The Travancore royal family was the ruling house of the Kingdom of Travancore. They signed a treaty with the British in 1788, thereby adopting British dominance. Later, in 1805, they revised the treaty, leading to a diminution of royal authority and the loss of political independence for Travancore. They had to give up their ruling rights over the common people in 1949 when Travancore was merged with Independent India and their political pension privileges and royal titles were abolished in 1971 according to the Constitution of India.
The royal family was alternatively known as the Kupaka Swaroopam, Thripappur Swaroopam, Venad Swaroopam, Vanchi Swaroopam etc. It has its seat today at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. In the 18th century CE, the Travancore royal family adopted some members from the royal family of Kolathunadu based at Kannur, and Parappanad based in present-day Malappuram district.Travancore State Manual
History and legends of the dynasty
The family descends from ancient Nairs.per Wigram, H., Malabar Law and Custom High Court of Judicature Madras 1900 See Introduction at page xvi. Wigram also comments that they might perhaps be "the oldest aristocracy in the world." The first recorded inscription of the Venad chiefdom that later became Travancore is in the copper-plate grants of land and privileges on Jewish and Christian tradesmen.Logan, W., "The Malabar Manual", 1887 at page 265 The grants were made by the rulers of Kerala, the Perumal Viceroys of South Indian Kingdoms of the West Coast who were deputed to rule Kerala and witnessed by Nair Chiefs including the then Chief of Venad.
In the beginning, when aristocratic lineages rose to power, as in the case of a small group broken away from its earlier tharavad through conquest, when they acquired office, these groups seem to have severed ties with their former lineages and clans and conferred on themselves a higher ritual rank as independent castes. These myths are likely to have been created to add to the family enhancement of the dynasty.
According to existing myths, the founding members of the Travancore royal family are said to have come to Kerala, from the banks of the Narmada river. Another claim is that Parashurama himself crowned the first official ruler in the dynasty. There is a claim that their history can be traced back to 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 Kerala region, 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. Sangramadhira Ravivarman Kulaśēkhara (1266–1314) was the most famed ruler of this Chera Ay dynasty. Numerous places are named after this Chera-Ay dynasty. Ravi Varman invaded the territories of the Pandyas and Cholas and performed imperial coronations at Madurai and Kanchipuram and thus threw off the Pandyan hegemony in the region.Travancore State Manual Vol II by Velu Pillai pages 104–105 However his success was short lived and after him his successors could not hold on to these acquisitions of the Pandyas and Cholas.
Sangramadhira Ravivarman Kulaśēkhara adopted two princesses from the related Kolathiri dynasty called Attingal and Kunnumel Ranis in 1305 C.E. The line of kings after Ravi Varman followed the Marumakkathayam law of matrilineal succession.Native Life in Travancore Vol I by Rev:Samuel Mateer, AD 1883, pages 388 The 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. 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 re-established 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. The British government accorded the Maharajah of Travancore a high 19 gun salute outside Travancore, whereas locally and for all temple festivals, the highest salute of 21 guns were fired. Swathi Thirunal was one of the most popular rulers of the 19th century. He made contributions both in the field of administration as well as music. During the reign of Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma reforms like the Temple Entry Proclamation were brought about. He was referred to as the Father of Travancore industrialization by A. Sreedhara Menon. V. P. Menon in his book stated that, under Chithira Thirunal's reign, Travancore had become the second most prosperous Princely State in the British Empire."During his rule the revenues of the State were nearly quadrupled from a little over Rs 21/20 million to over Rs 91/20 million."-THE STORY OF THE INTEGRATION OF THE INDIAN STATES by V. P. Menon
Merger of Attingal
The women of the family were popularly referred to as Attingal Queens. Attingal was also considered as the ancestral homes of Travancorean royals. Historians like V. Nagam Ayya, A. Sreedhara Menon etc. say that Attingal was never a separate kingdom but the estates and provinces given to the royal women by the male head of the family (King). As the Kings of Travancore were the sons of Attingal Queens, the latter were held in high respect by the royal family as well as the public. This respect and high status led to the wrong notion that Attingal Queens were once sovereigns which was further compounded by the writings of many foreign historians and travellers. Even if they had any power, it was taken away by Maharajah Sree Anizham Thirunal Veerabaala Marthanda Varma. Many Attingal Queens misused their status and signed potentially dangerous treaties with foreign forces, without even consulting the reigning Travancore Kings. Maharajah Sree Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma, anticipating the threat to the Kingdom's security, removed the powers of the Attingal Queens permanently and brought them under the complete control of the King. Thus, the Attingal Queens lost all private rights in the family properties, their power limited to the role of just a supervisor of such properties.Kerala District Gazetteers Trivandrum by A. Sreedhara Menon, pages 190 to 192
Kerala historian, Prof. A. Sreedhara Menon wrote: "Early in his reign Marthanda Varma assumed direct control over the so-called Attingal 'Queendom.' This was not an annexation or conquest, but "the amalgamation of Travancore with Attingal." The theory that the Ranis of Attingal exercised sovereign powers is incorrect. The fact is that in political matters, the Ranis exercised no sovereign rights. Any grant of rights over immovable property by the Ranis required the King's previous assent or subsequent confirmation for its validity. The so-called Queendom of Attingal had its origin in the 5th century when two Princesses were adopted into the Venad family and the revenues from certain estates in and around Attingal were assigned to them. Since then, the female members of the ruling family of Travancore had come to be known as Attingal Ranis. It was only the male children of these Tamburatties who could inherit the throne. When Marthanda Varma decided to assume direct control over the estates of Attingal, he was not interfering in the affairs of a sovereign State. As the head of the royal family and the ruler of the State, he had every right to interfere in the affairs of a part of his kingdom. The Rani had neither territory nor subjects. What she possessed was nothing more than the control over the revenues of the estates, powers she exercised were delegated to her by the sovereign of the State."Kerala District Gazetteers Trivandrum by A. Sreedhara Menong, pages 190 to 192
Thrippadidaanam and Sree Padmanabhadasa
Maharajah Sree Anizham Thirunal dedicated the Kingdom of Travancore to his family deity Sri Padmanabhaswamy on 3 January 1750 and after that he was referred to as Sree Padmanabhadasa Vanchipaala Maharajah Sree Anizham Thirunal Veerabaala Marthanda Varma Kulasekharaperumal. The Kings of Travancore, taking the title of "Sree Padmanabhadasa," ruled the kingdom as the servant of that deity. This important donation of the Kingdom to the Temple was known as "Thripadidaanam."Travancore State Manual Vol II by Velu Pillai page 348 Travancore as a whole, thus became the property of Sri Padmanabhaswamy, the deity of the Travancore royal family or in other words "God's Own Country." It is erroneously believed that use of the title "Sree Padmanabhadasa" before royal male members' names came into being after Thrippadidaanam, but this title was in use even in the 16th century. During the first birthday ceremony of Maharajah Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma (Dharmaraja) in 1725, he is referred to as "Sree Padmanabhadasa" which was much before the Thrippadidaanam (1750) by Maharajah Anizham Thirunal Veerabaala Marthanda Varma. The title of "Sree Padmanabhadasa" is prefixed to the name of every Travancore King while the royal women are "Sree Padmanabhasevinis." In order to get the eligibility for attaining the title of "Sree Padmanabhadasa," certain rituals must be completed at the birth of new royal male members. On the first birthday of every royal male members would be put on the 'Ottakkalmandapam' of the Sree Padmanabhaswami Temple and holy water from the temple will be sprinkled on the baby and only after completion of this ceremony, the royal child is proclaimed as "Sree Padmanabhadasa." The female members also have a ritual called "Padiyettam" which is conducted only after their "Pallikettu" (wedding of Travancore Princesses and Queens). Only those male and female members who complete these ceremonies are allowed in the temple affairs and are also provided respect as well as the titles associated with temple as well as the royal family.'Travancore State Manual Vol II by Velu Pillai
Adoption