Odiery Jayanthan Sankaran Nampoothiri was an 18th-century Dalawa of the

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 ...

, a former Indian kingdom.

Background

Jayanthan Nampoothiri was a migrant from

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 b ...

kingdom who settled in Travancore during

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He i ...

's invasion. Having the experience of working in Zamorin's palace, Nampoothiri could earn respect from Travancore royal family also.

Rise to and fall from power

Soon after the death of

Dharma Raja Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma ( ml, ധർമ്മരാജാ കാർത്തിക തിരുനാൾ രാമവർമ്മ, 1724–17 February 1798) was the Maharajah of Travancore from 1758 until his death in 1798. He s ...

Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma on 17 February 1798,

Balarama Varma Avittom Thirunal Bala Rama Varma (c. 17827 November 1810) was a ruler of the Indian princely state of Travancore from 1798 to 1810, succeeding his uncle Maharajah Dharma Raja on 12February 1798. His reign was a time of disturbances and inter ...

was enthroned as Maharaja of

. Bala Rama Varma was one of Travancore's least popular sovereigns whose reign was marked by unrest and various internal and external problems to the state.Travancore State Manual by Nagam Aiya He became King at the young age of sixteen and came under the influence of Jayanthan Nampoothiri. One of the first acts of atrocities during his reign was the murder of

Raja Kesavadas Kunnathur Kesavan Raman Pillai, also known as Raja Kesavadas (1745-1799; Sanskrit ') was the Dewan of Travancore during the reign of Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma. He is well known for his military tactics and administrative acumen ...

, the existing

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 e ...

of Travancore on 21 April 1799. Jayanthan Nampoothiri was appointed as new Dewan. Sankara Narayanan Pillai of

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 Mettuka ...

and

Thachil Matthoo Tharakan Thachil Mar Matthoo Tharakan (1741–1814) was a Saint Thomas Christian merchant, social leader and minister who played a key role in Kerala, especially in its Travancore and Cochin regions, in India towards the latter part of the 18th century ...

assisted Nampoothiri. Due to their corruption, soon the treasury was empty. Jayanthan Nampoothiri decided to collect large sums of money from the people for the treasury. This resulted in a revolt led by

Velu Thampi Velayudhan Chempakaraman Thampi of Thalakulam (1765–1809) was the Dalawa or Prime Minister of the Indian kingdom of Travancore between 1802 and 1809 during the reign of Bala Rama Varma Kulasekhara Perumal. He is best known for being one ...

. Maharaja dismissed Dewan and his associates on 6th Mithunam 974 Malayalam Era (June 1799 AD) even before they complete a month in their offices. Ayyappan Chempaka Raman Pillai from

Chirayinkeezhu Chirayinkeezhu is a town in Thiruvananthapuram district in the Indian state of Kerala. It was also hometown of famous Malayalam Film actor Prem Nazir . It is the seat of Chirayinkeezhu taluk. Anjengo Fort The well known Anjengo Fort (''Anc ...

was appointed as new Dewan and Velu Thampi, as commerce minister. Later when he was appointed as Dewan, Velu Thampi wreaked his vengeance on Jayanthan Nampoothiri and his assistants. Jayanthan Nampoothiri was banished and never recalled. Tharakan and Sankara Narayanan were publicly flogged and have their ears cut off. Tharakan was imprisoned at Trivandrum,P. Sankunny Menon. ‘’History of Travancore’’ (Malayalam). 1878. Ed. N.P. Ummerkutty. 1988. pp. 245. while Sankara Narayanan was sent to be confined at

Udayagiri Fort There are two forts named Udayagiri Fort in South India. Fort in Udayagiri, Andhra Pradesh Udayagiri Fort in Andhra Pradesh was constructed by Langula Gajapathi, chieftain to Gajapatis of Odisha approximately between 1434 and 1512 CE. Fort in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nampoothiri, Jayanthan Sankara 18th-century births Diwans of Travancore Year of death unknown