Rajasekhara Varman usually identified with the Cheraman Perumal Nayanar(Great man of the Cheras) (reign 820–844 AD) was second king of the Later Chera dynasty and a Saivaite-Nayanar regal saint. He is said to have ruled from the seat of Cheras, Karuvur Vanchi located on the shores of Anporunai or from Mahodayapuram (Thiruvanchikkulam). He also ruled the Koduntamizh regions of Kuttanadu, Venadu and Tenpandinadu, the first two north and south modern Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 and the third, the southern tail end districts of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

 from his seat. He was a friend of Sundaramoorthy Nayanar

Sundaramoorthy Nayanar

Suntarar , also known as Sundaramurti, was one of the most prominent among the Nayanars, the Shaiva bhakti poets of Tamil Nadu. He was a contemporary of Cheraman Perumal and Kotpuli Nayanar who also figure in the 63 Nayanmars...

- a Saivaite saint. It was during his reign (820-44 AD) the Kollavarsham began. Rajashekhara Varman is also reputed to have issued the Vazhapalli plates

Vazhapalli plates

Vazhapalli plates or Vazhapalli sasanangal are a set of copper-plate grants that were issued by Kulasekhara Mahodayapuram King Rajasekhara Varman ....

.