The Puttenkotta Palace and the battlements on the banks of Killi River once served as the seat of an invading Muslim warlord Mukilan, who unleashed a brief reign of terror on residents of Thiruvananthapuram. Umayamma, the Rani, sought the help of Kerala Varma, a brave warrior prince from Kottayam in North Kerala, and defeated the invader. Soon after the defeat of Mukilan, Umayamma had the Puttenkotta palace demolished. The timber and other building elements of the Puttenkotta palace were carefully transferred to the precincts of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, where under the supervision of Kottayam Kerala Varma, it got transformed into new palaces, the Thevarathu Koikkal and Valiya Koikkal, located to the Northwest of the temple.
Thevarathu Koikkal became the principal residence of the Rani and Kerala Varma, who was adopted into the Venad royal clan, resided at Valiya Koikkal. According to popular belief, Kerala Varma was murdered in front of Valiya Koikkal by a group of prominent ministers at the royal court. The rumour was that the instigator of this dastardly act was none other than the Rani herself! This gruesome incident took place in 1696 A.D.
After the cold-blooded murder of Kerala Varma, his residence was considered to be haunted. Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer, a renowned poet and historian, has recorded that a large number of propitiatory rites had to be performed at Valiya Koikkal, to liberate it from the spirits. The consecration of the Vettakorumakan temple in the Southern wing of Valiya Koikkal and the practice of coconuts being broken by Karoor Nair from North Kerala were some of them. Ulloor also mentioned the existence of an arsenal at Valiya Koikkal in 1747 A.D., and a thatched chavadi, where the princes practised kalari. In his history of temples under Travancore Dewasom, R. Madhudevan Nair writes that the Vettakorumakan (a corrupted version of ‘Vetta-karuman’) temple was in existence during the lifetime of Kerala Varma. He argues that the deity Vettakaruman is generally worshipped in the Malabar region and not in central and Southern parts of Kerala. Moreover, there is an opinion that the inner yard associated with the Vettakorumakan shrine was the kalarithara established by Kerala Varma.
The open ground in front of the Valiya Koikkal, dotted with ancient banyan trees, was used for several religious purposes. During the time of Murajapam, the huge temporary sheds to accommodate the participating Brahmins were erected on the ground. The Valiya Koikkal complex was used to store large quantities of oil and other commodities required for the ceremony. Records say that the complex caught fire in 1858 A.D. and was reconstructed by Uthram Thirunal Marthanda Varma (1847-1860).
During 1850s, a portion of Valiya Koikkal functioned as a vernacular school run by one Narayanan Pandala. Kochukannachar Veedu, the residence of Aratamma Pillai Thankachi, wife of Raja Kesavadas (1745-d.1799), the revered Valiya Dewanji, was situated in the precincts of the palace. Kochukannachar Veedu has an important place in Kerala’s literary history, for it was the residence of Nankakoikkal Kesavan Thampi, the Kottaram Karyakkar, and mentor of C.V. Raman Pillai.
Today, the complex houses Vettakorumakan temple, the assistant Dewasom Commissioner’s Office, and Margi.
The ancient structure survives as a tangible memory from the time of Umayamma and Kerala Varma.
[The author is a conservation architect and history buff]
