A Short Note on the State Of Travancore

The Kingdom or also known as the state of Travancore was an earlier Hindu primitive kingdom up to 1858, and the princely state of India was ruled by the royal family of Travancore, the capital of the Travancore state is Thiruvananthapuram or Padmanabhapuram.

The Travancore Kingdom, during its beginning, includes the majority area of the current Kanyakumari district, southern Kerala, and also involves the southern region of Tamil Nadu. The certified flag of the Travancore kingdom was red using a silver dextrally-coiled conch casing which is also known as Turbinella pyrum, which is present at its midpoint.

The Travancore kings were honored by the19-gun salute, which is considered the second-highest honorary gun salute among other gun salutes by the British Empire to the king of Travancore state which shows the respect of the king among the British Empire.

Furthermore, Travancore royal family as well the government of the state also took countless advanced steps for the socio-economic development of the kingdom, and the Travancore state was known as one of the greatest princely kingdoms or states, with reputed accomplishments in political administration, social reforms, education, and public work.

The early cultural and political past of southern and central Travancore was almost completely self-governing rather than the rest of Kerala. The Chera Empire ruled the Malabar Coast between the Alappuzha lies in the south region and Kasaragod in the north. This comprised Coimbatore, Palakkad Gap, Kolli hills, and the Salem region.

The area around Coimbatore was governed by the Cheras dynasty during the Sangam historical period, the major trade path between the Tamil Nadu and Malabar Coast. Nevertheless, the southern part of the present-day Kerala state was underneath the Ay Empire, which was further associated with the Pandya reign of Madurai and then the Cheras.

Travancore Royal Family

The Travancore royal family was the only ruler of the Travancore kingdom ruling house of the Kingdom of Travancore. The Travancore royal family ruled the princely state from 1663 to 1949. The rule of the Travancore royal family ended in 1949 after the independence of India as Travancore agreed to merge with the Indian government, and the rest of the ruling rights were also taken away in 1979. The Travancore royal family is inclined to the Ay/Venad family, Pandyas, Cheras, and Cholas. The only leader in the Travancore bloodline was named Maharaja Sree Moolam Thirunal, as the family of Maharaja Chithira Thirunal and beneficiaries. 

While in 2011, the Indian High Court announced the rule of the Travancore royal family, and all the custodial rights of the temple should be given to the family, this came into action after various public petitions. Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma was the last ruler of the temple from the royal family and died in 1991.

Now almost a decade has passed (July 2020), the Supreme Court has ruled that the Travancore royal family must take governance of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple.

Kings Of Travancore

The king is known as the major title of the Travancore Kingdom, and the king is made from the bloodline of Travancore kings or royal family. The ruling territory of the kingdom lies in the southern part of Kerala, India. The king of Travancore was the highest ruler of Travancore till 1949 when Travancore was occupied by India. Since then, the kings of Travancore remain in a nominal position. Kings who ruled the Travancore kingdom are as follows which started in 1663 and was led by many kings of the royal family and ruled till the independence of the country, but in 1949, the rule of the Travancore family ended as the Travancore state agreed to get merged with India.

List of Travancore kings 

Conclusion

Travancore kingdom was ruled and administered by the royal family of Travancore till 1949 and taken under the consideration of the government, but after various public petitions in court had led the Indian High Court in 2011 ruled the Travancore royal family and all the custodial rights of the temple should be given to the family, later on, in July 2020 the Supreme Court has ruled that the Travancore royal family must take governance of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple.