman perumal, of kodungallur, kerala, was the first indian to accept islam. A mention of the cheraman perumal legend appeared in the 16th century book tuhafatul mujahidin by shaik zainuddin, but he too did not believe in its historical authenticity.
First mosque in india cheraman juma masjid in kerala. According to some legends, cheraman perumal cheraman perumal being the title held by chera kings witnessed the splitting of the moon, a supernatural event mentioned in the quran as a miracle performed by the islamic prophet muhammad when asked for one by meccan unbelievers. History text books at school teach that vasco da gama was a great navigator and that his arrival at kappad village of calicut was a significant milestone in the history of kerala. To drive back the invading forces the perumal summoned the militia of his chieftains like udaya varman kolathiri and manichchan and vikkiran of eranad. It also means that this particular mosque was established before the first mosques in iraq 639 ce, syria 715 ce, egypt 642 ce, and tunisia 670 ce thus the post unraveling the cheraman perumal myth. Cheraman perumal chola church cochin cochin raja contribution cranganore culture customs devadasis dutch early economic. Knai thoma and his people were heartily welcomed by cheraman perumal, the emperor. Aug 23, 2019 kannadasan about this sound pronunciation helpinfo 24 june 17 october was he won the sahitya akademi award for his novel cheraman kadali in the year and was the first to receive the national film award for best. The validity of the legend as a source of history once generated much debate among south indian historians. Cheraman juma masjid, first mosque in india during 629 ce cheraman juma masjid, built in 629 ce at methala, kodungallur taluk, thrissur district in the indian state of kerala is the first mosque in india and third outside saudi arabia. They migrated from southern mesopotamia to the malabar present kerala coast of cranganore kodungalloor in ad 345 under the leadership of an enterprising merchant thomas of cana knai thomman. Cheraman perumal went to arabia and embraced islam after meeting the holy prophet at mecca. Real truth about indias gift to saudi king on the legend of. Knanaya history the archeparchy of kottayam leading.
It is believed that cheraman peruamal embraced islam during his stay at perumathura. Cheraman perumal between legend and history heritage. He was always praying to siva, the dancing lord of. Brass oil lamps constitute an integral part of traditional hindu customs and practices. Bin dinar and his colleagues built mosques in 12 places. But there seems to have been a cheraman perumal, whose history is.
The legend of cheraman perumals is the medieval tradition associated with the cheraman perumals of kerala. Perumal murugan has 37 books on goodreads with 22758 ratings. The ruler made necessary arrangements for them to propagate islam. Krishna raya sent cheraman perumal to kerala on the request of brahmins from kerala. Lakshmi raghunandan of the travancore royal family merits a mention and finding little online, i decided to post it on my blog. There are details about the spices of kerala in the holy books of jews. History of cheraman mosque the first juma musjid in india sub. The oral tradition is that cheraman perumal, when he was convinced of his imminent death, wrote letters to his relatives in kerala among whom he had partitioned his kingdom before leaving for mecca. Well done nabeel,i too am a history buff obsessed with cheraman perumal s conversion story. It is better to say that this is a history blended with. Its bana perumal who saw the splitting of the moon and went to meccah.
This story seems to be a myth propagated in the book keralolpathi. However, these texts do not throw light on the negative consequences, such as the brutalities, atrocities and cruelties committed by da gama and his crew. Rakesh krishnan simha real truth on indias gift to saudi king on the legend of cheraman swarajya examining the historicity of cheraman legend true indology maddy perumal and the pickle historic alleys jayakrishnan nair the myth of cheraman perumal s conversion varnam the perumal legend readings in mappila history. The story is about the history of cheraman 3, a king who reigned the land of chera those days. There are a number of regional and tribal variations on the tradition of cheraman perumal, his abdication of throne to convert to islam and subsequent pilgrimage to mecca. Adithya army attacked battle became brahmins british calicut called cananore captured century a. Tucked away in coastal kerala is a mosque that may have been built during the lifetime of the prophet himself. The cheraman legend says that the last chera emperor cheraman perumal received islam and went to arabia and met prophet muhammed at jeddah. The journey was, either to the ganges in fulfillment of a vow or as the moors say to visit mahomet in arabia for the purpose of embracing his religion implying that there were multiple theories existing at that time. There is a popular story behind this mosque which is well known in kerala even today. The cheraman mosque in kerala india is the first mosque built in subcontinent.
Local muslims in kerala believe that king cheraman perumal after whom the mosque is today named converted to islam and traveled to medina. The knanaya community traces its origin back to a jewishchristian immigrant community. Rayar, the overlord of the cheraman perumal kulasekharan in a country east of the ghats, invaded kerala during the rule of the last perumal. In this connection, i would like to make it clear that this book does not represent an attempt on my part to write a comprehensive history of kerala. It protected the state from political invasions that hit south india till the. Cheraman perumal, the reigning king of kerala, with kodungallur as its capital, once.
The story of cheraman perumal is narrated in periyapuranam, composed by chekkizhar. The bewildered king confirmed with his astrologers that the. The mosque has an ancient oil lamp that is always kept burning and believed to. As one reads books on malabar history, especially focusing on calicut and the zamorin lineage, one come across mentions of a sword that was gifted to the puntura brothers manavedan and manavikraman, by the erstwhile ruler cheraman peruymal with a violent blessing. Cheraman perumal nayanar one of the sixtythree nayanars, was a bhakti poet musician and.
Story hijacked by muslim storytellers many are familiar with the. For writing books about the existence of perumal they never studied any inscriptions, coins or manuscripts. Later, cheraman perumal bestowed them with 72 royal privileges, and it was recorded on copper plates knai thomman cheppedu. History has it that about 2200 years ago, arabs used to visit kerala to sell. More2011 refers is the first book which systematically recorded the history of. Jul 18, 2010 well done nabeel,i too am a history buff obsessed with cheraman perumals conversion story. According to oral account of cheraman masjid, cheraman perumal was converted to islam and changed his name to tajuddin. Jul 26, 2014 as per keralolpathi, cheraman perumal was a viceroy of a certain other nonkeralite king named krishna raya. This event is said to have given rise to various new kingdoms being formed within.
The main mast flew king davids flag, the second mast flew the roman flag with the cross, and the third flew king abgar of edessas flag. Malikibndinar, an arab trader who frequently visited the kerala coast for trade, is said to have built this mosque as well as eight others on the coast. D, about 200 years after muhammed thus confirming that all that mecca trip was a fanciful legend. Cheraman perumal rama varma kulashekhara was said to be the king of kerala at that time. According to the copper plates, these privileges were given to thomas and his colleagues and all of his descendents as long as the sun and moon exist. But later cut and paste historians seem to have forgot to add his disclaimer. According to the ancient history of kerala narrated in this poetic work by kunhikuttan thampuran, cheraman perumal the last chera king of kerala relinquished his kingdom and divided the land amongst the various smaller chieftains and gave them independence. Cheraman perumal sent his brother, ramavarma, and his minister, vettathu mannan, to receive knai thoma and his people.
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