Rama Varma Kulashekhara

Rama Kulasekhara (fl. late 11th century CE ) was the last ruler of the medieval Chera dynasty of Kerala. He was a contemporary of the Chola kings Kulottunga I (1070–1120) and Vikrama Chola (1118–35 AD). Rama Kulaskehara is best known for briefly recovering the Kollam-Trivandrum-Nagercoil region from the powerful Chola empire around 1100–1102 AD. The weakened authority of Kulaskehara is evident in some of these inscriptions. In c. 1099 AD, the leader of the Nair warriors in central Kerala is recorded as administering the affairs of the Nedumpuram Thali; a state-sponsored royal temple. In 1102 AD, Kulasekhara is attested in an inscription as having publicly atoned for "wrongs committed" against the Brahmin community—an act that was highly unusual for a reigning Chera ruler (Kollam Rameswaram temple inscription). An inscription of a Chera princess, dated to 1122 AD and found at Thiruvalanchuzhi in Tanjore (dated in the regnal year of Chola ruler Vikrama Chola), also refers to Rama Kulasekhara. There is also a Kerala tradition that Vira Kerala, a ruler of Kollam in early 12th century, was a son of the last Chera king.

Career Rama Kulasekhara, according to the Kollam Rameswaram inscription, ascended the medieval Chera throne around c. 1089/90 AD. The earliest known record of the king, in which he is styled "Kulasekhara–Koyil Adhikarikal", is found in the courtyard of the Panthalayani Kollam Bhagavathi Temple in northern Kerala. Another inscription referring to him as "Kulasekhara Perumal", dated to 1092 CE, is located at the Thiruvaloor temple in the Periyar valley. The inscriptions describe the conquest of the Pandya country, the southern Western Ghats, and Cape Comorin, while emphasising the demarcation of the boundaries of the Pandya country. Literary references to Kulottunga's victory over the Chera Bow Emblem, the fall of Kanthalur Shala, the retreat of the Chera king (Kulasekhara) from the battlefield, and the Chola occupation of Vizhinjam should be understood in connection with these events. This record was probably issued in the aftermath of the violent recovery of Kollam.

A Tanjore inscription of Vikrama Chola, dated to his fourth regnal year (1122 AD), notably refers to "the flight of the Chera king to the sea".''

Epigraphic records Note: Material: granite; script: Vattezhuthu with Grantha; and language: early Malayalam (unless otherwise stated).

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