சேரன் செங்குட்டுவன்
Cheran Senguttuvan
Celebrated as the greatest of the Sangam-era Chera kings, Senguttuvan is remembered for establishing the worship of Kannagi as the goddess of chastity — the Pattini cult — that later spread to Sri Lanka and Kerala.
Cheran Senguttuvan, sometimes called the 'Red' or 'Good' Chera, is one of the most celebrated kings of the Sangam-age Chera dynasty, praised in Sangam poetry for his military campaigns and administration. He is best remembered for consecrating a temple to Kannagi — the wronged heroine of the epic Silappatikaram, whose husband Kovalan was wrongfully executed at Madurai — as the goddess Pattini, a symbol of chastity and justice. According to tradition, Senguttuvan had a stone brought from the Himalayas to carve Kannagi's image and installed it with great ceremony at his capital, Vanchi. The prologue of the Silappatikaram identifies its author, the Jain monk-prince Ilango Adigal, as Senguttuvan's own brother, tying the king directly to one of the great works of early Tamil literature — though the precise historicity of this family connection is debated by scholars. The Pattini cult Senguttuvan is credited with founding later spread widely across Sri Lanka and Kerala, where Kannagi worship persists in various forms to this day.
Achievements
- Celebrated as the greatest king of the Sangam-era Chera dynasty
- Established the Pattini (Kannagi) cult at his capital, Vanchi
- Linked by literary tradition to Ilango Adigal, author of the Silappatikaram
- His Pattini cult later spread to Sri Lanka and Kerala
Chera Dynasty
c. late 2nd century CE (Sangam Age)