Perunarkilli

Perunarkilli (Tamil: பெருநற்கிள்ளி) was one of the Tamil king's of the Early Cholas mentioned in Sangam Literature. There are no definite details about this Chola or his reign. The only information available is from the fragmentary poems of Sangam in the Purananuru poems.

Perunarkilli must have been a powerful monarch, as he is the only one among the early Tamil kings of the Sangam age to have performed the rajasuya (royal consecration) sacrifice. It is likely that the Chera king Mari Venko and the Pandya Ugrapperuvaluthi attended this occasion (Purananuru – 367). The sangam poet Auvaiyar has written this fine benediction.

Nothing is known of the events in this king’s reign. He must have had his share of fighting as inferred from a poem in Purananuru (poem 16) which gives a graphic but conventional description of the havoc wrought by the invading Chola army on the enemy countries.