Rama Varma VIII (died 16 August 1790) was an Indian

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...

who ruled 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 wa ...

from 1775 until his death in 1790.

Reign

Rama Varma VIII was the younger brother of Kerala Varma II and succeeded the latter to the throne on his death in 1775. Rama Varma VIII scarcely commanded any authority during his reign as the kingdom was largely a puppet state under the suzerainty of Hyder Ali of Mysore. During Rama Varma's reign, the Muslim general Sardar Khan captured the city of

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

and established his residence at

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

. Rama Varma VIII succumbed to an

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious ...

of small pox on 16 August 1790 and was succeeded to the throne by his nephew Rama Varma IX.

References

* * 1790 deaths Rulers of Cochin Year of birth unknown {{India-royal-stub