Ravivarman Kulasekhara the Yadava and Sagara the Son of Yadavi
Real and Ideal Kings in Matrilineal Kerala
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.v5i1/2.365Keywords:
Cera, epigraphy, Jaiminīyasaṃhitā, kingship, Kollam, marumakkattāyaṃ, matriliny, medieval South India, Nayar, pre-modern Kerala, Purāṇa, Ravivarman Kulaśekhara, svarūpam, Travancore, YādavaAbstract
This paper deals with the historical figure of Ravivarman Kulasekhara (c. 1266–1317 ce), a king of southern Kerala and for a while emperor of South India, who claims in his inscriptions to be a yadupati like his father, and at the same time appears to be genetically a Yadava by his mother, according to the matrilineal system of inheritance through the sister’s son (marumakkattayam) that was prevalent in pre-modern Kerala among non-brahmins. Moreover, in taking over the Cera imperial heritage in accordance with the solar aspects of his kuladevata (Visnu Padmanabha), Ravivarman pretends to assume a solar dimension compatible with his lunar-family origin by claiming to be namantara-karna Karna being son of the solar god through the Yadavi Kunti). The Jaiminiyasamhita of the Brahmanda Purana, an epic probably composed in Kerala under the reign of the same Kulasekhara (there is an obvious reference to this text in one of his inscriptions), tells a unique story about the brahmin (first) wife of King Sagara, and also emphasizes the role of Sagara’s mother who is a Yadavi queen, as if the famous solar king Sagara served as a model for Ravivarman. The paper compares and discusses the genealogical narratives of the epigraphic testimonies and the Puranic accounts, and analyses their symbolic value in order to understand the royal ideology expressed according to the Brahmanical tradition within the peculiar socio-cultural context of Kerala.
References
Alamkarasarvasvavyakhya of Samudrabandha, ed. T. Ganapati Sastri. Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 40. Trivandrum: Government Press, 1915.
Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy. 1951–52. Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India.
Arthasastra of Kautalya, ed. T. Ganapati Sastri. Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 79–80, 82. Trivandrum: Government Press, 1924–25. Malayalam commentary ed. K. Sambasiva Sastri and V. A. Ramaswami Sastri, 3 vols. Trivandrum: Government Press, 1930, 1938, 1945.
Brahmanda Purana. Bombay: Srivenkatesvara Steam Press, 1906 (sake 1828, vikramasamvat 1963).
Hamsasamdesa of Purnasarasvati, ed. K. Sambasiva Sastri. Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 129. Trivandrum: Government Press, 1937.
Harivamsa, crit. ed. P. L. Vaidya. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1969–71.
Jaiminiyasamhita of the Brahmanda Purana. See Vielle in press.
Keralamahatmya. Trichur: Bharata Vilasam Press, 1912.
Laghubhaskariyavivarana of Sankaranarayana, ed. P. K. Narayana Pillai. Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 162. Trivandrum: University of Kerala, 1949.
Laghudharmaprakasika of Sankara. See Sankarasmrti.
Lilatilakam (Malayalam), ed. Suranad Kunjan Pillai. Thiruvananthapuram: State Institute of Languages, 1996 (2nd edn).
Mahabharata, crit. eds V. S. Sukthankar et al. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1933–66.
Musikavamsa of Atula, ed. K. Raghavan Pillai. Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 246. Trivandrum: University of Kerala, 1977. English trans. K. P. A. Menon (Classical Sanskrit Literature of Kerala, 8), Delhi: Nag, 1999.
Pradyumnabhyudaya of Ravivarman, ed. T. Ganapati Sastri. Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 8. Trivandrum: Government Press, 1910.
Prapañcahrdaya, ed. T. Ganapati Sastri. Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 45. Trivandrum: Government Press, 1915.
Ramayana, crit. eds G. H. Bhatt et al. Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1960–75. English trans. Robert P. Goldman et al., Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984–2009.
Sankarasmrti, ed. and English trans. N. P. Unni. Turin: Corpus Iuris Sanscriticum (vol. 4), 2003.
Sukasamdesa of Laksmidasa, ed. N. P. Unni. Delhi: Nag, 1985. English trans. K. P. A. Menon (in Nine Gems of Sanskrit Literature), Delhi: Nag, 1996.
Syanandura Purana Samuccaya. Manuscript transcript 722, Oriental Research Institute and Manuscripts Library, University of Kerala.
Tapatisamvarana of Kulasekhara, ed. T. Ganapati Sastri. Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 11. Trivandrum: Government Press, 1911. English trans. N. P. Unni and Bruce M. Sullivan, Delhi: Nag, 1995.
Unnunilisandesam (Malayalam), ed. Elamkulam P. N. Kunjan Pillai. Kottayam: Sahitya Pravartaka, 1985.
Vayu Purana, ed. H. N. Apte. Anandasrama Sanskrit Series, 49. Poona: Anandasrama, 1905 (sake 1827).
Visnu Purana, crit. ed. M. M. Pathak. Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1997–99.
Basham, Arthur Lewellyn. 1954. The Wonder that was India. London: Sidgwick and Jackson.
Bayi, Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi. 1995. Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
— 1998. Thulasi Garland. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
— 2000. Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple, 2nd edn. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Bock, Andreas. 1984. Der Sagara-Gangavatarana-Mythus in der episch-puranischen Literatur. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.
Brodbeck, Simon (trans.). 2011. Who’s Who in Ancient India? The Solar and Lunar Dynasties in the Harivamsa. http://blogs.cf.ac.uk/historyofgenealogy/resource/Bigdoc.pdf
Buyers, Christopher, and John D. McMeekin. 2001–2009. ‘Travancore: Brief History—the Kulasekhara Dynasty.’ http://www.royalark.net/India/trava.htm
Cherian, P. J. (ed.). 1999. Perspectives on Kerala History: The Second Millennium. Thiruvanthapuram: Government of Kerala, Gazetteers Department (now Kerala Council for Historical Research).
Fuller, C. J. 1976. The Nayars Today. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gadrat, Christine. 2005. Une image de l’Orient au XIVe siècle: Les Mirabilia Descripta de Jordan Catala de Sévérac. Paris: École des Chartes.
Ganesh, K. N. 1996. ‘Polity and Society in Medieval Kerala: Preliminary Considerations.’ In K. K. N. Kurup (ed.), New Dimensions in South Indian History (Felicitation Volume in Honour of Dr. M. R. Raghava Varier): 96–124. Calicut: University of Calicut/Association for Peasant Studies.
— 2002. ‘Land Rights and Political Structure in Medieval Venatu.’ In R. Champakalakshmi,
Kesavan Veluthat and T. R. Venugopalan (eds), State and Society in Pre-Modern South India: 144–71. Thrissur: Cosmobooks.
Gopinatha Rao, T. A. 1920. Travancore Archaeological Series, vol. 2. Trivandrum: Government Press (reprint Government of Kerala, Department of Cultural Publications, 1992).
Gough, Kathleen. 1961. ‘Nayar.’ In David Murray Schneider and Kathleen Gough (eds), Matrilineal Kinship: 298–404. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Hultzsch, Eugen. 1899. South Indian Inscriptions, vol. 3, part 1: Miscellaneous Inscriptions from the Tamil Country. Madras: Government Press (reprint Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India, 1987).
— 1905–1906. ‘Tiruvadi Inscription of Ravivarman; a.d. 1313.’ Epigraphia Indica 8, inscription no. 2: 8–9.
Ibrahim Kunju, A. P. 1976. Rise of Travancore: A Study of the Life and Times of Martanda Varma. Trivandrum: Kerala Historical Society.
— 2007. Medieval Kerala. Thiruvananthapuram: University of Kerala/International Centre for Kerala Studies.
Janaki, Kumari S. S. 1966. ‘Parasurama.’ Purana 8: 52–82.
John, Binu Mailaparambil. 2007. The Ali Rajas of Cannanore: Status and Identity at the Interface of Commercial and Political Expansion, 1663–1723. PhD thesis, Leiden University (published Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2012).
Kielhorn, Franz. 1896–97a. ‘Arulala-Perumal Inscription of Ravivarman of Kerala.’ Epigraphia Indica 4, inscription no. 17: 145–48.
— 1896–97b. ‘Ranganatha Inscription of Ravivarman of Kerala.’ Epigraphia Indica 4, inscription no. 18: 148–52.
Kirfel, Willibald. 1927. Das Purana Pañcalaksana: Versuch einer Textgeschichte. Bonn: Kurt Schroeder Verlag.
Krishna Ayyar, K. V. 1966. A Short History of Kerala. Ernakulam: Pai and Co.
Krishna Sastri, H. 1916. South Indian Inscriptions, vol. 2, part 5. Madras: Government Press (reprint Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India, 2001).
Krishnaswami Aiyangar, S. 1938. ‘Ravivarman Kulasekhara (the Emergence of Travancore into Historical View).’ New Indian Antiquary 1: 147–80.
Kunhan Raja, C. 1945. ‘Some Sandesa Kavyas & Malabar Geography.’ In D. R. Bhandarkar et al. (eds), B. C. Law Volume, part 1: 293–307. Calcutta: Indian Research Institute.
Kunjan Pillai, Elamkulam P. N. 1970 [1953, Malayalam]. Studies in Kerala History. Kottayam: National Book Stall.
Kunjunni Raja, K. 1958. The Contribution of Kerala to Sanskrit Literature. Madras: University of Madras. 2nd edn, 1980.
Lalitha Kumari, C. 2004. Laghudharmaprakasika: A Study (Sanskrit Text). Delhi: New Bharatiya Book Corporation.
Mateer, Samuel. 1871. The Land of Charity: A Descriptive Account of Travancore and its People. London: John Snow (reprint Asian Educational Services).
Menon, V. K. R. 2005 [1928–43]. History of Medieval Kerala, eds Rathi Ramachandran et al. Delhi: Pragati Publications/Indian Council of Historical Research.
Nagam Aiya, V. 1906. The Travancore State Manual, vol. 1. Trivandrum: Government Press (reprint Asian Educational Services; reprint Government of Kerala, Gazetteers Department/Kerala Council for Historical Research, 1999).
Narayanan, C. 2002. A Study of Samudrabandha’s Commentary on Alankarasarvasva. Calicut: University of Calicut.
Narayanan, M. G. S. 1977. Re-Interpretation in South Indian History. Trivandrum: College Book House.
— 1996. The Perumals of Kerala: Political and Social Conditions of Kerala under the Cera Perumals of Makotai (c. AD 800–1124). Calicut: M. G. S. Narayanan.
— 2002. ‘The State in the Era of the Ceraman Perumals of Kerala.’ In R. Champakalakshmi, Kesavan Veluthat and T. R. Venugopalan (eds), State and Society in Pre-Modern South India: 111–19. Thrissur: Cosmobooks.
Narayanan Nambudiri, P. P. 1992. Aryans in South India. Delhi: Inter-India Publications.
Nilakantha Sastri, K. A. 1939. Foreign Notices of South-India, from Megasthenes to Ma Huan. Madras: University of Madras.
Padmanabha Menon, K. P. 1924–29. History of Kerala Written in the Form of Notes on Visscher’s Letters from Malabar, vols 1–2. Ernakulam: Government Press (reprint Asian Educational Services).
Parpola, Asko. 1981. ‘On the Formation of the Mimamsa and the Problems Concerning Jaimini.’ Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde und Sudasiens 25: 145–77.
Pauthier, Guillaume. 1867. Le livre de Marco Polo. Paris: Didot.
Pillay, K. K. 1974. ‘The Matrilineal System of Inheritance in Kerala.’ Journal of Kerala Studies 1: 181–88.
Pisharoti, K. Rama. 1940. ‘Ravivarman Kulasekharadeva – (a Note).’ Bulletin of the Rama Varma Research Institute 8: 6–8.
Raghava Varier, M. R. 2002. ‘State as Svarupam: An Introductory Essay.’ In R. Champakalakshmi, Kesavan Veluthat and T. R. Venugopalan (eds), State and Society in Pre-Modern South India: 120–30. Thrissur: Cosmobooks.
Raja, R. P. 1990. ‘Tiruvitamkur rajavamsavum atinte verukalum [The Travancore Dynasty and its Roots].’ In Smaranika: sricittira-tirunal granthasala plattinam jubili-grantham: 169–89. Tiruvanantapuram: Sricittira-Tirunal Granthasala.
Raja, R. P., and Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi (eds). 2002. Surrender: Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple Renovation Souvenir. Trivandrum: Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple.
Rajan Gurukkal, [P. M.]. 2010. Social Formations of Early South India. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Raju, S. 1998. Political Organisation of the Medieval Self-Forms: Svarupam and Muppu-valca. Kottayam: Mahatma Gandhi University/School of Social Sciences.
Ramachandra Dikshitar, V. R. 1933–34. ‘The Marumakkattayam and the Sangam Literature.’ Zeitschrift für Indologie und Iranistik 9: 255–67.
Ramanatha Ayyar, A. S. 1924. Travancore Archaeological Series, vol. 5. Trivandrum: Government Press (reprint Government of Kerala, Department of Cultural Publications, 1999).
Rockhill, W. W. 1914. ‘Notes on the Relation and Trade of China with the Eastern Archipelago and the Coasts of the Indian Ocean during the Fourteenth Century, Part I.’ Toung Pao 15: 430–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853214X00249
Sarkar, H. 1978. An Architectural Survey of Temples of Kerala. Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India.
Sen, Tansen. 2006. ‘Yuan Khanate and India: Cross-Cultural Diplomacy in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries.’ Asia Major 19: 299–326.
Sethuraman, N. 1990. ‘Ravivarman Kulasekara.’ In K. V. Ramesh, S. P. Tewari and M. J. Sharma (eds), Indian History and Epigraphy: Dr. G. S. Gai Felicitation Volume: 179–86. Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan.
Sharma, Mahesh. In this volume. ‘Lineage, Power and Perception: Comparison of the Royal Chamba Genealogy with Contemporary Epigraphs, 800–1650 ce.’
Shungoonny Menon, P. 1878. History of Travancore from the Earliest Times. Madras: Higginbotham (reprint Asian Educational Services; reprint Government of Kerala, Gazetteers Department/Kerala Council for Historical Research, 1983).
Sreedhara Menon, A. 1967. A Survey of Kerala History. Kottayam: Sahitya Pravarthaka Coop. Soc. Ltd.
— 1996 [1978]. Cultural Heritage of Kerala. Madras: S. Viswanathan Publications [Cochin: East-West Publications].
— 2007. A Survey of Kerala History, 2nd edn. Kottayam: DC Books.
Srinivasan, P. R., H. K. Narasimhaswamy and K. V. Ramesh. 1982. South Indian Inscriptions, vol. 24: Inscriptions of the Ranganathasvami Temple, Srirangam. Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India.
Subrahmanya Aiyar, K. V. 1924. Travancore Archaeological Series, vol. 4. Trivandrum: Government Press (reprint Government of Kerala, Department of Cultural Publications, 1999).
Tarabout, Gilles. 1986. Sacrifier et donner à voir en pays Malabar. Paris: École Française d’Extrême-Orient.
— 1991. ‘Au «royaume» des brahmanes, les guerriers sont rois: Souveraineté, pouvoir et statut au Kérala.’ In Jacques Pouchepadass and Henri Stern (eds), From Kingship to State: The Political in the Anthropology and History of the Indian World (Purusartha 13): 75–122. Paris: École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales.
Thurston, Edgar, and K. Rangachari. 1909. Castes and Tribes of Southern India, vol. 3. Madras: Government Press (reprint Asian Educational Services).
Trautmann, Thomas R. 1981. Dravidian Kinship. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Unithiri, N. V. P. 2004. Studies in Kerala Sanskrit Literature. Calicut: University of Calicut.
Unni, N. Parameswaran. 1977. Sanskrit Dramas of Kulasekhara. Trivandrum: Kerala Historical Society.
— 1980. A History of Mushikavamsa. Trivandrum: Kerala Historical Society.
— 2006. Tantra Literature of Kerala. Delhi: New Bharatiya Book Corporation.
Velu Pillai, T. K. 1940. The Travancore State Manual, vol. 2: History. Trivandrum: Government of Travancore (reprint Government of Kerala, Gazetteers Department/Kerala Council for Historical Research, 1996).
Veluthat, Kesavan. 1993. The Political Structure of Early Medieval South India. Delhi: Orient Longman.
— 2009. The Early Medieval in South India. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Venkataramanayya, N. 1938. ‘Ma’bar (from 1311 to 1323 a.d.).’ Journal of Oriental Research, Madras 12: 192–216.
Venkatasubba Aiyar, V. 1947–48. ‘Srirangam Inscription of Kakatiya Prataparudra; Saka 1239.’ Epigraphia Indica 27, inscription no. 48: 304–12.
Venkayya, V. 1896–97. ‘Kottayam Plate of Ravivarman of Vira-Raghava.’ Epigraphia Indica 4, inscription no. 41: 290–97.
Venkitasubramonia Iyer, S. 1977. Religion, Art and Culture. Trivandrum: College Book House.
Vielle, Christophe. 2002. ‘An Introduction to the Jaiminiyasamhita of the Brahmandapurana.’ In Mary Brockington (ed.), Stages and Transitions: Temporal and Historical Frameworks in Epic and Puranic Literature (DICSEP 2): 337–57. Zagreb: Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
— 2005. ‘From the Vayuprokta to the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas: Preliminary Remarks towards a Critical Edition of the Vayuprokta Brahmandapurana.’ In Petteri Koskikallio (ed.), Epics, Khilas, and Puranas: Continuities and Ruptures (DICSEP 3): 535–60. Zagreb: Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
— 2008. ‘La date de la Jaiminiyasamhita du Brahmandapurana: Une confirmation épigraphique du début du XIVème siècle AD.’ Indologica Taurinensia 34: 311–23.
— 2010. ‘Surparaka et daksina-Surpakara: À propos de l’exploit géographique de Parasurama, du Konkan au Kérala.’ In Sylvie Vanséveren (ed.), Calliope: Mélanges de linguistique indo-européenne offerts à Francine Mawet: 237–45. Brussels and Leuven: Peeters.
—In press. La Jaiminiyasamhita du Brahmandapurana (Madhyamabhaga), Épopée mythologique éditée et traduite, vol. 1: Introduction – Adhyaya 1–15. Brussels: Safran (Lettres des Indes, 1).
Yérasimos, Stéphane (ed.). 1982. Ibn Battûta: Voyages, vol. 3: Inde, Extrême-Orient, Espagne & Soudan. Paris: François Maspero.
