The Saga of the Padmanabhadasas III - Upholders of Tradition

In the previous part, we discussed how Travancore stood against the inimical forces to defend Dharma. Now, we will look at their role as upholders of tradition.

Even while being Dāsas of Padmanābha, the Mahārājas of Travancore also looked after temples belonging to other deities. For instance they donated the seven and half (miniature) gold coated elephants of Ezharaponnana to Ettumanoor Shiva temple.

The family deity of Travancore Mahārājas was also the Goddess at Thiruvarattukavu Devi temple at Attingal. It is interesting to note that though Travancore Mahārājas are well known as Padmanābhadāsas, their coronation or Ariyittuvazhcha ceremony was actually done in this temple at Attingal.

Last reigning Mahārāja of Travancore, Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma during coronation ceremony (Ariyittuvazhcha) at Thiruvarattukavu Devi temple Source: A Visual History of Travancore bY HH Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma

While ceremonies such as Hiraṇyagarbha were conducted at Sri Padmanabha Swamy temple to title themselves as Kulasekhara Perumals, this Devi temple is their original family temple.It is said that when first adoptions were made from Kolathu Nadu in North Malabar into southern Venad, the family deity of Kolathiris or rulers of North Malabar was also brought south into Travancore from Madayi Kavu in Kannur and installed in Attingal. It is the custom of Travancore Mahārāja to perform Ariyittuvazhcha every year at this temple to please the fierce Goddess.

It is also interesting to note that the Kulagurus of Travancore Mahārājas are the  Shankaracharyas of Sringeri Sarada Peetham.

Last reigning Maharaja of Travancore HH Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma with HH Sri Abhinava Vidyatheertha Swamigal of the Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham. Source: Redff.com

Apart from this other traditional maṭhams which received annual gifts from erstwhile Travancore Mahārājas are mentioned in old records from Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple known as Mathilakam Rekhakal. Apart from Sringeri Sharada Peetham, the list includes Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, Vyasaraja Matha, Uttaradi Matha etc. (9)

The Travancore Mahārājas also gave special attention to the prosperity of Dharma in the kingdom. Anyone who didn’t follow the code of Dharma was punished regardless of caste or status. For instance, during the reign of Karthika Thirunal Dharma Raja of Travancore, a Brahmin priest wanted to marry a girl from a specific household. The king ordered the priest not to do so and concentrate on his priestly duties in the temple, but the priest married that girl while the king was away from the capital.

When the king returned, he found out about this and ordered a great fine from the priest not in his name, but to Sri Padmanabha. The king wanted the priest to work more on his priestly life than being a householder and thus being a practicing Brahmin priest in his kingdom came with strict rules and regulations in life (10).

Apart from this, it was also part of rājadharma to feed the hungry in times of need. The Mahārājas built many feeding halls called Oottupuras to serve meals to the public. The 19th century record from Mathilakam Rekhakal details how the Travancore Mahārājas fed the poor belonging to all castes with kanji (rice porridge). This was called as dharmakanji since it was part of the Dharma of Mahārājas to feed the poor when the latter were in need.

Another thing to note is that the peasant class of Pulayars, even when attached to lands they worked on, were taken care of and were given rice porridge which is the most popular meal in Kerala even during the time of famines (11). Even when the peasant class formed the lowest rung of social hierarchy, they were not mere slaves who could be bought and sold. Selling women and children was considered a heinous crime in Travancore. There is an 18th century instance in Mathilakam records where a person who sold a woman was punished with public beatings and fine. Another royal proclamation from Travancore Mahārājas dating to the 19th century details strict punishment for trafficking of children(12).

One of the accusations against the royalty of Travancore is that they restricted temple entry to lower caste Hindus till 1936 when HH Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma made the famous temple entry proclamation, with blessings of Azhvanchery Thamprakkal (head of Kerala Brahmins) and other priestly Brahmins. It may be true that Avarnas or castes like the Ezhavas may have been restricted from entering temples owned by the Brahmins and Kshatriya-Nairs. But that doesn’t rule out the fact that the Ezhavas had their own temples and priesthood. It was common in those times for each community to have their own temple administered as per their own community rites.

For instance, a sketch of an old Devi temple owned by the Ezhavas in Travancore is given by Samuel Mateer writing in the 19th century (13):

The temple had Ezhava priests as per Mateer and the priests used to offer bali and other offerings in the temple.

At the Ilavar temple near Chakki, in the outskirts of Trevandrum, represented in the illustration, the goddess Bhadrakali is represented as a female seated on an image, having two wings, gilt and covered with serpents. Twice a year fowls and sheep are sacrificed by an Ilavan priest, and offerings of grain, fruit, and flowers are presented. The side-piercing ceremony is also performed here.

The Ezhava priests were also present in another temple at Mangalattukonam. Here the priests wore typical Shaiva marks on their body. This temple was also visited by Nairs, Pulayas etc who performed offerings there (14):

The Ilavars who assemble for the festival wear the marks of Siva, a dot and horizontal lines on the forehead, and three horizontal lines of yellow turmeric on the chest. They begin to gather at the temple from noon, and return home at night. Over five hundred persons attend this occasion—formerly many more came. The festival lasts for five days. Some of the neighbouring Sudras and Shanars also attend, and some Pulayars, who pay one chuckram for two shots of firework guns in fulfilment of their vows. Offerings here are generally made in return for relief from sickness or trouble of some kind. The tujdri, or priest, is an Ilavan, who receives donations of money, rice, etc.

Another temple at Mayanadu also had Ezhava Pujaris, the Bhagavati there was considered as sister of the Bhagavati of a temple owned by Nairs which had Brahmin priests. During festivals, processions were sent to the Ezhava owned temple as mark of kinship between the Goddesses (15):

At Mayanadu, the Bhagavathi of the small temple belonging to the Ilavars, is regarded as the sister of the one worshipped in the larger temple used by the Sudras, and served by a Brahman priest; and the cars of the latter are brought annually to the Ilavars’ temple, and around it three times before returning to their own temple. At the Ilavars’ temple the same night, the women boil rice in new earthen pots, and the men offer sheep and fowls in sacrifice.

Hence, in Travancore even the so called lower castes were given complete freedom to worship and celebrate festivals in their own ancestral temples.

In conclusion, Travancore kingdom was Hindu state where Dharma flourished from the earliest Chera and Ay kingdoms going back to the Sangam age which started from around 5th century BCE. The national anthem of Travancore, known as Vanchi Bhumi is in remembrance of the old Chera capital of Vanchi or Thiruvanchikulam at Kodungallur. Thus, the Travancore kingdom had one of the longest continuous dynasties in the world. Even under the British influence, the Royal Family did all they could do to preserve the Dharmic traditions of their kingdom.

Thus, the 19th century the English missionary Robert Caldwell who is credited as the father of Dravidian theories, described Travancore under the Diwanship of Madhava Rao in one of his satirical poems (mocks as Coconutcore) as a prosperous ‘model state’, where ‘Brahminical superiority’ prevailed and as heaven on earth (16):

This State, if judged from ” Reports” you read,

Is a very wonderful State indeed ;—

A “Model State,” in which you may see

Everything is just as it should be.

Where dwells a worthy and well-oil’d nation,

Blest with a faultless administration ;

The brightest land, with the lightest tax,

And an annual surplus of fifty lacs :

Where happy ryots, ne’er pester’d by famines,

Till fields, in subjection to blessed Brahmins.

A land of peace, a land of delight,

Where everyone, everywhere, always does right.

Where whitemen, living in meek minority,

Acknowledge Brahminical superiority.

In short, and I’m sure I cannot say more,

‘Tis a heaven upon earth, this Cocoanutcore!

Unfortunately with the advent of state freedom also came the dismemberment from the dhārmika monarchy which need not have been so. The sudden break from the past opened up the arena for all sorts of adhārmika forces to weigh in on the people. Using satire and subtle force everything from food habits to daily dealings took a communist turn. From being devotedly Hindu the current leadership was avowedly anti-Hindu. The Hindu lost his voice in the din of democracy. One of the stereotypes about Kerala Hindus is that beef is a normal part of their cuisine. Historically this was not the case in Hindu kingdoms of Kerala. In the old days, warriors of Kerala who were mostly from the Nair community, once trained in Kalaris, the schools of martial arts, took an oath to protect Brahmins and cows, as part of service to the king. This is recorded by Duarte Barbosa, a 16th-century Portuguese writer:

The King then asks him if he will maintain the customs and rules of the other Nayres (Nairs), and he and his kinsmen respond ‘ Yes.’ Then the King commands him to gird on his right side a sword with a red sheath, and when it is girt on he causes him to approach near to himself and la, his right hand on his head, saying therewith certain words which none may hear, seemingly a prayer, and then embraces him saying ‘ Paje Gubrantarca, that is to say ‘ Protect cows and Bramenes (Brahmins). The Book of Duarte Barbosa: An Account of the Countries bordering on the Indian Ocean, Volume 2

Endnotes

1. Selection from the records of the Madras government, Dutch records No. 13 The Dutch in Malabar being a translation of selections Nos. 1 and 2 with introduction and notes.
2. A History of the Military Transactions of the British Nation in Indostan by Robert Orme
3. Selection from the records of the Madras government, Dutch records No. 13 The Dutch in Malabar being a translation of selections Nos. 1 and 2 with introduction and notes.
4. A Philosophical and Political History of the Settlements and Trade of the Europeans in the East and West Indies Volume 1
5. The British Mercury Or Annals of History, Politics, Manners, Literature, Arts Etc. of the British Empire
6. Aithihyamala by Kottarathil Shankunni
7. Native life in Travancore by Samuel Mateer
8. ibid
9. Mathilakam Rekhakal Part 1&2 by Uma Maheswari
10. ibid
11. ibid
12. ibid
13. Native life in Travancore by Samuel Mateer
14. ibid
15. ibid
16. The Chutney Lyrics A Collection of Comic Pieces in Verse, on Indian Subjects by Robert Caldwell

Authored by Akshay Shankar and Kavita Krishna Meegama. Published by Brhat.