Ramayyan (died January 1756
) was the
Dewan
''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...
of
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 ...
state, India, during 1737 and 1756 and was responsible for the consolidation and expansion of that kingdom after the defeat of the
Dutch at the 1741
Battle of Colachel during the reign of
Maharajah
Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great Monarch, king" or "high king".
A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Em ...
Marthanda Varma
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") (1758–98).Subrahman ...
, the creator of modern Travancore.
Early life
Ramayyan, was born in Yerwadi, a village in
Tirunelveli district,
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 languag ...
to which his family originally belonged. When he was six years of age his poor father gave up his native village and came to
Thiruvattar and settled at a hamlet known as Aruvikara in the Kalkulam
Taluka
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
in the modern-day
Kanyakumari District
Kanniyakumari district is one of the 38 districts in Tamil Nadu state and the southernmost district in mainland India. It stands second in terms of population density among the districts of Tamil Nadu. It is also the richest district in Tamil Nad ...
of Tamil Nadu state. When he was twenty years old he lost his parents, who he survived along with their other three sons and one daughter.
After the death of his parents, Ramayyan frequently visited
Trivandrum
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 ...
, attracted to it by the never ending festivities and celebrations, which always drew great crowds of
Tamil Brahmin
Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, in addition to other regions of India, as w ...
s from all over Travancore and neighbouring regions of modern-day Tamil Nadu. On one occasion he decided to stay back and seek some employment in Trivandrum in which, owing to his superior intelligence and ability, he was successful. He was employed as an assistant to the Attiyara Pohtty Brahmin of
Vanchiyoor, a member of the Ettara Yogam or the Council of Eight and a Half who controlled the Temple of
Padmanabhapuram and a man of great power and influence.
Association with the Maharajah
While employed with the Attiyara
Pohtty one evening, when the Maharajah Marthanda Varma was dining at Attiyara, he noticed Ramayyan who impressed him by dealing with a minor yet significant incident with great sense and intelligence. The pleased Marthanda Varma asked the Attiyara Pohtty to let him take the young boy into his service which being permitted Ramayyan became a servant of the Maharajah of Travancore.
Career
Ramayyan from being appointed at a minor post in the Palace management soon rose in the Maharajah's favour and was appointed Palace ''Rayasom'' or Under Secretary wherein he fulfilled his duties ably. Thus when the then Dalawa or
Dewan
''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...
of Travancore, Arumukham
Pillai, died in the year 1736, Ramayyan was appointed Dalawa by the very impressed Maharajah Marthanda Varma.
Military conquests
The entire territorial extent of Travancore state namely between the River
Periyar and
Cape Comorin
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 I ...
was attained with the efforts of Ramayyan Dalawa on behalf of his King Marthanda Varma. It was due to his efforts and conquests that the kingdoms of
Kayamkulam
Kayamkulam is a town and municipality in the ''Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha district in Kerala. It is the second biggest town in Alappuzha district. It is located on the western coast of India, and was an ancient maritime trading center. O ...
, Madathinkoor (Mavelikkara), Elayadathu Swaroopam,
Quilon
Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city ...
, Ambalapuzha etc. were annexed to Travancore and the
Dutch were defeated in the Battle of Colachel. Several favourable treaties were signed with the
British under his Dalawaship while 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 ...
and 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 ...
accepted the suzerainty of Travancore.
Family
Ramayyan Dalawa's two sons and one daughter moved back to Tamil Nadu after his death. His family finally settled in the erstwhile
Pudukkottai state
Pudukkottai was a kingdom and later a princely state in British India, which existed from 1680 until 1948.
The Kingdom of Pudukkottai was founded in about 1680 as a feudatory of Ramnad and grew with subsequent additions from Tanjore, Siva ...
(a Princely State in Tamil Nadu). The then king of Pudukkotta, who had a good rapport with the Travancore state, offered Dalawa's descendants the entire village of
Sithanavasal.
Death
Ramayyan Dalawa resided in the town of
Mavelikkara
Mavelikkara is a taluk and municipality in the '' Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. Located in the southern part of the district on the banks of the Achankovil River.
Etymology
The name Mavelikar ...
where he had a palace built by Marthanda Varma. After the death of his wife, Ramayyan married a Malayala
unnithan lady from Mavelikkara of the Edassery family . After his death Ramayyan's descendants left to Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu and settled there. His mayali wife was given gifts and presents and special allowances from the Travancore government in recognition of his services to the state while his own descendants were bestowed with the honorific title of Dalawa. The able Dalawa breathed his last in the year 1756. Marthanda Varma was terribly saddened by his death, and finally followed his faithful servant in 1758.
The last Diwan of Travancore is from this family, Sri PGN Unnithan hailed from the Edassery Pattaveettil Family of Mavelikkara which had a history of high military service to the Travancore Royal Family. His father Ittamar Koil Thampuran was from the Haripad Palace and nephew of Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran.
Relations with Marthanda Varma
The Maharajah Marthanda Varma and Ramayyan Dalawa were more than just king and minister to each other. They were intimate friends (like
Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya (350-295 BCE) was a ruler in Ancient India who expanded a geographically-extensive kingdom based in Magadha and founded the Maurya dynasty. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Maurya kingdom expanded to become an emp ...
and
Chanakya
Chanakya (Sanskrit: चाणक्य; IAST: ', ; 375–283 BCE) was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya ...
), so much that after the death of Ramayyan the Maharajah became depressed and declined in health prior to his death in 1758. Ramayyan Dalawa was one of the ablest and most popular ministers of Travancore and while on his death bed when asked how he would want his memory perpetuated he merely stated that he was an "instrument in the hands of my master (Marthanda Varma) and had no such ambitions."
Enmity between Ramayyan Dalawa and Nampoothiris of Kayamkulam
Ramayyan Dalawa was the main enemy of the
Nampoothiris of Travancore who lived in
Kayamkulam
Kayamkulam is a town and municipality in the ''Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha district in Kerala. It is the second biggest town in Alappuzha district. It is located on the western coast of India, and was an ancient maritime trading center. O ...
and nearby places. During the Kayamkulam war, Ramayyan Dalawa attacked and looted the Nambiathiris, high order Nampoothiris having the knowledge of
Dhanurveda
''Dhanurveda'' (धनुर्वेद) () is a Sanskrit treatise on warfare and archery, traditionally regarded as an upaveda attached to ''Yajurveda'' (1100800 BCE) and attributed either to Bhrigu or Vishvamitra or Bharadwaja. It is one among ...
—the science of arms in ancient times—and who were the local rulers of 'Swaroopams', a small area covering five or six villages, and the owners of temples in this region for defeating Kayamkulam as there were well trained armies of Nairs under each Nambiathiris . After winning the battle with Kayamkulam, Ramayyan downgraded them. As a protest, many Nampoothiris left and went to northern places and lived as Nampoothiris. Many of the Nampoothiris remained at Kayamkulam, Oachira, Mavelikkara and Haripad were down graded as 'Nambiathis' the 'purohithas' of local Nairs. In the meantime a new group of Brahmins were brought to these places from the Kolathu Nadu and posted as priests in many temples in these regions . They were called Thiruvalla Desis by the locals or simply Thiruvalla potties and later they were given the status of Nampoothiris during the beginning of 'Kollavarsham' 1109. Thus the erstwhile Nampoothiris in this region became second grade Nampoothiris and known as Nambiathis and as a result they hated Ramayyan Dalawa. Ward and Corner, two British surveyors who conducted a survey in erstwhile Travancore and Cochin at the beginning of 19th century observed that many Nampoothiris of Kayamkulam and surroundings migrated to northern Kerala during Ramayyan Dalawa's time.
See also
*
Dewan
''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...
*
Marthanda Varma
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") (1758–98).Subrahman ...
*
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 ...
*
PGN Unnithan
*
Mavelikara
Mavelikkara is a taluk and municipality in the '' Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. Located in the southern part of the district on the banks of the Achankovil River.
Etymology
The name Mavelikar ...
* ''
Marthandavarma
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") (1758–98).Subrahmany ...
'' (novel)
References
* Travancore State Manual by V.Nagam Aiya (1906)
* History of Travancore by Shungunny Menon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalawa, Ramayyan
1756 deaths
Malayali people
Diwans of Travancore