Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore from 1729 until his death in 1758.
28 Facts About Marthanda Varma
2.
Marthanda Varma defeated the Dutch East India Company forces at the Battle of Colachel in 1741.
3.
Marthanda Varma put an end to the ettuveetil pillamars and the ettara yogam council and took the full power as a king.
4.
Marthanda Varma built a sizeable standing army of about 50,000 nair men, as part of designing an "elaborate and well-organised" war machine, with the role of the travancore army and fortified the northern boundary of his kingdom.
5.
Travancore under Marthanda Varma made a deliberate attempt to consolidate its power by the use of Indian Ocean trade.
6.
Marthanda Varma undertook many irrigational works, built roads and canals for communication and gave active encouragement to foreign trade.
7.
Marthanda Varma's policies were continued in large measure by his successor, Rama Varma.
8.
Marthanda Varma was born in 1706 to queen Karthika Thirunal Umadevi, the Queen of Attingal, and Raghava Varma of Kilimanoor Palace.
9.
The ruler Rama Marthanda Varma entered into treaties with the English East India Company and the Madurai Nayaks with the aim of strengthening his position.
10.
The territorial conquests of Marthanda Varma were intended not only for settling political differences but for controlling areas that yielded food crops and commercial products, particularly pepper for the ports of trade in southern and central Kerala.
11.
The reorganisation of land relations effected by Marthanda Varma following his conquest of Quilon, Kayamkulam, Tekkenkur and Vadakkenkur was essentially to ensure this control of resources.
12.
Marthanda Varma ascended the throne when the crisis in Travancore had already deepened.
13.
King Rama Marthanda Varma was forced to invite troops from Tamil Nadu to collect dues and impose order.
14.
Marthanda Varma's reign was one of constant warfare, against opponents both inside and outside his territory.
15.
Marthanda Varma realised that Dutch power in Kerala stemmed from their flourishing spice trade at the port of Kochi.
16.
Marthanda Varma set out to conquer the major spice-producing areas supplying cargo to Kochi.
17.
Marthanda Varma had declared a state monopoly on pepper in Travancore in 1743, thereby delivering a serious blow to the commerce of the Dutch.
18.
Marthanda Varma was born a samanthan Wanting the status of a, he performed a set of elaborate and expensive Mahadana rituals as which included the Hiranyagarbha.
19.
Marthanda Varma started normalising the relationship between the royal family and the Padmanabhaswamy Temple as soon as he came to the throne.
20.
Marthanda Varma undertook the Prayaschittam retribution that was long overdue from the earlier Venadu kings.
21.
Marthanda Varma reorganized the collection of dues from the temple lands.
22.
The main Vishnu idol of the shrine, which was mostly destroyed in a fire during his predecessor Rama Marthanda Varma's time, was re-constructed.
23.
Marthanda Varma created Ottakkal Mandapam as well as the Sheevelippura.
24.
Marthanda Varma gave patronage to different temple art forms including Koothu, Padhakam, Kathakali, Thullal, and Koodiyattam.
25.
Marthanda Varma was succeeded by his nephew Rama Varma.
26.
Marthanda Varma's policies were continued in large measure by Dharma Raja.
27.
Marthanda Varma went on to successfully defend Travancore against the aggression of the Kingdom of Mysore.
28.
Marthanda Varma's legacy involved a major restructuring of the medieval political and economic relations of southern Kerala.