The Colas c34.25

c34.25

Śēkkiḻār himself tells us that his work was composed to please the *sabhā* of the Cōḷa monarch Anapāya who covered the Pērambalam with fine gold,³² and we know that this description fits only Kulōttunga II. It may be noted, however, that the name Śēkkiḻār occurs as that of an official of the revenue department as early as A.D. 1093 in the reign of Kulōttunga I.³³ If this official was of the same family as the great poet, the latter must be taken to have come of a family which had distinguished itself for some generations in the service of the state. Umāpati Śivācārya states that Śēkkiḻār had a younger brother Pālaṟāvāyar, and it seems most probable that it is he that is mentioned in an early inscription of the reign of Kulōttunga II³⁴ under the name Śēkkiḻār Pālaṟāvāyar Kaḷappāḷarāyan of Kunṟattūr. It may be noted in passing that Śēkkiḻār was a family name, a fact which strengthens the identifications proposed here: *Kunṟattūrir-Cēkkiḻār tirumarapu śirandadanṟē* (Umāpati). Another member of the family, *Śēkkiḻān* Ammaiyappan Parāntakadēvan alias Karikālaśōḻa Pallavarāyan, made a gift at Tirukkaḍaiyūr in the Tanjore district in 1182.³⁵