Padmanabhapuram Palace, also known as Kalkulam Palace, is a

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. A ...

era palace located in Padmanabhapuram in the Kanyakumari district of the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

n state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. The palace is owned, controlled and maintained by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

of the neighbouring 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 Ca ...

. Padmanabhapuram is the former capital city of the erstwhile Hindu kingdom of

. It is around 20 km from

Nagercoil Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on ...

, 39 km from

Kanyakumari Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland Ind ...

town and 52 km from

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

in Kerala. The palace is complex inside with an old

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

fortress around four kilometers long. The palace is located at the foot of the Veli Hills, which forms a part of the Western Ghats. The river Valli flows nearby. Another palace known as Kuttalam Palace is situated in Kuttalam in Tenkasi district, Tamil Nadu which is also under the ownership of Kerala government. It is situated in the Tenkasi District, Tamil Nadu (before state reorganisation, Kanyakumari District, Chenkottah Taluk,

Tenkasi Tenkasi is a town and headquarters of the Tenkasi district in Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural places in South Tamilnadu,Tenkasi houses The Kutraleeshwarar temple (Chitra Sabha), one of the ...

Taluk including the areas of Kuttalam are in the control of Travancore Kingdom in Kerala). It is owned, controlled and maintained by the Kerala Government.

Construction

The palace was constructed around 1601 CE by Iravi Varma Kulasekhara Perumal who ruled

Venad Venad was a medieval kingdom lying between the Western Ghat mountains and the Arabian Sea on the south-western tip of India with its headquarters at the port city of Kollam/Quilon.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Is ...

between 1592 and 1609. The founder of modern Travancore, King Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (1706–1758) who ruled Travancore from 1729 to 1758, rebuilt the palace in around 1750. King Marthaanda Varma dedicated the kingdom to his family deity Sree Padmanabha, a form of Lord

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

and ruled the kingdom as Padmanabha dasa or servant of Lord Padmanabha. Hence the name Padmanabhapuram or City of Lord Padmanabha. In the late 18th century, precisely in 1795 the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

of Travancore was shifted from here to Thiruvananthapuram, and the place lost its former glory. However, the palace complex continues to be one of the best examples of traditional Kerala architecture, and some portions of the sprawling complex are also the hallmark of traditional Kerala style architecture. The Palace though surrounded entirely by the State of Tamil Nadu is still part of Kerala and the land and Palace belongs to the Government of Kerala. This Palace is maintained by the Govt. of Kerala Archaeology Department.

Unique rooms

The Padmanabhapuram Palace complex consists of several structures: * Mantrasala; the King's Council Chamber * Thai Kottaram, constructed before 1550 * Nataksala; the Performance Hall * A four-storeyed mansion at the centre of the complex * Thekee Kottaram; the Southern Palace

Central mansion

The four-storeyed building is located at the centre of the palace complex. The ground floor houses the royal treasury. The first floor houses the King's bedrooms. The ornamental bedstead is made of 64 types of herbal and medicinal woods, and was a gift from the Dutch merchants. Most of the rooms here and in other parts of the palace complex have built-in recesses in walls for storing

weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

s like

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

s and

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use def ...

s. The second floor houses the King's resting and study rooms. Here the King used to spend time during fasting days. The top floor (called ''upparikka malika'') served as the

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogni ...

chamber of the

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is i ...

. Its walls are covered with exquisite 18th century

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanis ...

s, depicting scenes from the

purana Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

s, and also few scenes from the social life of the Travancore of that time. The top floor was supposed to be Sree Padmanabha Swamy's room. This building was constructed during the reign of King Marthandavarma. He was also designated as Padmanabha Dasa and used to rule the Travancore kingdom as a servant of Sree Padmanabha Swamy.

Southern Palace

The southern palace is as old as the 'Thai kottaram' (Mother's palace), which would make it about 400 years old. Now, it serves as a heritage museum, exhibiting antique household articles and curios. Collections of items give an insight into the social and cultural ethos of that period.

Uppirikka malika

To the northwest of Thai Kottaram is one of the most notable parts of the royal complex, Uppirikka malika. Uppiri, which means ‘multi- storied’. Back in 1745, the then King Anizham Tirunal Marthanda Varma built this grand complex. The ground floor of this Malika housed the coveted Tranvcore royal treasury. Above this treasury was the palace king's bed chambers. Therein lies the famous ''sapramancha kattil''. Supposedly, 64 timber samples with medicinal properties makes up this grand poster bed. A stair from the King's room leads us to his fasting Chambers. This is where the King resided when he fasted in devotion.

Other features

The Padamnabhapuram Palace complex has several other interesting features: * The palace is located near

Thuckalay Thuckalay or Thakkalai is a town in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. Thuckalay comes under the Padmanabhapuram Municipality, and is the administrative headquarters of Kalkulam Taluk. The Revenue Divisional Office is located in Mettuk ...

, Kanyakumari district of

state but administered by the Government of Kerala state. * The clock tower in the palace complex has a 300-year-old clock, which still keeps time. * A big hall now bare, which can accommodate around 1000 guests, and where ceremonial feasts were held, on auspicious occasions. * A

secret passage Secret passages, also commonly referred to as hidden passages or secret tunnels, are hidden routes used for stealthy travel, escape, or movement of people and goods. They are sometimes inside buildings leading to secret rooms. Others allow peop ...

, now blocked, through which the king, his immediate family members, and their entourage could escape to another palace, located several kilometers away in the event of any emergency. Name of this palace is Charottu Kottaram. * A flight of steps leads to a bathing pond, which has lost its freshness due to neglect and years of disuse. * The palace complex also has a section of curios and several interesting objects: ** An entire room filled with old Chinese jars, all gifts by Chinese merchants. ** A variety of weapons (which were actually used in warfare), including swords and daggers. ** Brass lamps, wood and stone sculpture, a variety of furniture and large mirrors made of polished metal. ** A gallery of paintings depicting incidents from the history of Travancore. ** A wooden cot made of up to 64 wooden pieces of a variety of medicinal tree trunks ** Polished stone cot, meant for cool effect ** Toilet and well

Gallery

File:Padmanabhapuram Palace 1.jpg, Padmanabhapuram Palace (Side View) File:Padmanabhapuram Palace 2.jpg, Padmanabhapuram Palace File:Padmanabhapuram Palace 3.jpg, Padmanabhapuram Palace (Front View) File:Padmanabhapuram Palace 5.jpg, Padmanabhapuram Palace File:Padmanabhapuram Palace 6.jpg, Padmanabhapuram Palace File:Padmanabhapuram Palace 7.jpg, Padmanabhapuram Palace and Pond File:Kuthira Vilakku 1.jpg, Kuthira Vilakku (Side View) File:Kuthira Vilakku 2.jpg, Kuthira Vilakku File:Navarathri Mandapam.jpg, Navarathri Mandapam

References

External links

Protected Monuments in Kerala

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

Padmanabhapuram Palace
at the

World Heritage Tentative List In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

{{coord, 8.250916, 77.326702, display=title Kanyakumari Kingdom of Travancore History of Kerala Palaces in Tamil Nadu Royal residences in India Travancore royal family Monuments of National Importance in Kerala