Perum Cheral Irumporai

Perum Cheral Irumporai, also known as Perum Kadungon, was a member of the Irumporai line of the Chera dynasty 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) and Pandar (possibly Koyilandy, on the Malabar Coast).

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 and Pandya rulers). 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).