Kulashekhara Alwar

Kulasekhara (Tamil: குலசேகரர்; IAST: Kulaśekhara; fl. 9th century CE), one of the twelve Vaishnavite alvars, was a bhakti theologian and devotional poet from medieval south India. He was the author of "Perumal Tirumoli" in Tamil and "Mukundamala" in Sanskrit. The Perumal Tirumoli, whose second decade is known as "Tetrarum Tiral", is compiled as a part of Nalayira Divya Prabandham. The Thrikkulasekharapuram Temple in Kodungallur is associated with Kulasekhara Alvar. Vaishnavite traditions portray Kulasekhara as a ruler from the Chera royal family of the Western Country (present-day Kerala). Based on these accounts, scholars identify Kulasekhara with the Chera playwright-king Kulasekhara Varma or Sthanu Ravi Kulasekhara, who reigned from 844/45 to c. 870/71 CE and is considered the earliest known Chera ruler of medieval Kerala.