This is the History of

Pathanamthitta district Pathanamthitta District (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. The district headquarters is in the town of Pathanamthitta. There are four municipalitie ...

. Pathanamthitta district is located in the southern region of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

, a state in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

History of Pandalam dynasty

It is believed that the

Pandya The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...

kings of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

fled to

Pandalam Pandalam is a municipality in Pathanamthitta district Kerala, India. Pandalam is known for its connection with Ayyappan and Sabarimala. It recognised ''as the cultural capital of Travancore'', Pandalam hosts educational institutions rang ...

in the face of an attack from

Chola The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...

s and settled there in the land they bought from Kaipuzha Thampan, a landlord. The Pandya dynasty had provinces on either sides of the Western Ghats.

Travancore Rule

The King of Pandalam helped

Marthanda Varma Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ; 1706 – 7 July 1758) 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") ...

to conquer the

Kayamkulam Kayamkulam () is a municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located south of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kayamkulam has ...

province. In return for this help, Marthanda Varma did not attempt to attack and conquer Pandalam or Adoor, during the expansion of his kingdom.Pandalam was annexed to

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

in 1820. Before the formation of

Pathanamthitta Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality, city in southern Kerala, India, spread over an area of . It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 37,538 (as of 2011 census). The Hindu pilgrim centre Sab ...

district, Pandalam was in

Mavelikara Mavelikkara () is a municipality in the Onattukara Region of Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located south of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 ...

taluk of

Alappuzha Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...

district. King Marthandavarma once came to Sasthamcotta to hide from ettuvettil pillai's (a wealthy family who tried to capture King Marthandavarma and to get hold of his throne) and sought the help of nellimuttil family . Mannadi is also another historical place near Adoor where Velu Thampi Dalava died evading the Britishers. Pandalam was part of

Central Travancore Central Division or Central Travancore, also known as Kollam District or Quilon Division was one of three (or four) administrative subdivisions of the princely state of Travancore in what is now Kerala. It was administered by a civil servant o ...

and was never directly under British Rule. Pathanamthitta was a major town of wealthy Hindu, Syrian Christian families .

Late Travancore Rule and Indian Rule

By the twentieth century Adoor was a fully developed town, with modern facilities like schools, libraries, hospitals etc. After the

independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

, Adoor was made a municipality in 1988 and Pandalam after 2000.

History of Ranni

The history of Ranni can be traced 5000 years back to the early settlement activity of

Adi Dravida Adi Dravida (or Adi Dravidar) is a term that has been used since 1914 in South India to denote Paraiyars. At the time of the 2011 Census of India, they made up about half of Tamil Nadu's Scheduled Caste population. Origin Iyothee Thass, a ...

ns around

Sabarimala The Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple () is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Ayyappan, who is also known as Dharma Shasta and is the son of the deities Shiva and Mohini (female avatar of the god Vishnu). The temple is situated atop th ...

and

Nilackal Nilakkal St. Thomas Ecumenical Church is one of the earliest Christian churches in Kerala, India. This church is one among the '' Ezharappallikal'' (seven and a half churches) believed to be established in 54 AD by St. Thomas, one of the twelve ...

. The temple at Sabarimala is an early temple of Kerala, dating back to around 2000 years. The deity's sitting posture and resemblance of the prayer 'Sharanam vili' to "Buddham Sharanam / Sangam Sharanam" points to the Buddhist past. Buddhist hermits always prefer to stay in interior jungles for solitary contemplation to attain Nirvana. The word 'Ayya' is a Buddhist Pali word means Lord/God. There was an ancient trade route passed through Nilackal between Kerala and Pandian kingdom.

References

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