Meenachil Kartha
Encyclopedia
Meenachil Karthas were members of an Illathu
Nair
aristocratic clan, which ruled the small kingdom of Meenachil
from 15th century AD until 1754. Unlike the other aristocratic Nair factions of North and Central Travancore
who are descended from the Nāga
s, the Meenachil Karthas were of Aryan
origin.
in the 14th century (the reason for their exodus or their roots in Rajasthan
is given as some family disputes & inter family quarrels). They settled in Madurai
(which was a great cultural center and capital city during that time). Later they migrated to Kerala
(the reason for which is stated as outbreak of an epidemic in Madurai) and settled in this place "Meenachil" which was named after "Meenakshi" of Madurai
. Their capital was named Mevada (after Mewar
).
status as well as the aristocratic title of "Kartha
" (meaning Lord in Malayalam) were bestowed upon them. But they retained their original surname "Simhar" (variant of Singh
) and their culture remained markedly different from other local ruling clans. Most famous of the rulers were Veera Kerala Damodara Simhar, under whose reign, the principality achieved maximum glory.
Although like the other Illathu Nairs they were pure vegetarians, the Vaishnav tilak on the forehead distinguished them from the other clans. Also, their family deity was Bhavai instead of Bhadrakali
.
of Venad
, the nephew of Raja Rama Varma
spelled trouble for the Nair ruling clans all over Travancore. Marthanda Varma was able to seize power after killing Raman Thampi and Padmanabhan Thampi, who were the sons of Raja Rama Varma (with Princess Abhirami, a Rajput
from Kosala
). Marthanda Varma and his trusted Iyer Dalawa Ramayyan
started conquering the Nair kingdoms of Central and Northern Travancore one by one during the 18th century and the members of the Meenachil ruling clan were not able to avert the impending disaster. After breaking the backbone of the Southern Travancore Nair aristocracy by exterminating the most powerful clans such as the Ettuveedan
s and the members of Venad royal family who identified most strongly with the Illathu Nair nobility (the Thampi
s), Marthanda Varma under the influence of his Iyer mentor wreaked havoc on smaller Nair principalities such as Thekkumkoor, Vadakkumkoor, Kayamkulam.etc., ably supported by his Tamil
allies. Many of the ruling Nair dynasties were exterminated within a few days without any trace.
Marthanda Varma's forces invaded Meenachil on 1754, and the ruler of the principality committed suicide. Almost all the members of the royal family were either killed in the battle or executed, while a handful (almost all of them women) were able to escape and take refuge under the Zamorin. At the time of Hyder Ali
's invasion of Malabar
during 1766, only two young females were alive within the clan. Dharma Raja
granted them asylum from the Islamic forces of Hyder Ali and resettled them in Mevada.
. One of the members was a famous physician , Njavakkaattu Kizhakkedathu Madhathil Damodara Simhar Kartha[Kizhakkedathu Kunjarappan Kartha Thampan]. He lived in Mevada and practised as a physician. He was married to D.Kamalakshi Amma from Vellappally house, Mattakara, Pala.
Illathu Nair
Illathu Nair is one of the subcastes of the Nair community among Keralites. They are mostly found in the Travancore and Cochin areas. Illathu Nairs were considered highest in the Nair hierarchy in Travancore. Purification rites by the Maarans and priestly service from the Elayatus distinguished the...
Nair
Nair
Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...
aristocratic clan, which ruled the small kingdom of Meenachil
Meenachil
Meenachil is the name of the north-eastern region of Kottayam district in Kerala, south India. The name originates from Meenakshi the Dravidian goddess. Palai is the main town in Meenachil. The arterial river of the district is also named Meenachil...
from 15th century AD until 1754. Unlike the other aristocratic Nair factions of North and Central Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
who are descended from the Nāga
Nagavanshi
The Nagavanshi dynasty is one of the ancient Kshatriya dynasties of India. The Vedas do not mention Kshatriyas of either Suryavanshi, Chandravanshi, Nagavanshi, Agnivanshi or such Vanshas or lineages. The Puranas, of debatable dating, constructed such genealogies. The Puranas were supposedly...
s, the Meenachil Karthas were of Aryan
Aryan
Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...
origin.
Origin
The Meenachil Karthas were originally Rajputs belonging to royal lineage who migrated to MaduraiMadurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
in the 14th century (the reason for their exodus or their roots in Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
is given as some family disputes & inter family quarrels). They settled in Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
(which was a great cultural center and capital city during that time). Later they migrated to Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
(the reason for which is stated as outbreak of an epidemic in Madurai) and settled in this place "Meenachil" which was named after "Meenakshi" of Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
. Their capital was named Mevada (after Mewar
Mewar
Mewar is a region of south-central Rajasthan state in western India. It includes the present-day districts of Pratapgarh, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara and some of the part of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The region was for centuries a Rajput kingdom that later...
).
Culture and Assimilation
In Kerala, they were gradually assimilated in to the Illathu Nair caste, which was the major aristocratic caste in Travancore region. As they amassed power, SamanthanSamanthan
Samantan Nair or more commonly Samantan was a generic term applied to dignify a collection of Kshatriya sub-clans among the ruling elite and feudal estate owners of Kerala belonging to the Nayar race.-Historical background:Kerala was under the second Chera Empire approximately during 800...
status as well as the aristocratic title of "Kartha
Kartha
Kartha is a Nair title name derived from Karthavu which means Lord and it was conferred by the king to some powerful Nair families who enjoyed Raja or Naduvazhi status...
" (meaning Lord in Malayalam) were bestowed upon them. But they retained their original surname "Simhar" (variant of Singh
Singh
Also see SinhaSingh is a common title, middle name, or surname in Northern India and South India used by sikhs warriors and kings. eg. Man Singh I, Maharana Pratap Singh. It is derived from the Sanskrit word Siṃha meaning "lion and used by Ahir kings of Nepal". It is also used in Sri Lanka by...
) and their culture remained markedly different from other local ruling clans. Most famous of the rulers were Veera Kerala Damodara Simhar, under whose reign, the principality achieved maximum glory.
Although like the other Illathu Nairs they were pure vegetarians, the Vaishnav tilak on the forehead distinguished them from the other clans. Also, their family deity was Bhavai instead of Bhadrakali
Bhadrakali
Bhadrakāli , is one of the forms of the Great Goddess mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. In Sanskrit, the word Bhadra means "blessed", "auspicious", "fair", "beautiful", "good", "fortunate", "prosperous"....
.
Defeat and Destruction
The rise of Marthanda VarmaMarthanda Varma
Marthanda Varma , was the founder of the Indian Hindu feudal kingdom of Travancore from Venad SwaroopamHe ruled from 1729 till his death in 1758, having succeeded his maternal uncle Dharma Raja.King Marthanda Varma is usually credited as the "founder of Kingdom of Travancore" from...
of Venad
Venad
Venad Swarupam was one of the three prominent late medieval Hindu feudal kingdoms on Malabar Coast, south India, along with Kingdom of Calicut and Kingdom of Cannanore. In the early 14th century, Venad ruler Ravi Varma Kulasekhara had established a short-lived supremacy over southern India...
, the nephew of Raja Rama Varma
Rama Varma of Venad
Rajah Rama Varma was the ruler of the Indian kingdom of Venad, later known as Travancore, in the modern day state of Kerala, India between 1724 and 1729, having succeeded his brother Unni Kerala Varma. He is better known as the uncle of Maharajah Padmanabha Dasa Vanchi Pala Marthanda Varma...
spelled trouble for the Nair ruling clans all over Travancore. Marthanda Varma was able to seize power after killing Raman Thampi and Padmanabhan Thampi, who were the sons of Raja Rama Varma (with Princess Abhirami, a Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
from Kosala
Kosala
Kosala was an ancient Indian region, corresponding roughly in area with the region of Awadh in present day Uttar Pradesh. According to the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya and the Jaina text, the Bhagavati Sutra, Kosala was one of the Solasa Mahajanapadas in 6th century BCE and its cultural and...
). Marthanda Varma and his trusted Iyer Dalawa Ramayyan
Ramayyan Dalawa
Ramayyan was the Dewan of Travancore state, India, during 1737 and 1756 and was responsible for the consolidation and expansion of that kingdom after defeating the Dutch in the Battle of Colachel under the rule of Maharajah Marthanda Varma Kulasekhara Perumal, the maker of Modern Travancore.-Early...
started conquering the Nair kingdoms of Central and Northern Travancore one by one during the 18th century and the members of the Meenachil ruling clan were not able to avert the impending disaster. After breaking the backbone of the Southern Travancore Nair aristocracy by exterminating the most powerful clans such as the Ettuveedan
Ettuveetil Pillamar
The Ettuveetil Pillamar were a group of nobles from eight Nair Houses in erstwhile Venad in present day Kerala state, South India. They were associated with the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram and the Ettara Yogam. They were known by the villages in which they resided and all of them...
s and the members of Venad royal family who identified most strongly with the Illathu Nair nobility (the Thampi
Thampi
The Thampis are the sons of the Samanthan Nair Maharajahs of Travancore and their morganatic wives belonging to Illathu Nair or other similar Kshatriya castes...
s), Marthanda Varma under the influence of his Iyer mentor wreaked havoc on smaller Nair principalities such as Thekkumkoor, Vadakkumkoor, Kayamkulam.etc., ably supported by his Tamil
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
allies. Many of the ruling Nair dynasties were exterminated within a few days without any trace.
Marthanda Varma's forces invaded Meenachil on 1754, and the ruler of the principality committed suicide. Almost all the members of the royal family were either killed in the battle or executed, while a handful (almost all of them women) were able to escape and take refuge under the Zamorin. At the time of Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...
's invasion of Malabar
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland 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 mountain...
during 1766, only two young females were alive within the clan. Dharma Raja
Dharma Raja
Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma was the Maharajah of Travancore from 1758 until his death in 1798. He succeeded his uncle Marthanda Varma, who is credited with the title of "maker of modern Travancore"...
granted them asylum from the Islamic forces of Hyder Ali and resettled them in Mevada.
Descendants
A few people in an around the Meenachil / Mevada region claim partial descent from the Njavakkattu Karthas. But they no longer use the surname "Simhar", instead using other common surnames like Nair and KarthaKartha
Kartha is a Nair title name derived from Karthavu which means Lord and it was conferred by the king to some powerful Nair families who enjoyed Raja or Naduvazhi status...
. One of the members was a famous physician , Njavakkaattu Kizhakkedathu Madhathil Damodara Simhar Kartha[Kizhakkedathu Kunjarappan Kartha Thampan]. He lived in Mevada and practised as a physician. He was married to D.Kamalakshi Amma from Vellappally house, Mattakara, Pala.