Ayilyam Thirunal

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma
Uthram Thirunal
SuccessorVisakham Thirunal
Born14 March 1832
Died30 May 1880 (aged 48)
Wives
  • Panapillai Madhavi Pillai Lakshmi Pillai Kochamma
  • Kalyanikutty Amma
HouseVenad Swaroopam
DynastyKulasekhara
FatherPunartham Thirunal Rama Varma Koil Thampuran
MotherGowri Rukmini Bayi
ReligionHinduism
Princess Rukmini Bayi, mother of Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma

Sir Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma IV

Diwans
.

Ayilyam Thirunal was the nephew of his predecessors

Swathi Thirunal, and the grandson of Maharani-Regent Gowri Lakshmi Bayi; he was succeeded by his brother, Visakham Thirunal
.

Early life

Ayilyam Thirunal was born on 14 March 1832 to Rani Rukmini Bayi, the only sister of Maharajahs

Uthram Thirunal in 1846 and his elder brother's exclusion from the line of succession due to imbecility, Ayilyam Thirunal became the Elaya Rajah or heir apparent of Travancore State. Of the seven children born to Rukmini Bayi, only four, including a daughter, Rani Lakshmi Bayi, survived and the eldest and third son were declared unfit to rule owing to mental incapacity. Ayilyam Thirunal's youngest brother Visakham Thirunal
was therefore to be his successor.

Ayilyam Thirunal's early education was provided privately and later

musnud
as Maharajah.

Maharajah of Travancore

Rajah Sir T. Madhava Rao served as Dewan during The Maharaja's reign

The accession of Ayilyam Thirunal ushered in a new era in

Seshayya Sastri
was now appointed Dewan, a position he held until 1877. The new Dewan concentrated on the development of roads and infrastructure in the state. In 1874 the Maharajah's College in Trivandrum started a Law class and other developments in the education department were made. In 1875, the first systematic census of Travancore was taken by the government. in 1877 Seshayya Sastri was retired on a pension of Rs. 500 per mensem. In accepting this liberal pension, the outgoing Dewan said:

In service, Your Highness made me affluent by the grant of a high salary, out of service, Your Highness makes me comfortable with a liberal pension and a generous donation. The bread thus given will not be eaten in ungratefulness or sulky discontent. The brightest chapter in my life is my service under Your Highness. The little name and fame I have acquired is in reality but the light reflected on the servant by an illustrious master, to serve whom, even for a brief period, has been my pride and privilege

Seshayya Sastri was later admitted into the Order of the Star of India. He was succeeded by Dewan Nanoo Pillai, a native of Travancore. During his premiership which lasted until 1880 irrigation was expanded in Travancore, museums and other institutions were established, surveys of land and agriculture etc. were taken and several other legislative and judicial reforms were passed. With the death of Ayilyam Thirunal in 1880, Nanoo Pillay was retired by his successor, Visakham Thirunal. Prior to this Ayilyam Thirunal had been admitted into the Order of the Indian Empire.

Personal life

Ammachee, wife of the Maharaja of Travancore in 1868

After the death of Thiruvattar Ammachi, his first consort, the Maharajah married again in 1862 Kalyanikutty Amma of Mathruppillil, a prestigious family of Nadavarambu, Irinjalakuda,

Panapillai Amma Srimathi Lakshmi Pillai Kalyanikutty Pillai Ammachi. Nagercoil Ammachi was also a scholar of Sanskrit and a poet in her own right, having authored Rasa Krida, Satya Panchakam, Pativrataya Panchakam, Ambarishacharitram and other works. She died in 1909. The Maharajah had no children of his own from either marriage. However along with his consort he adopted two nieces and nephew of hers, one niece Panapillai Ananthalakshmi Pillai Kochamma, who married in 1879 the Maharajah's nephew Moolam Thirunal
, the other niece married to a Thirumulpadu and a son Nagercoil Achyuthan Thampi. The Maharajah was also a poet having authored the Meenaketanacharitram and Bhasha Sakuntalam.

The first decade of the Maharajah's reign was happy and peaceful but several problems arose after the dismissal of Dewan Madhava Rao. The Maharajah's relationship with

Rani Lakshmi Bayi (who was adopted in 1857 soon after the Maharajah's sister of the same name died giving birth to Moolam Thirunal) turned sour and subsequently he was imprisoned in Haripad in 1875 where he stayed until his release in 1880 after the Maharajah's death. Ayilyam Thirunal's own brother, Visakham Thirunal
was also on bad terms with him until his death. However, in the last week before his demise, the brothers reconciled. Maharajah Ayilyam Thirunal died on 30 May 1880. The Gazette of Fort St. George of the British Government makes the following comment on the Maharajah's reign:

His Highness ascended the musnud on the 19th of October 1860 and his reign has been marked by the development of wise and enlightened principles of administration which have placed Travancore in the first rank of Native States

Honours

  • Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India
    (GCSI), 1866
  • Prince of Wales Gold Medal, 1875
  • Empress of India Gold Medal, 1877
  • Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire
    (CIE), 1878

References

  • Travancore State Manual (1906) by V. Nagam Aiya
  • Travancore State Manual (1940) by Velu Pillai
  • Visakhavikaya, a study by Poovattoor Ramakrishna Pillai

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ayilyam Thirunal.
Ayilyam Thirunal
Born: 14 March 1832 Died: 30 May 1880
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Uthram Thirunal Marthanda Varma
Maharaja of Travancore

1860–1880 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ayilyam_Thirunal&oldid=1216324356"