Kilimanoor Palace is a palace located in

Kilimanoor Kilimanoor is a panchayat and a town in the Chirayinkeezhu taluk of Trivandrum district in Kerala, India. It is located on MC/SH 1 Road, North-west of the city of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), 14 km east of Attingal and east of Var ...

, in the Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

. It is the birthplace of painter

Raja Ravi Varma Raja Ravi Varma ( ml, രാജാ രവിവർമ്മ; 29 April 1848 – 2 October 1906) was an Indian painter and artist. He is considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. His works are one of the best examples ...

and Raghava Varma, the father of king

Marthanda Varma Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") (1758–98).Subrahman ...

The Palace

The Palace complex covers more than six hectares, and comprises the traditional residential structures of Kerala, like the Nalukettu, small and medium-sized buildings, three ponds, wells and sacred groves (''kaavu''). Raja Ravi Varma is said to have built and maintained some of the buildings from the proceeds of his paintings. Families related to the Travancore royal house continue to live here.

History

The royal house at Choottayil,

has a history stretching back more than 300 years, although the oldest buildings are from a much earlier period. However, it was in 1753 that the palace was built in its present form.

Kilimanoor palace and Travancore royal house

The estate of Kilimanoor originally belonged to a Pillai ruling chief and was forfeited to Travancore by Maharaja Marthanda Varma. The estate comprising several villages was then handed over to the family of the father of the King who had come south from Parappanad in Malabar around 1718. In 1705 ( ME 880) the son and two daughters of Ittammar Raja of

Beypore Beypore or Beypur (formerly Beypoor) is an ancient port town and a locality town in Kozhikode district in the state of Kerala, India. It is located opposite to Chaliyam, the estuary where the river Chaliyar empties into Arabian Sea. Beypore is ...

Thattarikovilakam, a Parappanad royal house, were adopted into the Royal house of

Venad Venad was a medieval kingdom lying between the Western Ghat mountains and the Arabian Sea on the south-western tip of India with its headquarters at the port city of Kollam/Quilon.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Is ...

. Ittammar Raja's sister and her sons, Rama Varma and Raghava Varma, settled in Kilimanoor and married the now adopted sisters.

, the founder of the Kingdom of

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. A ...

, was the son of Raghava Varma. The nephew of Raghava Varma, Ravi Varma Koil Thampuran, married the sister of Marthanda Varma. Their son became known as Dharma Raja Kartika Thirunnal Rama Varma. In 1740 when an allied force, led by Dutchman Captain Hockert supporting the Deshinganadu King, attacked Venad, an army from Kilimanoor resisted and then defeated them. Although a small victory, this was the first time an Indian army had defeated a European power. In 1753, in recognition of this feat, Marthanda Varma exempted the areas controlled by the Kilimanoor palace from taxes, and granted them autonomous status. The present palace complex was built at this time, together with the Ayyappa temple. for the family deity, ''Sastha'' or Ayyapan.It is also said Shaastha and Ayyappa are different

Velu Thampi Velayudhan Chempakaraman Thampi of Thalakulam (1765–1809) was the Dalawa or Prime Minister of the Indian kingdom of Travancore between 1802 and 1809 during the reign of Bala Rama Varma Kulasekhara Perumal. He is best known for being one ...

Dalawa held meetings at Kilimanoor palace while planning uprisings against the British. He handed over his sword at the palace before going into his final battle against the British, and India's first President, Dr

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, Indian independence activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian Nationa ...

received this sword from the palace and it was kept in the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. Afterwards the sword was moved to the Napier Museum, Trivandrum. studiorrv

Personalities

, painter * Kareendran thampuran, poet, composer, childhood friend Of

Swathi Thirunal ( ml, സ്വാതി തിരുനാള്‍ രാമവർമ്മ) (16 April 1813 – 26 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore. He is also considered as a brilliant music composer and is credited with over 4 ...

* Raja Raja Varma, uncle of Raja Ravi Varma. * C. Raja Raja Varma Koil Thampuran, painter, brother of

*Shri. Madhavan Vaidyan ilimanoor Royal Physician

References

Website on Swathi ThirunalKerala tourismColumn in The Sunday Express by Shreekumar Varma
* Sivasankaran Nair K, ''VeNAadinTe pariNamam'' (വെണാടിന്റെ പരിണാമം), in Malayalam,Current Books, 2005. * From the Tourist brochure by '' Kilimanoor Kottara Charithra Sangraham'', Kilimanoor Palace. *S.A.V.SMARAKA VAIDHYA SALA,TAZHAVA,KOLLAM

IST Ist or IST may refer to: Information Science and Technology * Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Science and Technology * Graduate School / Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Japan * Graduate School ...

Footnotes