Anupama Nair
India is home to the greatest Royal kingdoms in the world. Our great kings and queens were famous for their braveness and the way they took care of their subjects. I was born in a city called Trivandrum, the capital of the southern-most Princely state – Travancore, now one of the richest and famous kingdom after treasures were found in the Sri Padmanabha Swami Temple a few years ago. I am so proud of the great city I was born. Unfortunately, I was born, not when the great Royal family was ruling, but the state government. All I could see was the glimpses of the Royal family – Zoo, Observatory, Public Library, Hospitals all built by the Kings and Queens, so I should be forgiven for thinking that we were still ruled by royalty, when I was a child. Infact, I was shocked in 4th Grade when the teacher taught about democracy as I grew up hearing stories of Rani Lakshmi Bai, Maharana Pratap, Shivaji Maharaj, Prithviraj Chauhan and others who were buried in the annals of history.
I was so excited when I saw His Royal Highness Chittira Tirunal Bala Rama Varma, who was the last ruler of the great kingdom in the Trivandrum airport. My heart swells with pride when I think about the great kingdom and my city Trivandrum. The Travancore Royal family was the ruling kingdom of Travancore. Unfortunately, they lost their ruling rights in 1949 when Travancore merged with India and their remaining rights were abolished in 1971. I am now going to talk about the history of the kingdom. Did you know Kanya Kumari was once part of this great kingdom?
It is believed that the founders of the Travancore Royal family were not original inhabitants of Travancore, but from the banks of the Narmada river. It was also said that Parasharuram himself crowned the first official ruler of the dynasty. His Royal Highness Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma was known as the founder of the great kingdom in 1729 and ruled till his death in 1758. His greatest achievement was the defeat of the Dutch army in 1741. He then adopted a “European model of discipline” for his army and expanded his kingdom northward to what became the modern state of Travancore. Under his rule, Trivandrum became a prominent city. He undertook many irrigational works, built roads and canals for communication and gave active encouragement to foreign trade. In January, 1750, Marthanda Varma decided to "donate his kingdom to Sri Padmanabha and thereafter rule as the deity's regent” and came to be called as Sri Padmanabha Dasan. Even today, the descendant of the family calls himself or herself as Sri Padmanabha Dasan or Sri Padmanabha Dasi.
The Travancore kingdom followed Matrilineal Succession, where instead of the King’s son, it was his nephew (sister’s son or daughter) who is the successor. He was succeeded by his nephew Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma or Dharma Raja as he was the follower of Dharma. He ruled at a time when the great kingdom of Mysore was ruled by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. Tipu and his forces reached the Nedumkotta Line which protected Travancore’s northern frontier and launched an attack on December 1789. However, a smaller Travancore soldiers managed to, change the course of history, by opening fire on the 14,000 Mysore infantry from a close cover, that killed the Mysorean officer leading a bayonet charge. Apart from his famous stint of warfare against Tipu in which his forces remained as the only one which were not completely defeated by Tipu at any place, the Maharaja is also famous for his reform works which led to Travancore being one of the most developed states in India, during independence. Dharma Raja was one of the very few rulers of that time who gave importance to science and technology for the development of his state. Communications were opened to facilitate trade and business in the state. The capital Trivandrum was developed and infrastructure like bridges and other public works such as canals for irrigation were constructed. Bazaars and shopping centers were started for the benefit of the people.
He was succeeded by Avittom Thirunal Bala Rama Varma and then Maharani Gowri Lakshmi Bai. She died when her son one of the greatest kings of Travancore — His Royal Highness Swati Tirunal Rama Varma was a child. Her sister Rani Gowri Parvati Bai became the regent. Words fail me, when I think of the greatness of Swati Tirunal. The famous poet Iriyamman Thampy wrote the most famous Malayalam lullaby “Omana Thingal Kidavo nalla”, about Swati Tirunal, when he was born.
He is also considered as a brilliant music composer and is credited with over 400 classical compositions in both Carnatic and Hindustani style. He was deeply interested in music right from childhood. Besides being an able ruler, he was a patron of music and was a musician himself. He learned music by listening to accomplished musicians and practising himself. Some of his favorite compositions were Chaliye Kunjan mo, Parama Purusha Jagadishwara, Bhavayami, Kripaya Palaya Showre and the list goes on… He was fluent in a number of languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya and English. It is said, he argued with a British officer Colonel Welsh that the word geometry originated from Sanskrit word “jyomati” or the study of the earth.
He was interested in astronomy and he wished to compare Western findings with Indian findings. Swati Tirunal set up the Royal Observatory in Trivandrum. One of its director was his cousin Raja Rama Varma Rohini Thirunal, Prince of the Mavelikara Palace, who was an established astronomer and a member of the British and Canadian Astronomical Societies. The Trivandrum Zoo was also set up by him.
He introduced modern medicine to the kingdom. He appointed a European as the palace physician. He was also given the responsibility of providing medical assistance to local people, for which hospitals were started. The Trivandrum Public Library was also set up by him. He set up the first English school in Trivandrum. The Maharaja also put an end to the barbaric punishment called the “Suchindram Kaimukku” where the accused was forced to prove his innocence by dipping his hand in boiled ghee at Suchindram Temple, and he was punished if the hand was burnt. He is also credited with starting the first government press in the kingdom.
Unfortunately, he died at a young age and his brother Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma became the next king. His successors were Ayiliyam Thirunal Rama Varma, Vishakam Thirunal Rama Varma and Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma . Then came one of the greatest king His Royal Highness Chittira Tirunal Bala Rama Varma.
Sree Chithira Thirunal, was the last ruling Maharaja of the kingdom of Travancore, until 1949 and later the Titular Maharaja of Travancore till his death in 1991. He was born on Deepavali day in 1912. His mother was distantly related, by birth, to the Royal House of Travancore. In 1900, following the absence of heirs in the Travancore Royal Family, she was adopted by her maternal great-aunt. When the king Moolam Thirunal Ramavarma, died on August 7, 1924, he succeeded the throne of Travancore under the regency of his maternal aunt, Sethu Lakshmi Bai. He took the name 'Sree Chithira Thirunal,' as he was born under the Chithira nakshatram or star.
In 1930, he got full ruling powers on his attaining majority. His reign was epoch-making in many ways. He lived his divine life as a ‘Padmanabha Dasa’ and contributed to every walk of life in his kingdom like education, healthcare, music, spirituality as well as democracy. Under his reign Travancore became a typical modern state at time and soon became a model for other kingdoms. The proclamation of 1936 opening the temples of Travancore to every Hindu was revolutionary and hailed by all. He soon abolished the capital punishment in Travancore, and it became a remarkable first step in the entire Asia. The universal adult franchise was introduced in 1940.The mid-day meal scheme in the form of the ‘Vanchi Poor Fund’ in Travancore was introduced to encourage poor children to attend school. The State Transport System inaugurated in 1937 had been an eye-opener to all as a public utility service was earning a big net income for the state. He even started air service between Bombay and Trivandrum in 1935. The ‘Pallivasal Scheme’ (1933-40) was the first attempt in India to harness the waterfalls to man’s service by generation of electricity.
The University of Travancore was founded in 1937 by the Maharaja. Sri Chithira Thirunal became the first Chancellor and Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer was the Vice Chancellor of the Travancore University. The Padmanabhapuram Palace was renovated and the Trivandrum Art Gallery was expanded. He started an Aerodrome, Radio Station, Public Service Commission, Medical and Engineering Colleges in the kingdom.
When India became independent in 1947 and after some hesitation, Sri Chithira Thirunal agreed to accede Travancore to the new Dominion of India. He became the Rajapramukh of the Travancore-Cochin union from July 1, 1949 to October 31, 1956. On November 1, 1956, the Travancore-Cochin union was merged with the Malabar district of Madras state to form the state of Kerala and Sri Chithira Thirunal's office of Rajpramukh came to an end. On December 28, 1971, Sri Chithira Thirunal lost his Privy Purse and other privileges when the Government of India derecognized the rulers of the erstwhile princely states.
Sri Chithira Thirunal, the last ruler of Travancore passed at the Kowdiar Palace on July 19, 1991 at the age of 78. He was succeeded as head of the royal house of Travancore by his brother, Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma. It was a sad day to all of us. His Royal Highness Marthanda Varma breathed his last in 2013, and the present Maharaja is His Royal Highness Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma.
Now I am going to tell you about the famous Sri Padmanabha Swamy Temple. The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Vishnu in the “Anantha Shayana” (sleeping on the serpent Ananda) posture. The temple is built in an intricate fusion of the Chera style and the Dravidian style of architecture, featuring high walls, and a 16th-century gopura.
The temple and its assets belong to Lord Padmanabhaswamy, and were for a long time controlled by a trust, headed by the Travancore Royal Family. In 2011, the High Court, after many public petitions, ruled that the Travancore Royal Family must give up the custodial rights to the temple as their last ruler, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, died in 1991.
In June 2011, the Honorable Supreme Court directed the authorities from the Archaeology Department and the fire services to open the secret chambers of the temple for inspection of the items kept inside. The temple has six vaults or ‘nilavaras’, labelled as A to F, for bookkeeping purpose by the Court. In April 2014, two more vaults were discovered, called G and H. Approximately 9,000 kilos and diamonds were discovered in the vaults, which were valued at nearly $20 billion or Rs 1.4 lakh crore. This revelation made the Padmanabhaswamy Temple as the wealthiest place of worship in the world and the kingdom of Travancore the richest kingdom in the world.
Thankfully in July 2020, the Honorable Supreme Court upheld that the Travancore royal family must take control of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The Supreme Court ruling in the Travancore royal family’s favor has made them the rightful owners of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple and the heavy gold reserves that sit in its vault. This is a victory of Truth and the city of Trivandrum and its people and our beloved deity Sri Padmanabha. I shudder to imagine what would have happened if a politician had laid his hand on the holy temple.
The contribution of the Royal family to Trivandrum is undisputed. You just need to see Trivandrum to know who has done the most – Royalty or the State Government. If everything was done by the Maharaja in 200 years, what did the State Government do from 1956? May be someday not far away we would see the old days of the Maharaja come back. I for sure am waiting for that day.
