Cheraman Perumal Nayanar

Cheraman Perumal Nayanar (Malayalam: ചേരമാൻ പെരുമാൾ നായനാർ; Tamil: சேரமான் பெருமாள் நாயனார்; literally meaning "Chera king the Nayanar") was a bhakti poet-musician and religious teacher of the Tamil Shaiva tradition in medieval south India, and is counted among the sixty-three revered nayanars.

The Cheraman Perumal's companionship with Sundarar, also known as Sundarar Moorthy Nayanar, one of the "Three Nayanars", is celebrated in the bhakti tradition. The legend of the Cheraman Perumal is recounted in the hagiographic work "Periyapuranam", composed in the mid-12th century AD by Chekkizhar, a courtier of Chola ruler Kulottunga II. This collection draws upon an earlier compilation by Nambiyandar Nambi (10th-11th centuries AD). The Thiruvanchikulam Shiva Temple in Kodungallur, on the Malabar Coast, is closely associated with both the Perumal and Sundarar Moorthy Nayanar.

The Cheraman Perumal is credited with composing several devotional works, including the "Ponvannattandadi", a collection of hymns in praise of the Lord of Chidambaram; the "Thiruvarur Mummanikkovai", dedicated to the deity of Thiruvarur; and the "Adiyula"—also known as the "Thirukkailayajnana Ula"—the first of the ulas, in honor of Lord Shiva. Historians tentatively identify the saint with Rama Rajasekhara, the 9th century ruler of the medieval Chera state of Kerala.