5/5 vinay c. 5 years ago on Google • 252 reviews
West
Fort
got
its
name
from
the
Western
entrance
to
the
fort
built
by
the
Kings
of Travancore.
The
old
city
was
all
inside
the
fort
on
four
sides
with
the Sri
Padmanabha
Swamy
temple at
the
center.
It
is
said
that
there
were
huge
metal
gates
on
this
entrance
to
the
Fort
which
was
decorated
with
the
symbol
of
a
conch,
which
was
the
insignia
of
Travancore.The
works
of
the
fort
around
the
Sree
Padmanabhaswami
Temple
in
Thiruvananthapuram
was
started
in
1747
during
the
reign
of
King
Marthanda
Varma
of
the
erstwhile
Travancore
kingdom.
It
was
completed
during
the
reign
of
Karthika
Thirunal
Dharmaraja
in
1787.There
are
four
major
entrances
to
the
fort
namely
East
Fort,
West
Fort,
North
fort
and
South
Fort.
Besides,
there
are
small
entrances
at
Sreevaraham,
Sreekandeswaram
and
Vettimuricha
Kotta.
Kumaramangalas
Mana
in
West
Fort
has
a
fascinating
link
with
the
‘Ettuvettil
Pillamar’,
who
were
vanquished
by
Marthanda
Varma,
the
architect
of
erstwhile
Travancore
Located
near
the
West
Fort
gate,
the
old
archway
to
Saraswathy
Vilasam
palace,
with
its
neo-classical
architectural
elements,
easily
captures
our
attention.
However,
not
many
spot
the
old
nalukettu
situated
beside
the
archway,
for
it
is
veiled
by
the
cool
shade
of
several
trees.
Kumaramangalas
Mana,
the
nalukettu,
has
a
fascinating
link
with
the
‘Ettuvettil
Pillamar’.
History
tells
that
Anizham
Thirunal
Marthanda
Varma
(1706-1758),
when
he
strengthened
the
foundation
of
monarchy,
put
an
end
to
the
powerful
‘Pillamar’,
the
Nair
nobles
associated
with
the
Padmanabha
Swamy
temple
and
the
‘Ettara
Yogam’.
The
‘Pillamar’
were
not
to
go
down
easily.
It
was
believed
that
even
after
their
death,
the
ghosts
of
the
‘Pillamar’
gave
sleepless
nights
to
the
royal
family
members
of
erstwhile
Travancore.
In
order
to
put
an
end
to
this
ordeal,
the
royal
family
consulted
scholars
and
sought
the
assistance
of
the
members
of
Changanacherry
Kumaramangalas
Mana
to
exorcise
the
spirits.
“According
to
popular
tradition,
the
patriarchs
of
the
Mana,
with
their
tantric
powers,
managed
to
control
the
spirits.
The
spirits,
confined
in
‘kumbhams
,
’
were
taken
to
Changanacherry
and
installed
at
the
Vettadikavu
temple
owned
by
the
Mana.
The
eight
niches,
believed
to
be
the
resting
place
of
the
spirits,
can
still
be
seen
in
the
temple.
That
is
how
our
association
with
the
Travancore
royal
family
began,”
says
K.G.K.
Namboothiripad,
the
present
occupant
of
the
Mana
in
the
Fort
area.
The
ancient
Kumaramangalas
Mana
in
Changanacherry
had
its
roots
in
‘Kâdamuri
Kara’,
near
Puthupally.
“It
was
from
Puthupally
that
our
ancestors
settled
in
‘Puzhavathu
Kara’
in
Changanacherry,
where
the
old
ancestral
house
is
still
located,”
says
Namboothiripad.
After
the
exorcism,
the
bond
between
Kumaramangalas
Mana
and
the
Travancore
family
strengthened
and
soon
the
members
of
the
family
were
granted
a
residence
inside
the
Fort,
beside
the
Thevarathu
Koikkal
complex.
“In
olden
days,
it
was
customary
for
some
of
my
family
members
to
stay
here
in
Thiruvananthapuram,
as
we
conducted
regular
pujas
at
the
Sreepadam
palace.”
Namboothiripad
recalls
his
early
years
in
Thiruvananthapuram,
“As
a
young
man
I
often
went
to
the
Sreepadam
Thevâram
to
conduct
pujas.
If
we
wanted
to
go
home,
we
had
to
make
alternate
arrangements
with
some
other
Namboothiris
to
do
the
puja
in
our
absence,”
adds
Namboothiripad.
According
to
him,
in
olden
days,
the
Thevarathu
Koikkal
compound
had
only
few
other
residences
in
its
vicinity.
Thiruvalla
Madhom
and
Kumaramangalas
Mana
flanked
either
side
of
the
Saraswathy
Vilasam
Palace,
the
abode
of
the
celebrated
Kerala
Varma
Valiya
Koil
Thampuran,
the
‘Kerala
Kalidasa’.
Despite
all
this
attention,
it
has
been
told
that
members
of
the
royal
family
of
erstwhile
Travancore,
for
long,
never
visited
the
Vettadikavu
temple.
There
was
a
belief
that,
if
the
King
of
Travancore
ever
set
foot
on
the
soil
of
Changanacherry,
the
spirits
of
the
'Pillamar'
would
break
free
from
their
bondage
and
return
to
Thiruvananthapuram!
