Azhvanchery Thamprakkal or Azhvanchery Samrāṭ is the title of the senior-most male member of the

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

(Namboothiri) feudal lords of Azhvanchery Mana in

Athavanad Athavanad is a village in the Tirur Taluk, in the Malappuram District of the state of Kerala, India. The town lies on the National Highway 17, between Kuttippuram and Valanchery. Puthanathani is the main town of the Athavanad village and the ...

Tirur Taluk Tirur Taluk comes under Tirur revenue division in Malappuram district of Kerala, India. Its headquarters is the town of Tirur. Tirur Taluk contains four municipalities - Tanur, Tirur, Kottakkal, and Valanchery. Most of the administrative office ...

, present-day

Malappuram district Malappuram (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . It is the most populous district of Kerala, which is home to around 13% of the to ...

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 ...

state,

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

. They had the right over

Guruvayur Guruvayur () is a municipal temple town in Thrissur District, of Kerala State in India. It is a suburban town of Thrissur city, located from Thrissur towards the north-west. It houses the Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple. It is located at ...

too. They were the titular head of all

Nambudiri The Nambudiri (), also transliterated as Nampoothiri, Nambūdiri, Namboodiri, Nampoothiri, and Nampūtiri, are a Malayali Brahmin caste, native to what is now the state of Kerala, India, where they constituted part of the traditional feudal el ...

s of Kerala. The Lord of Azhvanchery based at

and the Lord of

Kalpakanchery Kalpakanchery is a revenue village and a Gram Panchayat in Tirur Taluk, Malappuram district, Kerala, India. The village is located south-west to the city of Malappuram. Kadungathukundu, Puthanathani, Kurukathani, and Randathani are four majo ...

based at the neighbouring

were usually present at the coronation (''Ariyittu Vazhcha'') of a new

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 ...

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

. Kalpakanchery Thamprakkal were related to the

s of

Panniyoor Panniyoor is a village in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. Demographics As of 2011 Census, Panniyoor had a population of 12,382 with 5,932 (47.9%) males and 6,450 (52.1%) females. Panniyoor village spreads over an area of with 2 ...

while Azhvanchery Thamprakkal to those of

Chowwara Chowara is a small town in Aluva in the Ernakulam district in the state of Kerala, India. Demographics At the 2001 India census, Chowwara had a population of 13,603. Males constituted 50% of the population and females 50%. Chowwara had an avera ...

History

There are lots of theories as to how

s came to settle in Kerala, the commonly accepted point of view is that they moved in from

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

via

Tulu Nadu Tulunad or Tulu Nadu, also called Bermere sristi or Parashurama Srishti, is a region and a Proposed states and union territories of India#Karnataka, proposed state on the southwestern coast of India. The Tulu people, known as 'Tuluva' (plural ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. Another theory based on the retention of ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

'' types as memorized by different

communities points to

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

as the base from which they migrated to Kerala via the

Palakkad Gap Palakkad Gap or Palghat Gap is a low mountain pass in the Western Ghats between Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Palakkad in Kerala. It has an average elevation of with a width of . The pass is located between the Nilgiri Hills to the north and ...

, which is also the largest opening in the southern Western Ghats, and settled around the river

Bharathappuzha Bharathappuzha ("River of Bhārata"), also known as the Nila or Ponnani River, is a river in India in the state of Kerala. With a length of 209 km, it is the second longest river that flows through Kerala after the Periyar. It flows throu ...

. The region around

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

near

- western

border was ruled by the Cheras during

Sangam period The Sangam period or age (, ), particularly referring to the third Sangam period, is the period of the history of ancient Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Sri Lanka (then known as Tamilakam) spanning from c. 6th century BCE to c. 3rd century CE. ...

between 1st and the 4th centuries CE and it served as the eastern entrance to the

, the principal trade route between the

Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing m ...

and

. The ''Azhvanchery Thamprakkal'' originally had right over parts of present-day

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

Taluk. Later they moved westwards along the River

and settled around the river. Finally the ''Azhvanchery Thamprakkal'' bought Athavanad-

Tirunavaya Tirunavaya, also spelled as Thirunavaya, is a town in Malappuram, Kerala. Situated on the northern bank of Bharatappuzha (River Ponnani/Nila or Perar), it is one of major Hindu pilgrimage centres in Kerala. Tirunavaya, home to Tirunavaya Temple ...

region in present-day

and gave Palakkad to ''Palakkad Raja''s (''Tarur Swaroopam'') who were originally from

region. Many of the oldest Nambudiri settlements of Kerala are situated around the River

. The

Kingdom of Tanur Kingdom of Tanur (Vettathunadu, Vettom, Tanur Swaroopam, Prakashabhu, Kingdom of Light) was one of the numerous feudal principalities on Malabar Coast during the Middle Ages. It was ruled by a Hindu dynasty, claiming Kshatriya status, known as ' ...

Kingdom of Valluvanad Valluvanad was an independent chiefdom in present-day central Kerala that held power from the early 12th century to the end of the 18th century. Prior to that, and since the late 10th century, Valluvanad existed as an autonomous chiefdom within t ...

, ''Perumpadappu Swaroopam'', and the kingdom of

, located around the river

, were once strongholds of Nambudiris. The introduction of

Grantha script The Grantha script ( ta, கிரந்த எழுத்து, Granta eḻuttu; ml, ഗ്രന്ഥലിപി, granthalipi) is a South Indian script, found particularly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Originating from the Pallava script, t ...

which later got evolved into Malayalam script, and the evolution of Malayalam language through

Sanskritisation Sanskritisation (or Sanskritization) is a term in sociology which refers to the process by which castes or tribes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek 'upward' mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the dominant castes or upper ...

Karintamil Karintamil is thought to be the earliest predecessor of the modern Malayalam language. The Sangam literature can be considered as the ancient predecessor of Malayalam. The earliest records in Karintamil are the ''pattu literature'' (songs). Prom ...

are highly related to the Brahmins who migrated through the

Position in Indian social order

The Azhvanchery Thamprakkals were also temporally, the rulers of

: The name

is believed to be derived from them or vice versa. Before abolition of the princely-order of government, The Azhvanchery Thamprakkal was considered as the supreme religious head of Kerala Brahmins. His presence was required for the anointing of the

Thachudaya Kaimal The Thachudaya Kaimals were a lineage of ruling chiefs in Travancore, now in the Indian state of Kerala. The Thachudaya Kaimal is a sacerdotal dignitary in Kerala and is considered the spiritual chief and temporal ruler of the Koodalmanikyam Templ ...

of Travancore, the Yogathiripad of Thrissur and the ruling chiefs of South India Census Report of Travancore, 1901 and 1927 Edited by Dr N Kunjan Pillai mentions the Azhvanchery Thamprakkal and their special status The Thamprakkals were great patrons of mathematics and astronomy. The

Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics The Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics or the Kerala school was a school of Indian mathematics, mathematics and Indian astronomy, astronomy founded by Madhava of Sangamagrama in Kingdom of Tanur, Tirur, Malappuram district, Malappuram, K ...

flourished between 14th and 16th centuries of

Common Era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

Tirur Tirur is a Municipality in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala spread over an area of . It is one of the business centers of Malappuram district and is situated west of Malappuram and south of Kozhikode, on the Shoranur–Mangalor ...

Triprangode Triprangode is a village in Malappuram district in the state of Kerala, India. India census, Triprangode had a population of 37175 with 17422 males and 19753 females. Three sides of the village is surrounded by water bodies. Culture Tripran ...

region on the bank of the river

. In the famous work ''Brahmandapuranam'', of poet Thunchath Ezhuthachan, Azhvanchery Thamprakkals had been mentioned with the title "Netranarayanan".

Title and Privileges

The title of ''Thamprakkal'' literally means Emperor (having originated from the

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 ...

''Samrat'' and later corrupted into ''Thampran'') came to be used to refer to the

s of Azhvanchery Mana family. The story according to popular lore is that while returning from the coronation ceremony of Kulashekhara Perumal with the gift of a golden-cow, the Thamprakkal was stopped on the road by Pakkanar, a person of low

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

. He claimed that it was the exclusive right of his castemen to take dead cows. The Thamprakkal, affronted, sprinkled water on the golden cow and brought it to life. The low caste man exclaimed "You are indeed a Thamprakkal" and since then the title has stayed with the family. The Thamprakkal had four privileges within the Hindu Social Order of Kerala. * ''Bhadrasthanam'': The chief seat in any assembly * ''Sarvamanyam'': Universal respectability * ''Brahma Samrajyam'': Sovereignty over all Brahmins * ''Brahmavarchas'': Highest authority in

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

learning The opinion of the Azhvanchery Thamprakkal was considered supreme in deciding matters relating to religion, caste, society etc. Only the anointed head of the family received the title. The junior members of the family are ordinary Adhyan Namboodiris and use the style of Namboodiripad.

References

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. At ...

State Manual, Volume II by V.Nagam Aiya, page number 249. * Census Report of Travancore, 1901 which mentions the Azhvanchery family and their special status with details.

History

Position in Indian social order

Title and Privileges

References

See also