Cheraman Perumal Nayanar

Cheraman Perumal Nayanar (literally meaning Chera king the Nayanar), one of the sixty-three Nayanars, was a bhakti poet-musician and religious teacher from medieval south India.[1] Historians tentatively identify the Perumal with Rajasekhara, the 9th century ruler of the Chera Perumal kingdom of Kerala.[2][3][4]

Cheraman Perumal Nayanar
Depiction of "Cherman Perumal" Nayanar in Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur
Nayanar
Residence	Thiruvanchikulam (Kerala)
Venerated in	Hinduism
Major shrine	Thiruvanchikulam Shiva Temple
Major works	Ponvannattandadi Thiruvarur Mummanikkovai Adiyula/Thirukkailayajnana Ula

Cheraman Perumal's friendship with Chundara Murti, one of the so-called three Nayanars, is celebrated in the bhakti tradition.[2][3][4] The Perumal is considered as the author of Ponvannattandadi, Thiruvarur Mummanikkovai, and Adiyula/Thirukkailayajnana Ula, Tamil devotional hymns in honour of god Shiva.[5][6] The story of Cheraman Perumal is narrated in Periyapuranam, composed by Chekkizhar, a courtier of Chola Kulottunga II, in mid-12th century CE. The collection is based on an earlier work by Nambi Andar Nambi (10th-11th centuries CE)[7][8]

Thiruvanchikulam Siva Temple in Kodungallur is often associated with the Perumal and Chundara Murti Nayanar.[9] Thiruvanchikulam Siva Temple in the city, "where the mountainous waves of the ocean beat against the shore", figures in the lyrics of Chundara Murti.[9] Periyapuranam also gives a full account of the city of Kodungallur ("Tiru-Makotai") as the capital of the Perumal.[10]