Kodungallur Kovilakam ( ml, കൊടുങ്ങല്ലൂര്‍ കോവിലകം), is a palace of the royal family of the late edievalKingdom of Kodungallur (

Cranganore Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...

), in the modern-day 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 ...

. Kodungallur was a feudal principality subordinate to the rulers of the

Kingdom of Cochin The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy w ...

from the later half of the eighteenth century until Indian independence. The Kingdom of Kodungallur was under the protection of the Dutch government after 1707 for a few years before returning to its allegiance to the

Zamorin The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited by ...

. The Kodungallur Royal Family had two branches, at Chirakkal Kovilakam and at Puthen Kovilakam.

Design

The Chirakkal Kovilakam has two ''nalukettu'' structures, one larger than the other. The main residential building and two more old buildings, a water tank (known as ''padakulam''), the family temple (dedicated to

Hindu goddess Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...

Talattil Bhagavati) and Sarpakkavu are all within the Kovilakam Complex. The Kodungallur Kovilakam was renowned as a ''

gurukulam Education in India is primarily managed by state-run public education system, which fall under the command of the government at three levels: central, state and local. Under various articles of the Indian Constitution and the Right of Child ...

'' (centre of learning). Scholars from across present day Kerala used to live in the palaces and study

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

and

Vedic science Vedic science may refer to: Vedic period * Ayurveda * Vedanga, the six ancient disciplines (shastra) subservient to the understanding and tradition of the Vedas # Shiksha ('): phonetics and phonology (sandhi) # Chandas ('): meter # Vyakarana ('): ...

. Eminent scholars from this Kovilakam contributed to

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

and Sanskrit literature. According to Venmani Achan Namboodiribad, Kerala's ''gurukulams'' were for many decades centred on the Kodungallur Kovilakam.

Literature

Writers born there contributed immensely to Malayalam literature. The leading light among them was Venmani Achan Namboodiripad, born in 1816 at Venmani Illam in Vellarappilly, Alwaye. Achan married Sreedevi Antharjanam in 1838 and they had one son, Venmani Mahan Namboodiripad. Later, he married Kunhippilla Thampuratti of the Kodungallur Kovilakam. He had two children from this marriage – Kunjikuttan Thamburan and Kunjunni Thamburan. Achan died at the age of 74. Namboodiripad lived for several years in

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...

Thripunithura Thrippunithura or Tripunithura (), is a prominent historical and residential region in the City of Kochi in Kerala, India. Located about 7 km (4 mi) from the city centre, Tripunithura was the capital of the erstwhile Kingdom of Cochin ...

Kodungallur Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...

and

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...

. At the Kodungallur Palace, Mahan found his calling as a poet. After Kathollil Achuta Menon completed primary education at home, he was sent to Kodungallur Palace to study

under Vidwan Kunjiramavarma Thamburan. At age 16, he started writing poetry and composed approximately 20 ''slokas'' in an hour during competitions. Key members of this ''gurukula'' were: * Veena specialist Valia Thampuran (Kunjiramavarma Thampuran). First guru of Kodungallur Gurukulam * Vidwan Elaya Thampuran (Godavarma Thampuran), Contemporary of

Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma ( 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 40 ...

* Sakran Godavarma Thampuran * Vidwan Kunjiramavarma Thampuran * Valia Kunjunni Thampuran * Valia Kochunni Thampuran * Kunjan Thampuran * Cheria Kochunni Thampuran (Kavi Sarvabhouman) * Bhattan Godavarma Thampuran * Mani Madhava Chakyar * Bhagavathar Kunjunni Thampuran * Kochikavu Thampuratti * Kodungallur Kunjikuttan Thampuran Most popular among these scholars is

Kodungallur Kunjikuttan Thampuran Kodungallur Kunjikkuttan Thampuran (1864 - 1914) also transliterated as ''Kotungallur Kunhikkuttan Thampuran'', was a Malayalam poet and Sanskrit scholar lived in Kerala, India. His birth-name was Rama Varma. He is famous for his single-hande ...

References

External links

* {{Tourism in Kerala Palaces in Thrissur Feudal states of Kerala History of Thrissur district