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73-534: Sri Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma III (16 April 1813 – 26 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore . He was a great musician and composer who has to his credit over 400 classical compositions in both Carnatic and Hindustani style. A code of laws, courts of justice, introduction of English education, construction of an observatory, installation of the first Government printing press, establishment of

146-579: A Srivijaya Monarchy. In the 12th century with the fall of the empire, the Seri King being a Muslim established the Sultanate of Brunei in 1363 with the throne name Sultan Mohamad Shah. In 1426, he established the sultanate of sulu as his death was recorded in 1431 Mt. Makatangis Sulu grave and 1432 Brunei grave. Both Sulu and Brunei claim the honor of his grave, while his brother, a Johore (Singapore) Prince Makdum Karim (Sharif Kabungsuwan of Malabang Lanao)

219-536: A change in Indian customs that might lead to the happiest results. He was informed, on good authority, that there was not a child who had reached eight years of age not capable of reading and writing; but this distinguished prince, not satisfied with advancing the interests of elementary education, had established an observatory, and placed in it an English gentleman, a member of the Royal Society of London, and who

292-726: A few zamindars who were titled Maharaja for their cordiality and contribution to the British Raj. In the Mughal Empire it was quite common to award to various princes (hereditary or not) a series of lofty titles as a matter of protocolary rank. The British would, as paramount power do the same. Many of these (see also above) elaborate explicitly on the title Maharaja, in the following descending order: Furthermore, there were various compound titles simply including other princely styles, such as: Certain Hindu dynasties even came to use

365-508: A high place among the most enlightened of European Sovereigns had his destiny been so cast. You will be grieved to learn about the demise of His Highness the Rajah of Travancore. Among the native princes of India, he was distinguished for his superior intelligence and extensive acquirements in oriental literature. He is not unknown to fame in the European world, for most of you must be aware that

438-526: A higher ranking variant of "Raja". Eventually, during the medieval era, the title "Maharaja" came to be used by sovereign princes and vassal princes, and the title " Maharajadhiraja " was used by sovereign kings . Eventually, during the Mughal and British eras , Maharajadhiraja too came to be used by princes, though it was used by sovereign kings as well, such as the King of Nepal . The title ranks under

511-524: A husband . In case a child king is crowned, the mother of the king takes charge of the kingdom and acts as a regent. Until the young king is of the age, the Rajmata ( Queen mother ) administers the kingdom. Famous examples include Rajamata Shetu Lakshmi Bai of Travancore dynasty, Gowri Lakshmi Bai, Maharaji (later Rajamata) Rudrama Devi of Kakatiya dynasty. When the king is present, the Rajamata being

584-548: A monarch, Swathi Thirunal was incredibly hardworking and supremely committed to his kingdom and people. The appointment of General Cullen as the Resident of Travancore, was the beginning of the end for the Maharajah. Historian P. Shungunny Menon wrote: Resident Jerond Cullen assumed almost sovereign authority. Such was his oppressive intrusion in the administration. The king was made totally powerless. Compounding this atrocity

657-571: A national calamity. The Journal the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland ran an obituary in 1847 which mourned that, The early death of this enlightened and princely patron of true science, is a subject of just regret. Prince Rama Varma , renowned South Indian Classical musician and descendant of Swathi Thirunal, organizes the Swathi Sangeethotsavam , a 10-day music festival featuring exclusively

730-459: A result of the revolt, the government changed the laws and allowed dalit men & women to wear upper clothes. Several taxes on the lower classes were also repealed by the Maharajah after protests. Another area where Swathi Thirunal took interest was in astronomy . He wished to compare Western findings with Indian knowledge. He had knowledge of observatories in Madras and others. Finding that there

803-662: A similar set-up. The current observatory site was chosen on top of a laterite mount near the Kanakakunnu hill, which was observed as having the best western sky views in Eastern hemisphere, being near the equator and the Arabian sea. He was instrumental in buying telescopes and tools to Thiruvananthapuram (via ship route through the Middle east) from England. It became a part of the erstwhile Travancore University, but for some time

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876-737: A social reformer and iconoclast Ayya Vaikundar, an incarnation of Hindu Deity Vishnu ) severely criticized Swathi Thirunal for the then prevalent caste discrimination against the members of the lower classes in Travancore. He referred to the King as Ananthapuri Neechan (vile man of Ananthapuri); referred to the Brahmins and the British as Karineechanmar (vile Black cheaters) and Venneechanmar (vile White cheaters), respectively. The upper caste Hindus then complained to Swathi Thirunal that Vaikundar

949-485: A son, Thiruvattar Chithira Nal Ananthapadmanabhan Chempakaraman Thampi . A few months later, for the care of the baby, the Maharajah married another lady called Neelamma Pillai Ammachi by adopting her into the Thiruvattar Ammaveedu. He later married Sundara Lakshmi in 1843, a Saiva Mudaliar dancer, after adopting her into Vadasseri Ammaveedu . The story of the dancer Sugandhavalli who didn't get along with

1022-445: A unique style, including a term which as such is not of princely rank, e.g. Maharaja Gaikwar of Baroda , Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior , Maharaja Holkar of Indore, three of the very highest ranking ruling Maratha houses. Chakravarti is a Sanskrit term for "emperor". The meaning of chakravarti is "he, whose wheels (of chariot ) are moving" which symbolises that the leader who is a war hero, who commands over vast land and sea,

1095-461: Is called Datuk Maharaja Lela Penghulu Istana Negara . Eventually, Maharajah Adinda was also used to refer to a particular lineage within the royal families. The King of Thailand has been called a "Maharaj" ( Thai : มหาราชา ). Ammaveedu The consorts of the Travancore kings were known generally as "Ammachis" and held the title of Panapillai Amma which meant royal consort. As per

1168-613: The East India Company , and his officials and declared in the Durbar that she was entrusting the East India Company with the care of her child and expected the company to co-operate with him in future. In 1829 Swathi Thirunal reached majority at 16 and assumed full powers of ruler and reigned as the Maharajah of Travancore until his death in 1846. He had an elder sister, Gowri Rukmini Bayi , whose children ascended

1241-680: The Kingdom of Dali , submitted to the Mongol Empire , and in return was enfeoffed as Maharaja (摩诃罗嵯) of Dali, continuing to rule the area (but subordinated to Yuan princes and Muslim governors of Yunnan), until the Ming conquest of Yunnan . When the Indonesian Archipelago was still predominantly Hindu-Buddhist (circa 3rd century CE until the 15th century CE), all of the Indianised kingdoms which ruled different areas of

1314-647: The Marumakkathayam law of inheritance and succession in the royal family of Travancore the Maharajahs were succeeded by their nephews from their sisters, the Maharanis. The Ammachi Panapillai Amma was granted privileges as befitting their status, vast areas of lands and other valuable property and "a liberal provision is made from the State funds for their maintenance in comfort and dignity". The Ammachi

1387-865: The archipelago was ruled by a "Maharaja" or simply referred by the locals as "Raja", such as the first and oldest Hindu kingdom of Indonesia the Kutai Martadipura in eastern Borneo , the Tarumanegara , the Srivijaya , the Majapahit and numerous other kingdoms. Traditional titles remain in use for other members of royalty, such as Pangeran Ratu for the heir and other local-Malay titles such as "Paduka Sri". The title "Maharaja" has been used to refer to kings of ancient Indianised kingdoms, such as Maharaja Mulavarman king of Kutai Martadipura and Maharaja Purnawarman king of Tarumanegara . Maharaja

1460-686: The 19th century was Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He earned this title by keeping the Britishers beyond the Sutlej and even crushed the Afghan Empire. Maharajas in the twentieth century were the Maharaja of Cochin and Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala . Apart from princely states, rulers of some large and extended zamindaris were also awarded the title of Maharaja. The rulers of Jeypore , Darbhanga , Vizianagaram , Parlakhemundi Gidhaur were

1533-638: The Ammachi approached Irayimman Thampi for a solution. According to researchers he then created the famous Malayalam Padam (song) Prananaathan Enikku Nalkiya and told the Ammachi to sing it loudly in the King's presence; after hearing it the King was pleased and they reconciled immediately. This particular work of Thampi is considered by experts as one of the most beautiful Shringara (erotic) Padams available in Malayalam . Together they had three children but in 1839 Narayani Pillai Ammachi died, leaving behind

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1606-622: The Diwan to resign when he heard that the Diwan had acted to favour a particular party in a land dispute. He started an English school in Thiruvananthapuram in 1834, which came to be called the Maharajah's Government Free School and later became Maharajah's High School and then Maharajah's College . It is now the University College . Later, similar schools were started at many other places. He also implemented reforms in

1679-468: The Earliest Times, 1878) records an incident between young Swathi Thirunal and Col. Welsh, a visiting British officer, that the word geometry and words like hexagon , heptagon and so on were derived from Sanskrit . Colonel Welsh summed up the boy King's genius as follows: Swati Tirunal, now thirteen... took up a book of mathematics and selecting the forty-seventh proposition of Euclid sketched

1752-523: The King's first wife, Narayani Pillai Thankachi, has been disproved by R.P. Raja as nothing but fiction in his research treatise 'New Light on Swathi Thirunal'. In 1845 the King constructed the Thanjavur Ammaveedu for his third consort. Sundara Lakshmi, a great devotee of Lord Ganapati and Kanjirottu Yakshi Amma, resided there until her death in 1856. Swathi Thirunal took over the reins of Travancore from his aunt, Gowri Parvati Bayi (she

1825-418: The Maharaja. His wife is called Yuvarani. Rajakumara is the son of a king who is not the heir apparent. He is conferred with certain duties or powers per the king's wishes. The daughter of a king who is not the heir apparent is called Rajakumari. Maharani usually denotes the wife of a Maharaja (or Maharana , Maharao , Maharawal) or in rare cases, in some states where it was customary, a woman ruling without

1898-568: The Musnud (throne) the moment he had attained his 16th year. In 1829, at the age of sixteen, Maharajah Swathi Thirunal married Thiruvattar Ammachi Panapillai Amma Srimathi Ayikutty Narayani Pillai Thankachi, a famed beauty of the Thiruvattar Ammaveedu family, was an expert Carnatic singer and Veena player. Once there was a minor quarrel between Narayani Pillai Ammachi and her husband, the King. The quarrel continued for some days;

1971-637: The Oriental Manuscript Library were started by Swathi Thirunal, the Museum and Zoo in Thiruvananthapuram as well. The Maharajah was also an honorary member of the Royal Asiatic Society from 1843. Maharajah Swathi Thirunal also put an end to the barbaric punishment called the 'SUCHINDRAM KAIMUKKU' According to which the accused was forced to prove his innocence by dipping his hand in boiled ghee at Suchindram temple, and he

2044-805: The Srivijaya satellite empire of the Majapahit Empire dominated over the whole Malayas far-reaching the present Philippine Archipelago , Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia under the Srivijaya Empire of the Majapahit King Maharaja Pamariwasa. The latter's daughter Es-kander was married to an Arab (Zein Ul-Abidin), the third Makdum who promulgated Koranic studies (Madrassahs) and was a Srivijaya ruler in Seri who were

2117-580: The Sultan during the Raffles' stint. The word Rajah derived from the word Maharaja. In 1842, the Sultan of Brunei ceded Sarawak to Rajah Brooke who founded the Kingdom of Sarawak and a line of dynastic monarchs known as the White Rajahs . In contemporary Malay usage, the title Maharaja refers to an emperor , e.g. " Maharaja Jepun " (" Emperor of Japan "). In Seri Malayas of the Srivijaya , under

2190-601: The Thiruvattar family. Ayilyam Thirunal 's consort was similarly adopted into the Nagercoil family. Moolam Thirunal married from Nagercoil first and following his consort's death married a commoner by adopting her into the Vadasseri Ammaveedu. Only those consorts of the Maharajahs who were born or adopted into one of these four Ammaveedus was entitled to the royal dignities and privileges that came with

2263-405: The Travancore musnud consecutively. Her only daughter was the mother of Moolam Thirunal . He had a younger brother, Uthram Thirunal Marthanda Varma , who succeeded him in 1846 and ruled Travancore until his demise in 1860. Irayimman Thampi , the famous poet-composer wrote perhaps the most famous Malayalam lullaby Omanathinkal Kidavo ( ഓമനത്തിങ്കള്‍ക്കിടാവോ ), about Swathi Thirunal when he

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2336-537: The above-mentioned villages and established these Ammaveedus. Thereafter he decreed that henceforward the Maharajahs and male members of the Travancore royal family were to take consorts only from these four families and if an outsider was to be taken, she would have to be adopted into one of these. Balarama Varma , his successor, married from the Arumana family as did Visakham Thirunal in 1859. Swathi Thirunal and Uthram Thirunal married sisters who were adopted into

2409-460: The age of 33, Maharajah Swathi Thirunal died on 26 December 1846. The demise of Maharajah Swathi Thirunal attracted the attention of even the foreign press. Allen's Indian Mail and Register of Intelligence of British &Foreign India, China, & All Parts of the East wrote: Both intellectually and morally, he was indeed far beyond his country and equals in rank; in both respects he might have taken

2482-439: The census, the population of Travancore was 128,068. Swathi Thirunal was also instrumental in bringing modern medicine to the state. He appointed a European as the palace physician. He was also given the responsibility of providing medical assistance to local people, for which hospitals were started. It is this post that was known as Surgeon General till the formation of Kerala State. He also started an engineering department, which

2555-584: The colonial Dutch East Indies authorities in October 1878. In peninsular Malaysia : In northern Borneo , the title Maharajah of Sabah and Rajah of Gaya and Sandakan was used from 29 December 1877 to 26 August 1881 by Baron von Overbeck (compare White Rajah ). The Englishman Capt. James Brooke was declared as Rajah Brooke by the Sultan of Brunei for his role in pacifying the Sarawak revolt against

2628-451: The compositions of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal. Eminent Carnatic and Hindustani musicians participate in this unique musical event, which is conducted every year from 4 to 13 January at Kuthira Malika , Trivandrum and attracts music aficionados from across the globe. The award Swathi Sangeetha Puraskaram is instituted in the name of Maharajah Swathi Thirunal of Travancore to honour those musicians who have made valuable contributions to

2701-549: The considerable influence of British representatives, such as Residents , at their courts. The word Maharaja may be understood simply to mean "ruler" or "king", in spite of its literal translation as "great king". This was because only a handful of the states were truly powerful and wealthy enough for their rulers to be considered 'great' monarchs; the remaining were minor princely states , sometimes little more than towns or groups of villages. The word, however, can also mean emperor in contemporary Indian usage. The title of Maharaja

2774-535: The deceased Rajah maintained an observatory at considerable expense, and that MR Caldecott was for a length of time, his highness's astronomer. The ephemeris emanating from the Travancore observatory was a valuable contribution to astronomical science ... The Rajah also supported an English school on a scale of liberality that perhaps has few precedents in other native states. He was a steady and staunch advocate of education, friend and patron of men of letters ... his loss will doubtless be greatly deplored by Travancoreans as

2847-482: The elder son. While in the womb itself, he was proclaimed King and thus was referred to as Garbha Sreemaan . He was born in Svati star, and this is the reason why he was named Swathi Thirunal. He reigned under the regency of his mother from 1813 to 1815 and then under the regency of his maternal aunt Gowri Parvati Bayi until 1829. When he was just four months old, his mother invited Colonel John Munro , representative of

2920-535: The eve of independence in 1947, the Indian Empire contained more than 600 princely states , each with its own native ruler, often styled Raja or Rana or Thakur (if the ruler were Hindu ) or Nawab (if he were Muslim ), with a host of less current titles as well. The British directly ruled two-thirds of the Indian subcontinent ; the rest was under indirect rule by the above-mentioned princes under

2993-474: The female equivalent is Maharaj Kumari (Maharajkumari ): daughter of a Maharaja. The Gorkha Kings of Nepal (now a republic) used the title of Mahārājādhirāja which was "King of Great Kings", a title of honour, a degree higher than Mahārājā. Rana Prime ministers of Nepal used the title of Shree Teen Maharaja while the Gorkha Kings used Shree Panch Maharajadhiraja. Duan Xingzhi, the last monarch of

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3066-529: The field of music. It is also the highest honour for musicians by the Government of Kerala , India . In 1987, a Malayalam film titled Swathi Thirunal based on his life was released. It was directed by Lenin Rajendran . It stars Anant Nag in the title role, and Srividya , Ambika , Nedumudi Venu and Murali in other important roles. Sree Swathi Thirunal Maharaja , a 1967 documentary film about

3139-567: The figure on a country slate but what astonished me most was his telling us in English that Geometry was derived from the Sanskrit, which as Jaw metor (Jyamiti) to measure the earth and that many of our mathematical terms were also derived from the same source such as hexagon, heptagon, octagon... This promising boy is now, I conclude, sovereign of the finest country in India for he was to succeed to

3212-548: The first manuscripts library were amongst the many initiatives taken by Swathi Thirunal, as a King, to modernize Travancore. Swathi Thirunal was born into the Venad dynasty of the Matrilineal royal family of Travancore, which is now a part of Kerala , on 16 April 1813. He was the second child of Queen Gowri Lakshmi Bayi who ruled Travancore from 1810 to 1815, and Raja Raja Varma Koil Thampuran of Changanasseri Palace, and

3285-534: The king, directed by K. T. John, was produced by the Government of India 's Films Division . [1]  : Articles and compilations by Dr Achuthsankar S Nair in Sruthi Magazine, June 2013 and Journal of Madras Music Academy, 2009 Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj ; lit.   ' great ruler ' ; feminine: Maharani ) is an Indian princely title of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and medieval northern India ,

3358-405: The legal sector, starting Munsif , District and Appellate Courts and modernizing laws. He identified one Kandan Menon from Malabar and appointed him as Huzoor Diwan Peshkar to bring about legal reforms. Another of his achievements was to settle many land disputes by carrying out a resurvey of the land, in which also Menon helped him. He also conducted the first census of the state in 1836. As per

3431-524: The mother of the king, might given ceremonial roles. A famous Rajamata who functioned with the king is Rajamata Jijabai of the Maratha Kingdom , accompanying the Chhatrapati (king). Like Raja and various other titles, Maharaja was repeatedly awarded to notables without a princely state, such as zamindars . Maharaj Kumar (or Maharajkumar ) means son of a Maharaja or Heir-Apparent;

3504-583: The one who rules the people with dedication. In the Mahabharata, the Chakravarti Bharat is known to have ruled the entire sub-continent of India brought golden age to his empire. He is called as chakravarti. The wife of a Chakravartin or it's female Chakravartin is called a Chakaravartini. Yuvaraja means the crown prince of the kingdom or empire. He is granted with certain powers and responsibilities so that he can be prepared to take over as

3577-537: The second Makdum after the first one Makdum Tuan Masha'ik. Karim ul-makdum re=enforced Islam, a Srivijaya Johore ruler, later established the Sultanate of Maguindanao-Ranao (Mindanao) after taking the political authority of his father-in-law Tomaoi Aliwya of the Maguiindanao family dynasty. He adapted the title as sultan Aliwya (Sharif Kabungsuwan), the first Maguindanao Sultan. The second and third Makdum's father

3650-587: The then English scholar, Thanjavur Subba Rao as well. He continued to learn music by listening to accomplished musicians and practising himself. He encouraged both broad systems of Indian music , Hindustani and Carnatic music , though he was essentially a connoisseur of the Carnatic music tradition. He is credited with composing over 400 compositions in Carnatic and Hindustani music. Some of his favourite compositions were Padmanabha Pahi , Deva Deva , Devanke , Sarasijanabha and Sree Ramana Vibho . Swathi Thirunal

3723-513: The title was equivalent to a prince . However in late ancient India and medieval south India , the title denoted a king . The form "Maharaj" (without "-a") indicates a separation of noble and religious offices, although since in Hindi the suffix -a is silent, the two titles are near homophones. Historically, the title "Maharaja" was first introduced in the first century BC by the Kushans as

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3796-507: The titles of Maharajadhiraja Bahadur , Maharajadhiraja and Maharaja Bahadur , equal to Maharana and Maharao and above Raja Bahadur , Raja and Rai . The word Maharaja originates in Sanskrit and is a compound karmadhāraya term from mahānt- "great" and rājan "ruler, king"). It has the Latin cognates magnum "great" and rex "king". Due to Sanskrit's major influence on

3869-403: The villages from where the original Ammachis came. There are several Ammaveedus in Trivandrum such as the Puthumana, Kallada, Mupidakka, Chavara, Pulimoodu Ammaveedus' etc. However, from the end of the 18th century four Ammaveedus gained prominence. These were the Arumana, Vadasseri, Thiruvattar and Nagercoil Ammaveedus. Maharajah Karthika Thirunal Dharma Raja had married four ladies from

3942-424: The vocabulary of most languages in Greater India and Southeast Asia , the term Maharaja is common to many modern Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages . The Sanskrit title Maharaja was originally used only for rulers who ruled a considerably large region with minor tributary rulers under them. Since medieval times, the title was used by (Hindu) monarchs of lesser states claiming descent from ancient maharajas. On

4015-417: Was Sultan Betatar of Taif Arabia who was the 9th progeny of Hasan, the grandson of prophet Sayyidina Muhammad. The word can also be part of titles used by Malay nobility: Most famous was Bendahara Seri Maharaja Tun Mutahir of Malacca (executed 1509) and Datuk Maharaja Lela Pandak Lam of Perak (executed 1876). The palace marshal of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (head of state) of modern Malaysia

4088-656: Was administered as an independent government institution. It is now the oldest institution under the Kerala University. Started in 1837, some of the equipment is still to be seen at the Thiruvananthapuram observatory (now under the Department of Physics, University of Kerala ). In the early sixties, in relation to Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, the founder Dr. Vikram Sarabhai selected this astronomy observatory to study equatorial night skies. He assigned his doctoral students, notably Dr. A.P.J Kalam and Dr. K. Narayanan Nair, to collect data on cosmic rays and ionosphere. Trivandrum Public Library (now State Central Library ) and

4161-657: Was already an established astronomer from India and a member of the British and Canadian Astronomical Societies. The observatory benefited from the expertise of local English men, Colonel Fraser and Mr. Caldecott. A cotton mill expert John Caldecott, FRS was interested in astronomy but was self-taught, and later became one of its directors. As an industrial representative in Alapuzha, he used to make instruments for astronomical observations and initially mounted viewing instruments on top of mango tree in Residency of Kollam, Kochi and his Alappuzha homes. Raja Swathi Tirunal saw his collection and asked him to come to Thiruvananthapuram to start

4234-417: Was also part of the titles of the nobility in the Sumatran sultanate of Aceh . In the past, the title of Maharaja is given to a leader of the unreigning noble family and the Prime Minister Maharaja Mangkubumi. The last Prime Minister of Aceh who was installed to be the Maharaja Mangkubumi, Habib Abdurrahman el Zahir, who also acted as the foreign affairs minister of Aceh but was deposed and exiled to Jeddah by

4307-670: Was born. Both his aunt/foster mother, who was well-versed in music, and his father, a Sanskrit scholar, took special care about his education. Col. Munro also is said to have taken a keen interest in his education. He started learning Malayalam and Sanskrit at the age of six and English at the age of seven. The young Prince studied several languages, including Malayalam , Kannada , Tamil , Hindustani , Telugu , Marathi , Sanskrit , English and Persian . He impressed all his teachers, and even guests from abroad, with his keen understanding of not only languages but also other subjects like geometry. P. Sankunni Menon (A History of Travancore from

4380-549: Was cheating people by claiming to be God and as a result of the complaint, Swathi Thirunal ordered to arrest him but Vaikundar was not the cheater and later released by the government. In the then society, men and women belonging to the lower classes weren't allowed to cover their upper body as it was considered a privilege reserved for caste Hindus & people of other religions. Vaikundar exhorted dalits to fight against this and organized revolts to get their due rights which came to be known as Melmundu Samaram (Upper Cloth Revolt). As

4453-423: Was deeply interested in music right from childhood. Besides being an able ruler, he was a patron of music and was a musician himself. Researchers say that Swathi Thirunal affixed his compositions with the mudra Padmanabha , sarasijanaabha, etc. and its synonyms. His education in music started with the first lessons from Karamana Subrahmania Bhagavathar and Karamana Padmanabha Bhagavathar. Later, he studied music from

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4526-427: Was educated by his prime minister— a rare tutor for a sovereign. The Rajah had established schools within his dominions—he had established a mathematical school under English superintendence; but he had done more—he had done what, he was sorry to say, had neither been done in England, Scotland, nor Ireland—be had established a school in every village of his dominions— and be gave education to every child, male and female –

4599-440: Was fluent in a number of languages including Malayalam , Sanskrit , Marathi , Telugu , Kannada , Hindustani , Bengali , Tamil , Oriya and English. This was a period when music and art were thriving in many parts of south India. The triumvirate of Carnatic music, Tyagaraja (1767–1847), Syama Sastri (1762–1827) and Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775–1835), lived and enriched music during this period. Swathi Thirunal's palace also

4672-502: Was home to many musicians and artistes of the period, including the famous Thanjavur Quartet brothers, Tyagaraja 's disciple Kannayya Bhagavathar, Ananthapadmanabha Goswami (a Maharashtrian singer known as Kokilakanthameru swami), Shadkala Govinda Marar , and many others. The literary works of Maharajah Swathi Thirunal include Bhakti Manjari', Syanandurapuravarnana Prabandham, Padmanabhasatakam, Muhanaprasa Antyaprasa Vyavastha, Ajamila, Kuchela Upakhyanas and Utsava Varnana Prabandha. As

4745-474: Was in that room – he meant Mr. Caldecott. In this observatory, observations were carried on with the same success as under British interests. The Rajah had also established a magnetical and meteorological observatory, having been led to do so by becoming acquainted with a report on Meteorology, published by the British Association. And the observations taken there were found to be as accurate as those taken in Edinburgh, Philadelphia, and other places. Swathi Thirunal

4818-543: Was known as the Ammachi Panapillai Amma , and her "veedu" or residence was known as an Ammaveedu. The names of the Ammaveedus corresponded to the place from where the consort hailed. For example, the Arumana Ammaveedu had its origin when a lady from Arumana village in Vilavancode, Kanyakumari was espoused by a former Maharajah of Travancore. Other Ammaveedus of prominence were Vadasseri Ammaveedu, Nagercoil Ammaveedu, Thanjavur Ammaveedu, Thiruvattar Ammaveedu, Puthumana Ammaveedu (of Ravi Varman Thampi ) etc., all named after

4891-463: Was not a member of the royal household, and was in no way associated with the royal court and could not, earlier, even be seen in public with the ruler whose wife she was. Ammachis, if put away or widowed, were not allowed to marry any other man and were restricted and guarded in their own residences. The male and female children born to the Maharajah were dignified with the honorific of Thampi and Kochamma/Thankachi respectively. The Maharajah's spouse

4964-418: Was not as common before the gradual British colonisation of India, upon and after which many rajas and otherwise styled Hindu rulers were elevated to Maharajas, regardless of the fact that scores of these new Maharajas ruled small states, sometimes for some reason unrelated to the eminence of the state, for example, support to the British in Afghanistan, World War I or World War II . The Maharaja of Punjab in

5037-438: Was placed under the command of one Lieutenant Horsley. The Karamana bridge was built at that time. Despite the progress achieved in varied fields under Swathi Thirunal's reign, the Kingdom of Travancore, like the rest of British India, was in the grip of extreme caste discrimination against Hindu lower classes ( dalits ). According to the followers of the movement called Ayya Vazhi (the path of Ayya Vaikundar) and historians,

5110-665: Was punished if the hand gets burnt. He is also credited with starting the first government press (the only press at that time was CMS Press in Kottayam ). A report on the English schools in Travancore appeared in The Gardner's Magazine of 1841, wrote about the administrative reforms brought in by Maharajah Swathi Thirunal: Rajah of Travancore, the great promoter of science in the East, was only twenty-eight years of age, and had not reigned more than ten years, yet, during that short period, he had caused himself to be distinguished by his accomplishments as well as by his' liberality. They would, no doubt, be interested in learning that this prince

5183-458: Was so much in common between western astronomy and Indian (eastern) astrological understanding of planets, stars and the known universe; Swathi Thirunal set the initiative to start an Astronomical Observatory. One of its directors would be his cousin, Raja Rama Varma Rohani Thirunal, who was the contemporary Raja of Mavelikara Palace, an important branch of the ruling Travancore Royal family related to Raja Swathi Thirunal Raja Rohani Thirunal (Rohini)

5256-531: Was the Regent for Swathi Thirunal in his boyhood) at the age of sixteen. He appointed his tutor, Sri Subba Rao, as the Prime Minister (Diwan). One of his first moves was to shift the government secretariat from Kollam (about seventy-five kilometers away) to Thiruvananthapuram . This enabled him to give personal attention to government affairs. He took steps to curb corruption in the government and told even

5329-431: Was the machinations of his aide Krishna Rao, who schemed with Cullen for his own personal gain. What ever the reason, the Resident's intrusion in the administration was unbearable for the young King. To compound his problems, the deaths of his elder sister, father, wife Narayani and all three children (Narayani's) made the Maharajah distraught. He increasingly sought silence and solitude, weakening his mind and body. Thus, at

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