Historic Alleys

That crafty minister

If you were to study the successful reign of Marthanda Varma, you will quickly notice that there was one person who faithfully tended to him and guided him through those hectic days. In fact that person had been around even before MV took the throne, rightly or wrongly, from his uncle Rama Varma. The shrewd man was not only a Shakuni and Chanakya rolled in one, but also a very able administrator. Krishnan Raman or Ramayyan, that was his name, of Tamil Brahmin stock, was a good cook and a person of stern behavior, great logical outlook and acute intellect. Well, if you were to look at his story, you would be surprised at the involvement he had with the illustrious king, and not only that but you will also come across a large number of anecdotes attributed to him and retold even today. He is also considered to be the inventor of the Malayali dish Aviyal or what is sometimes termed as Ramayyar kootu in Travancore.

For a Sanketi Brahmin, travel and resettlement is nothing new, as they were Smarta Brahmins who originated from Tirunelveli and moved to all the nearby regions in search for work and patronage. One such person was Rama Iyen or Ramayyan who came to Travancore from Irunkanti, near Rajamannarkoil in Tirunelveli. He was born in 1713 in nearby Valliyur which was part of the Venad kingdom. From there the family moved to Aruvikkara closer to Kalkulam where prospects of employment with the royal palace was bright. Rama Varma, whom we talked about earlier was the king and the young boy was introduced to the palace by his uncle’s father in law Rama Sastrikal who incidentally was a court Pundit.

Many stories abound about the manner in which the young man or kuttipattar was introduced to royalty. The first is about his using care in trimming a flickering lamp wick after ensuring that a second wick was first lit and held as standby.  The king who was observing all this noted the careful method adopted and asked Sastri to leave the boy in the palace and thereafter appointed him into royal service as a petty clerk (pakatasala rayasam). A second version states that he was employed as a boy servant at the Vanchiyoor Attiyara Potti’s (one of the ettara yogam) house where the king once went for dinner. The flickering wick story comes into play again and as there was no brass wick trimmer at hand, and since it is a sin to trim a wick with one’s hand, Ramayyan pulled out his gold ring and did the needful. The king noticing this had the boy transferred to the palace. A third version is related to a clerk writing a nittu (writ). The clerk after finishing his nittu read it to the king and obtained his signature. Ramayyan who had been observing the clerk told his uncle that what the scribe wrote & subsequently read out were not the same and that some falsification had been done. The writ was reexamined and the king seeing the error dismissed the clerk and questioned Ramayyan how he knew as the boy himself had not the occasion to read or study the finished writ. Ramayyan explained that he was following the movement of the clerks hand and figured out the text in his mind. Following this exhibition of mental clarity, he was absorbed into palace service.

Ramayyan proved himself to be a great asset to the palace. There is a mention of his brilliant redrafting of a reply to the Nawab of Carnatic and subsequent promotion to the post of Samprati and the gift of a house at Kalkulam in 1726. During this period he cemented his friendship with the young Marthanda Varma and curiously distanced himself from his family, ensuring singular attention to the young Yuvaraj. His family (wife and brother) continued living at Aruvikkara and it appears that he was miffed with his brother as he had refused to give one of his two sons to Ramayyan for adoption. That was reason enough to cut himself off from his family or so it is stated. But this was good for the royals, for his unstinted support and brilliance ensured victories for MV. He rose through the ranks, to Kottaram Rayasam and after Tanu Pillai’s death in 1737, to the post of Dalava (Dewan in later days) or Sarvadhikar. Not only was he the prime minister, but he also held the defense portfolio. The 19 years he spent in this position were full of problems, not only with respect to the accession of MV to the throne, but also with respect to negotiations with the European powers, wars with neighboring states, expansion of the Travancore kingdom and continuous threat to his own life from the Ettara yogam members, the Ettuveetar and many other petty chiefs of the locality.

He was certainly different, for in his steadfast support for his patron king, he employed every bit of trickery, treachery, cruelty and guile and when it came to scheming, planning and execution, he was supreme. Many of the acts he carried out can be questioned now, but at that point of time, he had just one aim, to keep his king’s needs and desire above all, not even bothering about his own caste or its strict Smartan requirements as well as what is termed as local tradition or nattunadappu.

One of the accounts details how he hit back at the Suchindram (recall our Abhirami and the Ilaya Thampi story) Brahmin trustees who were supportive of the Abhirami family. He had no qualms in destroying their houses and driving them away and ensured that a large amount of land controlled by the Suchindram trustees was reallocated to Marthanda Varma.

In those troubled days when MV was on the run, he was always accompanied by Ramayyan. Ramayyan helped organize the irregular army comprising the maravers and pathans, as well as a group of Nairs who supported the yuvaraja. He was instrumental in forcing many of the recalcitrant chiefs (madampies, temple trustees and pillas) to pay up any tax arrears due to the new king. Later when the treasury had a surplus he ensured in return, a number of development projects in Nanjenad. He was also very much involved in the struggle with the ettuveetar and the various intrigues which we talked about in earlier articles. Careful planning and scheming by Ramayyan ensured victory and solidification of MV’s seat at the palace. His role as military chief between 1730 and 1755 is much talked about, and that was the period when the Travancore kingdom expanded.

In 1731, the Quilon rajah allied himself with the Kayamkulam raja, in opposition to the wishes of Marthanda

As a Dalawa, he did much in the renovation of the Padmanabha temple and Padmatheertham as well as many other improvements and the architecture of the Trivandrum as we know today. He also ensured that the Travancore king was vested with supreme powers and all kinds of monopolies.

In fact, the Kerala state records mentions that the first land survey was carried out by Ramayyan. He was instrumental in levying taxes, though one might say that much of it was excessive and only meant to fund the wars fought by MV. The expenses were huge as MV had to bring in a lot of mercenary soldiers with promises of good compensation as well as elevation to Nair status. As we saw, even traditional marava robbers were brought in to staff the new army. He was instrumental in developing mavelikkara and kayamkulam and today you can see the Krishnapuram palace built by him. Also the concept of state monopoly of trade was brought in by him, but we will get to the details later.

Next came the standoff with the Dutch who feared that the combination of the British and the Travancore sovereign would threaten their commercial activities. Van Imhoff tried threatening the king with an invasion, but it had no effect(Interestingly according to Shungoony Menon, Marthanda Varma made a counter threat that he would then be forced invade Europe with his vanchis (country boats) and fishermen!). A war resulted and while the Travancore forces were initially successful in routing the Dutch, Dutch reinforcements from Ceylon wreathed havoc when they landed. They then proceeded to Kalkulam to take over the palace. Marthanda Varma quickly contacted the French in Pondicherry and signed a treaty with them for support. The full-fledged confrontation with the Dutch happened soon after, headed by the king and Ramayyan and success followed at Colachel. That was how and when the king met De Lannoy who was to become one of his trusted lieutenants and get known as the Valiya kapitan. I had provided more details of the affair in the article Tipu’s waterloo and will in the culminating article cover De Lannoy in more detail.

The Cochin raja was now in a quandary for he was sandwiched between two aspiring chieftains, Marthanda Varma in the south and the Zamorin to the north. The Paliyath Menon now conspired with all the petty kings who were against the Travancore king and planned to wage a final battle, again this was foiled by Ramayyan and De lannoy. Ramayyan was now camped in Cochin and as he was planning to make his final surge, the Cochin king sent his abject apology to Marthanda Varma which was formally accepted. Nevertheless as accounts show the people in the Kayamkulam area had no plans to accept the sovereignty of the Travancore king. Both Marthanda Varma and Ramayyan were now a bit troubled as it appears that the resurgent Zamorin had entered the fray in support of those kings. And here is where Marthanda Varma makes the terminal mistake of writing to Hyder Ali for help. Hyder agreed and deputed forces down south, but soon after the Travancore king wrote to him stating that help was no longer needed, as the situation had been sorted out, thus irritating the Mysore Sultan.

There were many other incidents following that, like the Tinnavelly affair, the fight against the Zamorin at Cochin, but during a period of peaceful sojourn, Ramayyan together with De Lannoy proceeded to fortify the Travancore border. In addition, Ramayyan started to build up the commercial infrastructure following a land survey and establishment of godowns as well as a royal monopoly on pepper and such spices for trade. Chowkies for levying duties on transport of material for trade were established along the way. Pandakasalas for salt manufacture were constructed, and finally a system of budgets and balances instituted. For the first time in the history of Travancore, a decision was made to control expenditure in proportion to income and a budgeting system called Pathivu Kanakku was established. The fort at Trivandrum, the sheevelipura as well as the royal palace within the fort were constructed under his supervision. As we see today, many of his edicts (termed Ramayya sattams) related with commerce, excise, budgets and taxes later became so woven into the fabric of the history of Travancore, but there were also many a decision that could be called wrong such as imposition of taxes on lower castes such as the poll tax.

Since the end of 1745, Martanda Varma was apparently suffering from some illness, which made him more and more reliant on Ramayyan Dalawa, who as explained previously reformed taxation and successfully introduced several monopolies. With all the needed completed, Marthanda Varma dedicated the kingdom to the lord and Ramayyan moved to the commercial headquarters, that being Mavelikkara where all the natural produce was concentrated. By now it was 1750 and the king had become more of a religious person for presumably the past actions had caught up with him. Another six years passed, and we find that the able Dalawa Ramayyan has taken ill and is sinking with death looming close. Marthanda Varma is devastated and deputes his nephew Rama Varma to check what he could do, but Ramayyan only expresses his one lasting regret, asking for nothing else.

When the Prince Rama Varma reached Mavelikara, he found the Dalawa sinking and on being informed of the Maharajah's wishes to perpetuate his name, Rama lyen said with his characteristic modesty: "I disclaim any personal right to the proposed honour. I was merely the instrument in my Royal master's hands. Although I have accomplished all my aims I am only sorry that I was not permitted to conquer and annex Cochin."

Ramayyan passed away at the comparatively young age of 43. The Anjengo Factors recorded in their Diary that Ramayyan breathed his last at Mavelikkara on 1st January, 1756. After the death of his wife, it appears that Ramayyan consorted with a Nair lady. Upon his death people found that he has amassed no wealth and had expressed no death wishes. The only departing request he made to the king was to take care of this Nair lady’s wellbeing. Ramayyan Dalawa's family of 2 sons and 1 daughter moved back to Pudukotta after his death. Author Sethu Ramaswamy incidentally claims some ancestral connections.

The Maharajah Marthanda Varma and Ramayyan Dalawa were more than just King and minister to each other. King Marthanda Varma, his Diwan Ramayya Pillai Dalawa, along with De Lannoy's military skill, together were a force to reckon with in the South. Tara Sankar banarjee hints that the so-called greatness attributed to Martanda Varma by other historians, who always depicted the king as invincible, is silently challenged by Madhava Rao who hints that it was the Machiavellian strategy of Ramayyan, the General of Marthanda Varma, who saved the honor and greatness of the master in his wars with Kayamkulam. As is reported, they were intimate friends (like Chandragupta Maurya and Chanakya), so much that after the death of Ramayyan the Maharajah went into a deep depression and started losing health himself. It is recorded that he pined for his minister, friend and companion and died within two years after Ramayyan’s death, in 1758.

The Ramayyan curry that he is credited with was apparently made for MV when he was suffering from a stomach upset. It comprised ground coconut, curry leaves, curds, some jaggery (normally not a part of Avial), green chillies, other vegetables and yam. Today it is known as the avail which is almost a state dish.

Many legends are attributed to Ramayyan, it is rumored that the king once offered half of his kingdom to this trusted deputy, making him a king of that part. Ramayyan refused stating that he was a Brahmin and it’s the duty of Kshatriyas to rule (a little clarification is needed here – even Marthanda Varma was a Samanthan Kshatriya and did a Hiranya Garbha ceremony to attain the Kshatriya caste position towards the end of his career). He is also credited to providing shelter to poor Brahmins in the fort area where the temple provided them with means of livelihood. But his enmity with the local Nampoothiris is also well known, especially those in Kayamkulam, who were replaced later with Kolathunad potties. Ramayyan is also credited with the removal of the Sree chakkara bhagavathy idol from Kayamkulam and reinstation at Trivandrum (This was done to remove the powers that protected Kayamkulam kings).

For two years following his death, Travancore had no Dalawa. Ayappan Pillai acted in that position and received the appointment only after the death of Marthanda Varma. Ramayyan’s younger brother Goplayyan did become a dalawa though, some years later.

The simple but crafty self-cooking Brahmin had done enough for the kingdom of Travancore and it was many years later that another decided to emulate him, Sir CP Ramaswamy Iyer…

References

A History of Travancore from the Earliest Times - P. Shungoonny Menon

Rise of Travancore: a study of the life and times of Marthanda Varma - A. P. Ibrahim Kunju.

The Ilaya Thampi’s and Marthanda Varma– Part 1

I was led to this topic some months ago when Calicut heritage forum posted an interesting article on the Black hole of Attingal . In the discussions that ensued, there was some talk about the Ettuvettil Pillamar after which I read more about it at Sharat Sundar’s interesting blog and perused the comments therein. Were the eight baronial Pillamar just part of a legend created by CV Raman Pillai or did they really exist before being exterminated by the Yuvaraja during his powerful rule? The story was interesting and somewhat difficult to factualize, but still like with the Keralolpatti, one could after digging deep into some sources get a glimmer of a fact or two.

This will form the first part of a three part article covering the role of the Pillamar and Marthanda Varma (who actually connects up to the Malabar Kolattiri lineage through his mother from and his father from the Kilimanoor Kovialkom) and how perhaps a North Indian or Tanjavur lady came into play, for she was the cause of it all. The final part will cover the tale of VMV’s friend Ramayyan who became a Dalawa.

But first some background on Venad (Vel-nad) and the South eastern area of Nancinad in those days, to lend a proper perspective and here I take the help of narrative by KV Krishna Iyer, referring to his History of Kerala covering the so called Venatiri’s (whom he couples with Kolatiri’s as birds of the same feather). The days of the last part of the 17^th century and the early parts of the 18^th were beset by all kinds of feuds related to succession, Vanad – Madurai rivalry, temple related demands, settlement of dues, embezzlement and so on. For a period the famous Umayamma Rani brought order to the region, but with her passing in the early part of the 18th century, the problem from the past began to reassert themselves and the feudal barons started to get belligerent. Marthanada Varma as it turned out, was the rani’s grandson, even though by adoption and in the end proved to be efficient, ruthless and was able to tighten the reins of the Trippappur swaroopam at Trivuvitamkode (Trivandrum).

In 1697, Mangammal Rani of Madurai sent an expedition to Travancore to punish its ruler, Ravi Varma, who had attacked and destroyed an army sent from Madurai to Travancore to collect an overdue annual tribute. Defeated in this Nayak raid the king was compelled to submit and remit taxes and in order to do that he subjected Najinad to heavy taxes with more than an iron hand. The subjects were not too happy, nor were their village and Desam heads and a sort of anarchy prevailed. To subdue them this king used mercenaries and armies as well as support from Madurai and much of this activity was spearheaded and / or supported by his nephew, the young lad in his late teens (born 1705-1706), Marthanda Varma. Around this period the1721 Attingal revolt took place against the English, a story which CHF had written about, and this resulted in the English factory getting a monopoly on pepper and giving a secret promise to support Marthanda Varma in his future endeavors.

In 1726, Rama Varma who succeeded Ravi Varma, offered his allegiance to the Nayak of Madurai and requested his help in subduing the anarchy that prevailed. Various mercenaries and English support were drummed up, including English weapons and a battle was fought with the rebelling Pillamar. The situation went on in an unsatisfactory manner until the king Rama Varma passed away in 1729. As matriarchal tradition decreed, the young Marthanda Varma who had all the qualities required to rule the region with an iron hand was to take over from his uncle. But a problem cropped up, when two of his cousins claimed the throne under the earlier patriarchal succession system (which had been followed in Venad through the end of the 13^th century - the matriarchal system came into being later). They were the two sons (Ilaya thampis) of Rama Varma, named Raman (Valiya Thampi a.k.a Padmanabhan or Pappu Thami) and Adityan (Kunju) Tampi.

Those who have read the CV Raman Pilla’s novel would recognize the brothers mainly from the drug infused villainous character of Padmanabhan Thampi, but who were they and how did they come to the fore? For that you gave to look at the family of Rama Varma, especially Abhirami and her brother Kochukumaran Pilla. As we know from many other cases, the identities of these people have been shrouded in derogatory legends especially when they have been on the losing side. Writers supporting the winner usually cast them off quickly in their accounts or make negative remarks about them while hovering long around the incumbent’s glory. Such is the case of these two people. To bring them and their characters out to light proved to be quite difficult, but let me present to you what I obtained.

Christopher Buyers supported by a few of his Travancore contributor’s record the following in his website on Indian rulers. 

He introduces Abhirami as the consort of King Rama Varma and lists her three children in the following words

Ammachi Panapillai Amma Srimathi Abiramapilla Kochamma, née Abhirami, a former devadasi or temple dancer ennobled just prior to her marriage, daughter (I think sister) of Krishnan Kochu Kumara Pillai, a Bengali or Tamil gentleman from outside Travancore. He (I think the smallpox death relates to Rama Varma) died from smallpox, at Kalkulam, 30th August 1729, having had issue, two sons and a daughter:

1) Sri Padmanabhan Tampi [Pappu Tampi] [Valiya Tampi] [Raman Raman]. Conspired with his brother and the eight Nair chiefs to oust the Heir Apparent and later Maharaja Martanda Varma. He was killed by his uncle, Maharaja Martanda Varma at the Kalkulam Palace, 28th October 1730.

2) Sri Raman Tampi [Kunju Tampi] [Raman Adichen]. Conspired with his elder brother and the eight Nair chiefs to oust the Heir Apparent and later Maharaja Martanda Varma. He was killed by his uncle, Maharaja Martanda Varma at the Kalkulam Palace, 28th October 1730.

3) Kittinathal Ammaveetil Srimathi Ummini Thankachi [Kochumadathamma]. Courted by Martanda Varma, but her refusal of him, providing the stem cause of enmity between Martanda and her brothers. She died (by suicide) after the death of her brothers, at Padmanabhapuram Palace, 28th October 1730.

The story concerning the two sons of Rama Varma, is covered in the ballad called Tampi Katha (another ballad called Tampunarkata covers the same story with slight differences) and I will get to the details shortly. Manu writing at inorite adds that Tampimar Katai mentions that Abhirami and her brother were given titles and estates and she was called “Kittanathil Ammachi”

Another version comes to light from S Sundars blog, where Abhiramai turns out to have a royal link - Rama Varma was married to a Rajput Princess Abhirami of the Kosala Royal House (present day Ayodhya). He had two sons (Sri Padmanabhan Thampi and Sri Raman Thampi) and one daughter. The princess held the Royal title of Vempadi Valiammachi. Princess Abhirami had problems in her horoscope and therefore the Royal astrologers of Ayodhya sent her on a pilgrimage for 14 years to various holy places. A number of her relatives and bodyguards accompanied her during her journey. King Rama Varma met her in Suchindram and married her. He promised the Royal family of Kosala that Abhirami's children would succeed the throne, although as per the Travancore custom, it was Prince Marthanda Varma (Rama Varma's nephew), who held the right to succeed him.

Sharat in his blog on Travancore  ( One and Two ) states that the late Krishna Singh (of Rajput extract himself) told him the tale of Princess Sandhya (a.k.a Abhirami) and pointed out her Rajput lineage. As the story goes, Sandhya left Ayodya and travelled southwards to end up at Suchindram. Raja Rama Varma hears her singing there, and proposes to her. In my mind the Rajput connection seemed a little tenuous, but before we decide let us look at a few semi historical resources, as well as the conclusions made by Prof Ibrahim Kunju in his study of Marthanda Varma.

In the Sri Marthanda Mahatmyam by an anonymous author, a contemporary, it is said that an astrologer had predicted the rise of Marthanda Varma and that even in his childhood, Pappu Thampi had attempted to murder him. This cause for the feud which ensued for the rest of their lives can perhaps be quickly dismissed as both children were of the same age.

We start by referring to Manickavasagom Pillai’s paper based on the Thampimaar Kathai by R Natarajan and P Sarveswaran- Accordingly, Rama Varma sees a dancing girl during the car festival at Suchindram. While Pillai agrees that the poem mentions her native place as Ayodhya, he goes by other accounts which mention her hometown as Tanjore. Abhirami bore three children, Pappu, Raman and Mani and the king had promised her that one of her sons would be the future king. Right from childhood, the two tampis were not on friendly terms with Marthanda Varma. As they grew up, Martanda fell in love with their sister. The feud continues on, more ferociously after Varma takes over the throne and eventually the two brothers are killed by him or upon his instructions. The girl commits suicide and becomes a yakshi.

The Travancore Matilakom records which I have not seen, apparently remain silent and pass off the entire account in just one cryptic sentence according to Ibrahim Kunju. It is concluded by him that the poem is perhaps right because the records were in this instance, suppressing a truth unpleasant to the incumbent royalty. While I will get to the details in the forthcoming article on the feud that followed and the pillamar, let us stick to Avirami for now.

Abhirami would certainly have demanded patrilineal inheritance, in line with the custom in her native N Indian lands. But then again was she a Rajput? Or was she a Tamil noble, a Tamil devadasi or a Bengali lady, perhaps a singer or dancer at Suchindram?

To continue with the analysis, one has to check out the work published later named ‘Vasulakshmi Kalyanam’ detailing the marriage of King Rama Varma with a Rajput princess called Sandhya. When you analyze the dateline, you will find that this Rama Varma was not the predecessor, but the successor of Marthanda Varma.

There are two versions, the first by a poet Sadasiva and the second by a later author named Venkata.

Sadasiva’s version goes thus - The king of distant Sindhu had a daughter named Vasulakshmi and had set his heart on marrying her to the king of Travancore, Ramavarma-Kulasekhara, whose accomplishments were much noised abroad. But the queen who had another bridegroom in view in the person of her nephew, the prince of Simhala, started her daughter on a voyage ostensibly with the intention of visiting a famous temple while the proposed destination was in reality Ceylon. Providence however upset the queen’s calculations and the royal barge was stranded on that part of the Travancore shore which was in the jurisdiction of the frontier-captain (antardurya pala) Vasumadraja, the brother of the Travancore kings consort Vasumati. The shipwrecked princess was then sent by this captain to his sister at the capital where her beauty at once captivated the pliable heart of king Ramavarman, the hero of the drama.  The usual love intrigue culminates in a ‘clandestine’ meeting of the lover’s in the palace garden and the jealous senior rani then attempts to dispose her rival by marriage to her cousin, the Pandya king.  But this scheme is frustrated by the king and his accomplice, the inevitable Vidushaka, who in the disguise of the Pandya king and his friend receive the bride. In the meantime, the Sindhu raja learns of the whereabouts of his missing daughter through Nitisagara, the Travancore minister, and coming to Travancore with a large escort confirms the betrothal of king Ramavarman with Vasulakshmi, which happily coincides with his own inclinations.

Vasulakshmi Kalyanam is also the subject of a play by Venkata Subramanya, a descendant of Appayya Dikshit. This work also deals with the same marriage of his patron king Rama Varma of Travancore (1758-1798) with Vasulakshmi, the Sindhu princess, but for securing a political alliance. Let us take a look at that, quoting from Travancore Archeological series I. Venkata’s version is pretty much the same as Sadasiva’s. However it clarifies that the alliance was for diplomatic reasons, calculated to raise his status to Sarvabhauma (emperor), in order to obtain a better relationship with the Hunaraja (East India Company or perhaps the Dutch?)

The minister Buddhisagara who has seen the portrait of Vasulakshmi, the princess, is anxious that the king of Travancore should marry her, so that the latter's political influence may extend northwards and his friendship with the Hunaraja may also be strengthened. When news is received that the Sindhu princes is voyaging to Ceylon, the minister manages to waylay this ship in the Travancore waters with the active cooperation of the Huna fleet, and Vasuman, the officer in command of the sea-coast- who was also the brother of the Travancore king’s consort, sends the captive-princess to the royal Palace. There the king falls in love with her and manages to meet her in the royal pleasure gardens to the intense chagrin of Vasumati who tries to marry her rival to the Chera prince Vasuvarman and thus remove the unwelcome competitor out of the way. This plot fails, as in the other drama, by the counter machinations of the king and his Vidushaka who successfully personate the Chera prince and his boon-companion. By the artful scheming of the minister coupled with the influence of her brother, Vasumati is however, finally won over to consent to the marriage of Vasulakshmi with her own husband and the Sindhu prince Vasurasi, instructed by Buddhisagara comes posthaste from his country to celebrate his sister's marriage with the Travancore king. By this alliance, it is stated, the friendship of both the parties with the Hunaraja was strengthened and the influence of the Travancore was visibly enhanced.

Let us study this second King Rama Varma and his consorts in order to check if he indeed married a Sindhu princess. Buyer’s page states - m. (first) a lady from the Arumana House. m. (second) Vadasseri Ammachi Panapilla Srimathi Kali Amma Nagamani Amma. m. (third) a lady from the Nagercoil House. m. (fourth) a lady from the Thiruvattar House. You see no mention of a Vasulakshmi from Sindh.

So, I might not be wrong in concluding that the Sindhu (place or name) angle came about from the successor of Marthanda Varma and not the predecessor. Nevertheless, we should take note that the former supposedly married a princess from Ayodhya according to the Thampimar kathai. The only links are Krishna Singh’s testimony and the presence of the Meenachil village near Palai in Kottayam.

The Meenachil Karthas were supposedly Rajputs belonging to royal lineage who migrated to Madurai in the 14th century. As is said, they later migrated to Kerala and settled in "Meenachil" near Palai. Their capital was named Mevada (after Mewar). Perhaps Abhirami was from this village, but it is just a guess. (See inorite blogs one and two)

According to Krishna Singh, the Rajput relatives and attendants of Princess Abhirami initially settled down near Nagarcoil. After the revolt by the Kunju Thampis, the surviving Rajputs were brought to Trivandrum. Many of them were recruited into the Travancore Armed Forces, mainly in the cavalry division. Although their population was quite significant during the 18th century, this declined and many were assimilated into the Royal Nair clans of Travancore.

After ascending to the throne, King Rama Varma apportioned the southern portion of Venad (Northern portion was governed by the Attingal Rani) into three parts. The areas surrounding Kalkulam and Nagercoil palaces were given to his two sons - Pappu and Raman Tampi (Ilaya Thampi’s) and the Neyyattinkara area was given to his nephew Marthanda Varma.

Now that we have looked at it from a few angles, there is only one left, that pertaining to the legend of the girl Marthanda Varma was besotted with, i.e. the sister of the two thampi’s and the daughter of Abirami. As one account goes, when the Thampis rose against their cousin for the throne with the support of the eight lords, Marthanda Varma imprisoned their mother and sister, Ummini Thanka, in the Nagercoil palace. As the Thampis were rallying troops around themselves, Abhirami died and Ummini Thanka zealously guarded her body for five days. The story of this wronged and vengeful Ummini Thanka or Kochu Manithanka has a continued presence in popular memory.

As we continue to search for clues, we come across yet another story, this one being the story of the Kochu Manithankai recounted by Ramesan Nair. The few additional additions to the legend can be seen below.

He describes the Kalkulam (Padmanabhapuram) palace, the Charottu palace, the tunnel between them, and of the previously narrated meeting between the king and Abhirami at Suchindram. Howver he goes on to explain that he started living with her at the Nagercoil palace. The locals not happy with the  confinement, request the king to legalize the union, which he does and promises the new queen as well as the locals that one of her sons would be king. He then moves her to his Iraniyal palace and renames her as Krishnathalamma. When Pappu was 20 years old, Rama Varma died of Small pox following which Marthanda Varma took the throne after promising the dying king that he would take care of them. Abhirami and her children then move to the Charottu palace. The king then gets besotted with the sister Thanka and his feeling is soon reciprocated. But then the quarrels with her brothers intensified and resulted in their deaths, and soon Thanka in painful retaliation commits suicide in front of M Varma by stabbing herself with a dagger (in other stories she pulled her tongue out and died). She then wanders around for a few years as a Yakshi till she is finally consecrated in a small shrine at Chembakavalli near Melankode (hence the name Melankode Yakshi).

So Abhirami was erased from the annals of history by the Marthanda Varma factions though she remains in the minds of the people of Venad, as a mysterious wronged mother, who lost all her children to the violent retaliation of the new Yuvaraja. Perhaps she was indeed a princess from an area between Kutch and Sindh or Ayodhya, and was later degraded to a Devadasi in the legends to legitimize the actions of Marthanda Varma. Perhaps she was a person from the village of Meenachil who went to pray at Suchindram when the king met her, or even a Tamil dancer from Madurai, but in almost all tales, she was the wronged one.

As the analyst in the TAR 1 states, the stories in Vasulakshmi kalyanam do not connect up with any real people expect for the king Rama Varma. As was a practice in those days, this kind of poetry pleasing the king and connecting him up to imaginary stories was common. Maybe there was no fact behind Thambi katha as well, though Ibrahim Kunju does not believe so. In fact there are even opinions that Varma was originally married to Ummithanka, and that she killed herself after her husband killed her own brothers. But the legend still lives on, and Marthanda Varma remained celibate for the rest of her life, finding solace and friendship with his man Friday and friend Ramayyah, about whom we will talk about in the concluding article.

In the next article we cover the scheming between Marthanda Varma, the madampis and the pillamar, the death of the thampis and the settlement of VMV on the throne. We will not cover the rule of Marthanda Varma, for that is well documented and it suffices to conclude that his rule took Travancore to new heights, the size of his empire multiplied and finally the king in a surprising and magnanimous act laid all his gains at the feet of Lord Padmanabha.

References

Rise of Travancore: a study of the life and times of Marthanda Varma / A. P. Ibrahim Kunju.

Travancore at the accession of Marthanda Varma – ME Manickavasagom Pillai

Eighteenth century India: papers in honor of Prof. A.P. Ibrahim Kunju

History of Kerala – KV Krishna Iyer

Travancore Archeological series Part 1

Venad Yakshigal – K Ramesan Nair

Travancore state manual- Nagam Aiya

History of Travancore. P. Shungoony Menon

Marthanda Varma – CV Raman Pillay

Photos – Painting covering all the named people thanks to Debpratim De