Indian Legends

The early history of Palakkad contains a mixture of inscriptional evidence, royal genealogies and regional traditions. After the decline of the Chera Perumals, Kerala became divided among hereditary chiefs and royal houses exercising authority over different nadus or territorial divisions. The prominent powers of the Palakkad region included the Valluvakonathiri of Valluvanad, the Kollengode Rajas of Vengunad and the Sekharivarma Rajas of Palakkattussery.

The ruler of Valluvanad appears under several titles and spelling variations in historical records. These include Valluvakonathiri, Valluvakkonathiri, Vellattiri, Vellatiri, Velatra, Velnatera, Arangottu Udayavar and Vallabha Raja. British-era treaties and administrative documents frequently referred to the territory as the kingdom of Vellattiri and used Vallabha Raja as a formal designation for its ruler.

The name Parappanad referred both to the territory and to the ruling swarupam, or royal lineage. Like several ruling houses of medieval Kerala, the dynasty consisted of different branches residing in separate kovilakams, the palace households through which political authority, property and succession were organised. The collective legacy of these branches reached far beyond the boundaries of their original kingdom.

Desinganad was more than a local chieftaincy. It represented the Kollam-centred branch of a larger royal world that connected the old Chera legacy, Venad, the port economy of Quilon, temple patronage, martial politics and Kerala’s transition into the Travancore age. Kollam’s position on the Arabian Sea gave these rulers access to trade, diplomacy and wealth, making the region one of the most important political landscapes of southern Kerala.

Purakkad lies in present-day Alappuzha district, close to Ambalappuzha and the Kuttanad backwater world. This region was not merely a quiet coastal settlement. It stood between the Arabian Sea, the inland waterways and the fertile paddy lands of Kuttanad. Such geography gave the rulers access to maritime trade, river transport, agrarian wealth and military movement through boats and canals.

The name Thekkumkur is commonly understood as the “southern regent” or southern division, often remembered in relation to Vadakkumkur, the northern counterpart. These two political houses emerged after the older regional order of Vempolinad weakened and split into smaller principalities. Local historical accounts connect the Kottayam region with the older Kulasekhara and Vempolinad background before the rise of Thekkumkur and Vadakkumkur as separate powers.

The Kottayam Rajas of Malabar occupy a proud place in the history of northern Kerala.

Pazhassi Raja’s greatness came from the way he understood power. He knew that the British East India Company possessed disciplined troops, firearms, revenue machinery and political cunning. He also knew that the people of Malabar possessed something equally powerful: knowledge of the land, loyalty to local authority, control over forest routes and the will to resist outside domination. He converted this strength into one of the earliest and most memorable armed struggles against colonial power in India.