Kulasekhara Alwar (Founder of Kulasekhara Dynasty) And His Connection With Anantha Padmanabhaswamy Temple

Kulasekhra Varman or Kulasekhara Alwar or Kulasekhara Nayanar was the first king of the later Chera kingdom which was later emerged into Kulasekhara dynasty after him. There was no trace of Chera monarch for more than five centuries but surprisingly and suddenly Kulasekhara Varman was made to appear on the scene claiming himself to be a descendant of the Chera to obtain legitimacy and recognition for the territory that he brought under his control probably around 800 A.D to be ruled from Tiruvanchikkulam or Mahodayapuram. Indubitably, his coming to power in the name of cheras was a turning point in the history of Kerala as it marked the imposition of the Vaishnava cult and the beginning of the struggle with the support of political power to oust Buddhism from Kerala. A Keralite identity, distinct from the Tamils became linguistically separate during this period.

Maharaja Kulasekhara Alwar was born into the royal family of the kingdom of Travancore (southern half of modern Kerala province). The rulers of that land did not own the kingdom, they were but the ministers to the lord, who was actual owner of the land. The worshipable deity of the king and the people of Travancore was and still is, Anantha-Padmanabha Swamy (located in modern Tiruvananthapuram in Kerala). The kings of Travancore would come before the god twice a day and worship the god with immense devotion. After that the king would report his daily administration to the lord Anantha-Padmanabha Swamy. This tradition goes on to the present day in which the Maharaja of Travancore visits lord Anantha-Padmanabha Swamy. This was lesser known and interesting fact about Anantha-Padmanabha Swamy temple. This is the temple which created a sensation among people in recent years for its hidden treasures which were later found by the government of India. Maharaja Kulasekhara Alwar belonged to such saintly and pious line of ancient vedic kings.

Early life:

The father of Kulasekhara Varman, Dridha-Vratha Maharaja, was childless. He was desperate for a son to succeed him. He prayed his lord Anantha-Padmanabha Swamy to bless him a baby boy. The god heared his prayers and blessed him with a boy. Kulasekhara Varman was not directly born to his father instead he was said to be appeared out of nowhere as a spiritual spark of Kaustuba gem which lord Krishna wears as a pendant on his neck. As per scriptural evidence, he incarnated on this earth in the 27th year after the beginning of Kali era (3102 BCE), thus 3075 BCE.

Maharaja Kulasekhara Alwar was well trained in war arts and also other arts. He transformed into a brave and mighty warrior. When the time came, his father offered the throne to Kulasekhara varman and left the kingdom and went to forest in pursuit of spiritual peace as recommended in Sastras.

Ruling:

Maharaja Kulasekhara Varman became well established ruler who not only ruled Chera land but also invaded the neighbouring lands of Cholas and Pandyas and ruled them. His administration was flawless, people were very happy and lived peaceful life, justice prevailed in his kingdom. Soon he attained a great place as one of the great kings of South India. His kingdom includes lands of Kolli (modern day Uraiyur), Koodal (modern day Madurai) and Kongu.

Transformation as a saint:

The word Alwar (Saint) means the one who dives deep into the ocean of the countless attributes of god. There were 12 Alwars, who were supreme devotees of Vishnu and who were instrumental in popularising Vaishnavism during 5th to 8th centuries A.D. The religious works of these saints in tamil, poems of love and devotion, were compiled as Nalayira Divya Prabandham containing 4000 verses and the 108 temples revered in their songs are classified as Divya Desam. The names of 12 Alwars are Poigai, Bhutha, Pey, Tirumizhisai, Thondaradi, Mathurakavi, Peria, Andal, Kulasekhara, Namm, Tirupana and Tirumangai. During the reign of Kulasekhara dynasty, Vaishnavism was encouraged and made to spread. Raja Kulasekhara Varman waas the seventh of the twelve Alwars.

Now coming to main point that how Kulasekhara Varman converted to saint or Alwar? As we know that Kulasekhara was blessed with so many arts and war tactics, he was also spiritual blind. Not earlier but eventually he transformed into a saint by the preachings of Vaishnava saints or some say by the preachings of Lord Vishnu. Maharaja Kulasekhara began to feel himself gradually transformed in his consciousness as rajas (passion) and tamas (ignorance) gave way completely to sattva (goodness). He understood his duties i.e,.to preach vaishnavism and enlighten people.

Literature:

Mukundamala, a devotional lyric which describes the misery of the soul trapped in this world and exhorts that Vishnu is the only means of salvation, was written by Maharaja Kulasekhara Varman after his transformation as a saint or Alwar. He contributed to one of the works in the Divya Prabhandham, namely Perumal Thirumozhi. His works includes 105 poems out of 4000 hymns written by the 12 Alwar saints. His poems are devotional in nature and are dedicated to Vaishnavism or lord Vishnu.

Death:

In his last days, king Kulashekhara Varman went to the shrine of Nammalvar at Tirunagari near present day Tinevelli. From there he went to Brahmadesa Mannarkovil and remained there for some time offering services to deity of lord Rajagopala Swamy who was an incarnation of lord Vishnu. There probably at the age of 67 he died and it is said that because of his death in this temple, it is now presently called as Kulasekara Alwar Koyil. This temple was consecrated to his memory by Vasudevan of Mullappalli, Kerala (Malaimandalam). The Sri Srinivasa Perumal Kulasekara Azhwar temple at the birth place of Kulasekhara Alwar is at Thirukkulasearapuram with in the limits of Thiruvanjikulam, near Kodungallur in Thrissur district of Kerala. He is said to have been succeeded by his son Rajasekhara Varman around 820 A.D.