19-540: Sēkkilān Mādēvadigal Rāmadēva (12th century CE), known popularly by his family name as Sekkizhar , was a saint and a contemporary of Kulottunga Chola II . He compiled and wrote the Periya Puranam (Great Story or Narrative) in 4253 verses, recounting the life stories of the sixty-three Shaiva Nayanars , the devotees of Shiva . Sekkilhar himself was later canonised and his work, the Periyapuranam became
38-534: A break in the line of succession. Kulothunga II preferred to live in Chidambaram rather than the royal capital at Gangaikonda Cholapuram . Of the various titles he had, Anapaaya was perhaps his favourite. It is found in his inscriptions as well in the poetic tribute Kulothunga Cholan Ula . He was also called Tirunirruchola . Kulothunga II was succeeded by Rajaraja Chola II in 1150 CE. The extent of empire as inherited from his predecessor Vikrama Chola
57-561: A work dealing with the emperor's childhood were authored by Ottakoothar in honor of the emperor. Some scholars identify Kulothunga II with Krimikanta Chola or worm-necked Chola so called as he is said to have suffered from cancer of the throat or neck. The latter finds mention in the Vaishnava Guruparampara and is said to have been a strong opponent of the Vaishnavas. The work Parpannamritam (17th century) refers to
76-430: Is celebrated annually in the month of Vaigasi-Poosam (May-June). Kulothunga Chola II , then a young king, was a devotee of Lord Siva at Chidambaram and continued the reconstruction of the center of Tamil Saivism that was begun by his ancestors. At the same time, he was very interested in the highly erotic Jain epic Jivaka Chintamani . Sekkilhar, upon noticing this, advised the king to instead turn his attention to
95-628: Is celebrated by Umapati Sivacharya in his fourteenth century work (1313 CE) called Sekkilhar Nayanar Puranam. Sekkilhar had the title Uttama Chola Pallavan and his brother, the title Tondaiman Pallavaraiyan . Sekkilhar is also called Ganga-kula tilaka (the glory of the Ganga race) and Bagirathi-kula tilaka (the glory of the Bhagiratha race) by Umapati Sivacharya in his work, the Sekkilar Puranam . The Guru Puja festival for Sekkilhar
114-595: Is considered a fifth Veda in the Tamil language and it immediately took its place as the twelfth and the last book in the Saiva canon. As per an inscription from Srivanjiyam , Sekkilhar was deified and provisions were made for the worship of his idol by a person called Anapaayan. There are temples dedicated to Sekkilhar. These include the Kundrathur Sekkilhar Temple at Kundrathur , Chennai , and
133-418: Is known to those who forsake attachments He who is of plaited locks of hair in which river flows and baby moon grazes He who is verily sublime light and who dances in the golden hall of chidambaram lets worship his rosy anklet girt feet Kulothunga Chola II was so moved upon hearing the Periyapuranam that he placed the poem and Sekkilhar on the royal elephant and took them out on a grand procession around
152-527: Is said to have been a repentant son who supported Vaishnavism. Ramanuja is said to have made Kulottunga II as a disciple of his nephew, Dasarathi . The king then granted the management of the Ranganathaswamy temple to Dasarathi and his descendants as per the wish of Ramanuja. The Tyagarajaswami temple in Tiruvarur contains an inscription of the emperor in which he styles himself as Anapaaya and
171-778: The Perambalam of the Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram with gold. He is also said to have constructed its gopurams and the Thousand Pillared Hall. Kulottunga Chola II's reign was marked by literary activity as evidenced by the works of Sekkizhar and Ottakoothar . Sekkizhar composed the Periyapuranam , a religious treatise on Shaivism during his reign. The Kulottunga Cholan Ula and the Kulottunga Cholan Pillai Tamil ,
190-492: The Thousand Pillared Hall of the Chidambaram temple and arouse the latent Chola Saiva zeal. According to a folklore, when Sekkilhar sat pondering at Chidambaram temple as to how to begin his work, Lord Siva appeared and said his first verse should be: Ulakellam unarnthu otharkku ariyavan Nilavulaviya neermali veniyan Alakil jothiyan ambalatthu aaduvan malar chilambadi vaazhthi vanakuvom He who
209-663: The Chola king called Krimikanta who is said to have removed the Govindaraja idol from the Chidambaram Nataraja temple . The Kulothunga Cholan Ula states that during the reign of Kulottunga II, God Vishnu was sent back to his original abode, that is the sea. However, according to "Koil Olugu" (temple records) of the Srirangam temple, Kulottunga Chola was the son of Krimikanta Chola. The former, unlike his father,
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#1732780909975228-666: The Devakottai Nagara Sivan Kovil (also called the "Sekkilhar Kovil") in the Chettinad region of Sivagangai district in Tamil Nadu , where Saint Sekkilhar is the procession deity. The Sekkilhar Research Centre conducts research on his epic Periyapuranam and the period, art, culture, civilization, rituals, socioeconomic conditions, and religion/secularism of the times and place surrounding it. Kulothunga Chola II Kulothunga II (died 1150 CE)
247-681: The Kadapa-Nellore chief, Madurantaka Pottapi Choda, son of Betta I and Buddhavarman III of the Kondavidu branch and his son Mandaya II also acknowledged the king's authority in the Andhra country. Chidambaram is one of those five places where Chola princes were invested with the crown. Kulothunga was a great devotee of the Chidambaram Temple to Lord Shiva in that city, and he celebrated his coronation there. An inscription of
266-402: The emperor from Tirumanikuli hails this event and states that the emperor celebrated his coronation so as to add lustre to the city of Tillai ( Chidambaram ). He also financed an elaborate renovation of the temple as described in the poem Kulothunga Cholan Ula . It is possible that this renovation work was a continuation of work started by Vikrama Chola. Kulottunga II is credited with gilding
285-674: The lives of the Saiva saints as described by Sundarar in his Tiruthondar Thogai . The king thereupon invited Sekkilhar to expound the lives of the Saiva saints in a great poem. Since Sekkilhar was a scholar in both the Vedas as well as the Agamas and being a Saiva saint himself, knew about Nayanmars . He composed the Periyapuranam or the Great Narrative about the lives of the sixty three Nayanmars or saints and would himself sing it in
304-537: The streets of Chidambaram , the king himself waved the fly-whisks and showered Sekkilhar with honors. This work is considered the most important initiative of Kulothunga Chola II's reign. Although it is only a literary embellishment of earlier hagiographies of the Saiva saints it came to be seen as the epitome of Chola literary style. Among all the hagiographic Puranas in Tamil , the Periyapuranam (or Tiruttondar Puranam ) stands first. The Periyapuranam
323-517: The twelfth and final book of the sacred Saiva canon. Sekkilhar was born as Arulmozhithevan, meaning the one of the divine language . He was a native of Kundrathur village (a suburb of the present-day Chennai ), a sub-division of Puliyur-kottam in Thondaimandalam. Sekkilhar was a child of precious genius and having noticed this, king Anapaya, that is Kulothunga Chola II appointed him as his Prime Minister on account of his talents. His life
342-402: Was a Chola Emperor from 1133 CE to 1150 CE. He succeeded Vikrama Chola to the throne in 1135 CE. Vikrama Chola made Kulothunga his heir apparent and coregent in 1133 CE, so the inscriptions of Kulothunga II count his reign from 1133 CE. According to historians Nilakanta Sastri and T.N Subramanian, Kulottunga Chola II was not the son of Vikrama Chola and they have suggested that there was
361-610: Was well maintained. The Western Chalukya kingdom was overthrown by the Yadava chiefs of Devagiri and Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra during this period. Kulottunga II took advantage of the internal skirmishes and rebellions in the Kannada and Chalukya country to establish his hold over Vengi and Eastern Chalukya territories. Gonka II of the Velanadu Choda family who ruled over northern part of Vengi acknowledged his supremacy. Similarly
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