Dharma Raja

Dharma Raja Biography

Dharma Raja was a ruler of princely state of Travancore who ruled during the period, 1758 – 1798 till his death. He succeeded his uncle Marthanda Varma, the first ruler of unified Travancore kingdom. Thus Dharma Raja was the first succeed of the great Travancore Kingdom of South Kerala. His full name is Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma, born on Karthika Star in 1724 AD. He was a strict adherent of Dharma Shatras and was a strict administrator and that was why he was known by the title Dharma Raja. Till his death, he was able to save his kingdom from Tipu Sultan of Mysore and was able to defeat him twice. He had 4 wives.

His mother was a Senior Rani of Attingal. His father was Kerala Varma Koil Thampuran of the Kilimanoor palace. His brother Prince Makayiram Thirunal was the grandfather of Irayimman Thampi, known for the famous lullaby written for Swati Thirunal, Omana Thingal Kidavo. His mother was adapted to the Kingdom of Venad when political turmoil was happening and Ettuveetta Pillamar (Eight Lords) were prominent. He lost his father at the age of 4 as a part of political conspiracies. So, when he was grown up, he joined his uncle Marthanda Varma and his mission to annex nearby kingdoms, after the defeat of Ettuveetta Pillamar. Thus modern Travancore was formed from the southern end of Kerala up to Kochi.

He succeeded to the Travancore musnud following the death of his uncle in 1758. He was assisted by the minister Ayyapan Marthanda Pillai. During the period of Dharma Raja, Travancore became the most powerful state in Kerala. Even the majority regions of Kochi were occupied by Dharma Raja. Other Rajas of Kerala tried to keep friendship with him. When Hyder Ali invaded small kingdoms and moved towards Travancore, he demanded the rajahs of Cochin and Travancore to pay the expenses of his Malabar campaign. When the king of Cochin accepted it, Dharma Raja replied that he is willing to do so only if his force will be withdrawn from Malabar. Seeing it as a threat, Hyder Ali returned back to Mysore.

During Tipu Sultan’s invasion of Malabar, Hindus and Christian families fled to Travancore and Dharma Raja treated them kindly. In 1789 when Tippu’s team assembled at Nedumkotta (northern border of Travancore) to attack Travancore, he had to face defeat from Travancore soldiers who openly fired at them. Tipu though returned to Mysore, later attacked the Nedumkotta again and succeeded. The Sultan and his military now moved to a place where the Travancore army had built a wall across the river. Taking advantage of this situation, Travancore Army broke down the retaining wall and a large number of Tipu’s soldiers got killed. Travancore army attacked the remaining fled too thus winning the battle. But to protect his people from Mysore army, he signed a treaty with British which brought British Army inside the kingdom.

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Updated: September 24, 2017