Recorded history of the dynasty
Installation of Bhanu Vicrama as King of Kerala by Parashurama
Maharani
Gowri Lakshmi Bayi,the only Maharani of Travancore to have reigned in her own right for two years before becoming regent
According to one existing version, the founding members of the Travancore royal family
[1] are said to have come to Kerala, from the banks of the
Narmada river. Another belief is that Lord
Parashurama
himself crowned the first official ruler in the dynasty. Officially,
their lineage can be traced definitively to at least 820 C.E, which is
based on the claim of descent from the Later
Cheras of the three
southern Indian Mandala Kingdoms namely
Chera Mandalam,
Pandya Mandalam and
Chola Mandalam. According to another legend, a branch of the Chera family was sent to the extreme north of the then
Kerala, where they settled and came to be known as the
Mooshika Royal family, or the later
Kolathiris, while another branch was deputed to go south to grapple with the
Pandyan invasions.
One of the two branches of the Chera dynasty shifted to Venad/Quilon
where it merged with the Ay kingdom. Ravi Varma Kulasekhara was the last
rulers of this Chera Ay dynasty. Ravi Varma Kulasekara described
himself as Ay as well as Komaravarmaan as his mother was a Pandya
princess. Numerous places are named after this Tamil Cherai dynasty.
Ravi Varma Kulasekhara (1299-1314) invaded the territories of the
Pandyas and
Cholas and performed imperial coronations at
Madurai and
Kanchipuram and thus threw of the
Pandyan hegemony in the region.
[2] However his success was short lived and after him his successors could not hold on to these acquisitions of the
Pandyas and
Cholas.
After 1310 the last Chera-Ay King Veera Udaya Marthandavarma was forced
to abdicate in favour of the princesses sent from the Kolathiri kingdom
called Attingal and Kunnumel Ranis. But they adopted the titles of
Chera-Ay rulers. The line of kings after Ravi Varma continued through
the
Marumakkathayam law of matrilineal succession. Soon after Ravi Varma's death two princesses were adopted from the
Kolathiri Royal family and installed as
Ranis or Queens at
Attingal.
The Venad Royal family continued thus in the female line. Whenever
there were no females to take forth the line, princesses were adopted
from the
Kolathiri family, the latest adoption being in 1994.
[3] Umayamma Rani who reigned towards the end of the 17th century was a prominent ruler.
Marthanda Varma, the "maker of modern Travancore" and
Dharma Raja
were powerful rulers who reestablished the power of monarchy in the
state and destroyed that of the nobles. By the early 19th century the
kingdom became a
princely state under the
British.
Swathi Thirunal was one of the most popular rulers of the 19th century. The regency of
Sethu Lakshmi Bayi was a time which heralded many new reforms which were continued by
Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma.
Padmanabha Dasas
Maharaja Marthanda Varma making over the Kingdom To Padmanabha Swamy
The
Travancore royal family style themselves as
Padmanabha Dasas or servants of
Padmanabha an epithet of Hindu God
Vishnu since 1750 when Maharajah
Marthanda Varma made over the state to the deity of the
Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple and vowed that from that that day on, the royal family would rule the state on behalf of Him.
[4] The title of
Padmanabha Dasa is prefixed to the name of every Travancore King while females call themselves
Padmanabha Sevinis. This important donation of the state to the temple was known as
Thripadidanam.
The British government accorded the Maharajah of Travancore a high 19
gun salute, whereas for all temple festivals, the highest salute of 21
guns was fired.
Adoption
The first adoption to the Travancore Royal Family was in the early 14th century from the
Kolathiri
family because the Kolathiris are the first one to get Kshtriyahood
from lord after conducting " 16 Mahadanas" during 13th century. Since
then the senior most females of the family are styled as the Ranis of
Attingal with the titles of
Attingal Mootha Thampuran (Senior Rani of Attingal) and
Attingal Elaya Thampuran (Junior Rani of Attingal).
[5] This adoption resulted by the late 17th century in the branching of the Royal family into four families namely the branch at
Trivandrum, another at
Kottarakara known as
Elayadathu Swaroopam, the
Peraka Thavazhi branch of
Nedumangad and the
Quilon branch. The later two branches died out into the 18th century whereas the last Rani of
Kottarakara fled after battle with
Marthanda Varma.
[6] In 1630 two males were adopted from the
Cochin Royal Family [7]
sowing the seed of dissension between the branches of the Royal family.
Later in 1684 one male and two females were adopted from the
Kolathiri family, from which family all subsequent adoptions were made, by
Umayamma Rani.
[8] In 1688 two males, including
Rajah Rama Varma, and 2 females were adopted and
Marthanda Varma was born to one of these princesses.
[9] In 1718 a princess was adopted, whose son was the later king
Dharma Raja and whose great grandson was the poet
Irayimman Thampi . In 1748 again four princesses were adopted and
Balarama Varma (1798–1810) belonged to this line.
[10] The next adoption of 1788 brought forth the famous
Maharanis,
Gowri Lakshmi Bayi and
Gowri Parvati Bayi and all the male rulers up to 1924, the last ruler in this line being
Moolam Thirunal.
[11] In 1857 two princesses, including
Rani Lakshmi Bayi, were adopted from a branch of the
Kolathiri family residing at
Mavelikara since the 1790s, but by 1901 both these princesses and all their issue died.
[12] In 1900 again two princesses were adopted from Mavelikara, granddaughters of
Raja Ravi Varma, including the Maharani
Sethu Lakshmi Bayi.
[13] The latest adoption occurred in 1994.
Titles and precedence
- The senior most male of the Royal family, born in the female line, to a Rani of Attingal, becomes Maharajah with the title of Sri Padmanabha Dasa Vanchi Pala (Personal Name) Kulasekhara Perumal. Other titles include Shamsher Jang, Raja Rama Raja Bahadur, Manney Sultan etc.
- The senior most female of the Royal family is the Maharani and holds the title of Attingal Mootha Thampuran and is known as Sri Padmanabha Sevini Vanchi Dharma Vardhini Raja Rajeshwari Maharani (personal name).
- The second princess is known as Attingal Elaya Thampuran, third princess as Attingal Kochu Thampuran.
- The heir apparent is known as the Elaya Raja.
- Consort of the Maharani is known as the Valiya Koil Thampuran.
- Consort of the Maharajah is known as the Ammachi and holds the title of Panapillai Amma. The Maharajahs children do not succeed to the musnud under the Marumakkathayam law and instead get a title of nobility, immediately below royalty, namely Thampi. The Maharajahs are only allowed morganatic marriages so as to maintain Marumakkathayam.
Marriage and other customs
The marriages of the princesses are known as
Pallikettus
[14] while those of the Maharajahs are known as the ceremony of bestowing the
Pattum Parivattavum. The form of marriage is
Sambandham
and the consorts of the princesses are from certain select families of
Koyi Thampurans whereas the consorts of the Maharajahs belong to four
houses known as
Ammaveedus. The spouses of the princesses and Maharajahs are not considered members of the royal house owing to the prevalent
Marumakkathayam law. However they received many royal dignities and privileges owing to their position as consorts.
Sri Padmanabhaswamy is the chief family deity.
Cessation of the practice of mahādanams
Marthanda Varma entering the golden tub during Hiranyagarbha ceremony
Marthanda Varma performing Thulapurusha Danum ceremony
The Maharajas of Travancore had been conditionally promoted to
Kshatriyahood from Samantha Nair with periodic performance of 16
mahādānams (great gifts in charity) such as Hiranya-garbhā,
Hiranya-Kāmdhenu, Hiranyāswaratā, and Tulāpurushadānam in which each of
which thousands of
Brahmins had been given costly gifts apart from each getting a minimum of 1 kazhanch (78.65 gms) of gold.
[15]
The Nambudiri Brahmins had stipulated that Rajas of Travancore could
retain their dignity of Nair Sāmanta permanently but the Kshatriyhood
conferred on them by the yāgās and mahādanams would be valid only for 6
years and thus the latter purchased kshatriyhood at a heavy recurring
cost. During 1848, Lord Dalhousie the then Governor General of British
India who was also an eager annexationist was appraised that the
depressed condition of the finances in Travancore was owing to
mal-administration and practices of treasury by the ruling elite.
[16]
Lord Dalhousie, who was indignant at the colossal wasteful expenditure
of Travancore state treasury through mahādanams among others, instructed
Lord Harris Governor of Madras, warn the Rāja under the ninth article
of the treaty of 1805. On 21 November 1855, Lord Harris dispatched a
strongly worded communication to the then Rāja of Travancore
alias Martanda varma (Uttram Tirunal 1847–1860 A.D) that if he did not put a stop to his periodic re-incarnation as
Kshatriya
by squandering away huge sums of tax payer's money, among others, his
state administration would be taken over by the Madras government. This
led to the cessation of the practice of mahādanams and the Rājas of
Travancore were unable to purchase their Kshatriyahood further and hence
Sāmanthan by dignity presently.
Palaces
The
Padmanabhapuram Palace
was the main residence of the Travancore Maharajahs whereas the Ranis
of Attingal resided at that place in their own palaces. Later the royal
family moved to
Trivandrum wherein the females resided at the Sree Padam Palace. Presently the Royal family members live at
Kowdiar Palace in
Trivandrum and at
Chennai,
Bangalore etc. Some members are also settled abroad in the
United States of America,
Australia,
South Africa etc.
The Royal Family
Prince Ashwathi Thirunal Rama Varma is a noted Indian classical musician
The Royal family at present consists of the descendants of the two princesses adopted in 1900 from the
Mavelikara royal family,
Sethu Lakshmi Bayi and Sethu Parvathi Bayi.
Sethu Lakshmi Bayi was the last regent Maharani of Travancore. The oldest son of Sethu Patvathy Bayi was the last Maharajah,
Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, who signed the instrument of accession and amalgamated the state into
India in 1949. The Royal family consists, in the line of
Sethu Lakshmi Bayi
two daughters, Princesses Uthram Thirunal Lalithamba Bayi and Karthika
Thirunal Indira Bayi and their families. In the line of the Junior
Maharani, Sethu Parvati Bayi, are the last Maharajah (unmarried), his
brother
Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma,
present head of the royal family and the family of their late sister
Princess Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi (who was married to Col. G.V.
Raja of the Poonjar Royal Family). Princess Karthika Tirunal and Col. G.
V. Raja had two daughters (Pooyam Tirunal and Ashwati Tirunal) and two
sons (Avittam Tirunal and Moolam Tirunal). The present Head of the
Family,
Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma
married Shrimati Radha Devi (the daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel
Krishnan Gopinath Pandalai, MB, CM, FRCS, LRCP, late IMS, sometime
Superintendent of the Government General Hospital, Madras), and has a
son, Anantha Padmanabhan Thampi and a daughter, Parvati Devi. He resides
at Pattom Palace, Trivandrum. Presently the senior most female in the
Royal Family with the title of
Attingal Mootha Thampuran is H.H. Karthika Thirunal Indira Bayi. She resides in
Chennai. The Indian Constitutional Amendment of 1971 terminated the status of the royal families of the erstwhile
princely states
as rulers and abolished their rights to receive privy purses. However
the other clauses of the agreements signed between the Government of
India and the Princes in 1947 legally still hold. The Royal Family of
Travancore has no administrative authority since 1971. Till 1956
Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma served as
Rajpramukh of
Thiru-Kochi. Later in 1971 while the family lost their privy purse and other privileges, the rights of the family in the
Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple were respected and the head of the family still fulfills his duty towards the temple as the Maharajah of Travancore.
[17] The allowances of all the family members born prior to 1949 are also still paid by the Government of Kerala.
Some prominent members of the Travancore royal family today include artists
Rukmini Varma (Princess Bharani Thirunal) and her son
Jayagopal Varma, writers
Shreekumar Varma
(Prince Punardam Thirunal), Dr. Lakshmi Raghunandan (Princess Makham
Thirunal) and Gowri Lakshmi Bayi (Princess Aswathy Thirunal), musician
Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma,
Yathi Verma. After the Constitutional Amendment of 1971, the royal
family and its properties and estates were partitioned and divided into
two equal halves among the branches of HH Maharani
Sethu Lakshmi Bayi
and HH Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bayi. However certain legal disputes
with regard to the same continued among family members until as late as
1991.
[18]
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