History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c35.s6.2

v3.c35.s6.2

The present Travancore ruling dynasty is very old and official records give 35 generations to the present ruler from 1335 A. D. We have, therefore, to find the history of this dynasty before this period from inscriptions and Mr. Pillai has succeeded in evolving a tolerably clear account. It may be stated first that the alphabet in Travancore is different from the Sanskrit alphabet and is called Vattelatte or Chera-Pāṇḍya and even the era of Travancore is distinct being called Kollam era, the first year of which corresponds to 825 A. D. The first king of Travancore whose name is mentioned in a stone record is Vira Keralvarman. His date is 1135 A.D. He was a feudatory of Rājendra Chola in whose name and honour a Mahādeva temple was built. Venad or Travancore appears at this time to be a well-governed country paying taxes in kind and money. Vira Keralav. seems to be the first important king who secured power from Chola and Chālukya supremacy. He is mentioned in another inscription dated 1144 A. D. The government of the country included village organisations and temple authorities which shared power in the civil government.