Goda Ravi (fl. 905/06âÂÂc. 943/44 AD) was a Chera Perumal king of medieval Kerala, southern India. The reign of Goda Ravi witnessed strengthened Chera ties with the Cholas, as numerous Kerala military personnel served under the Chola prince Rajaditya in the Tamil country.
Temple inscriptions mentioning Goda Ravi have been discovered in central Kerala and north-central Kerala. These records refer, among other things, to several Chera royals (princes titled Koyil or Ala-Koyil and queens/princesses called Cheraman Maha Devi or Ravi Piratti), the chieftains of Vembanadu (Alappuzha) and Valluvanadu (the latter with the title "Rayira Ravar"), and the so-called "Agreement of Muzhikkulam". It is also known that the deposed Pandya ruler, Rajasimhaâ¯II, took refuge with the Cheras or Keralas around 920â¯AD.
Goda Ravi was formerly identified with king Vijayaraga (c. 883/84 â c. 895 AD) of the medieval Chera dynasty of Kerala. He was also initially identified as the brother-in-law of Pandya ruler Jatavarman Kulasekhara Deva I.
An inscription mentioning Goda Ravi from Nedumpuram Thali, Wadakkanchery (concerning a land grant), is one of rare Chera Perumal inscriptions that record both the regnal year and another era (the Kali Year) simultaneously â the regnal year appears at the beginning (17th year, with Jupiter in Mithuna) and the Kali Year at the end. Recent interpretations suggest that the temple committee met and approved the land grant in the 17th regnal year of Goda Ravi, when Jupiter was in Mithuna, while the inscription currently available was commissioned later, corresponding to Kali Year 4030.
Note: MaterialâÂÂgranite; ScriptâÂÂVattezhuthu with some Grantha characters; LanguageâÂÂold Malayalam (unless otherwise stated).