PADMANABHAPURAM PALACE

     
                                      PADMANABHAPURAM  PALACE


                                      The obsolete evident town Padmanabhapuram is one of the four locales in the territory is 55 Km. south of Trivandrum, around two km. east of Thuckalay and 35 km. from Kanyakumari on the Trivandrum-Cape Comerin road. This town is enveloped by a post with a locale of 187 areas of area. The old capital of Travancore might be created before AD 1601. The château with a locale of seven segments of area, is orchestrated in the extraordinarily concentrate on the Padmanabhapuram Fort, amidst inclines, dales and conduits. The stronghold which is orchestrated in Kanyakumari District is under the control of a Curator of the Archeological Department of Kerala Government.

                     The fortification which was worked with mud initially was disassembled and reproduced with rock by Maharaja Marthanda Varma. The tallness of the dividers differs from 15' to 24' as per the slant of the ground.

HISTORICAL DETAILS OF PADMANABHAPURAM PALACE:
                   

                 The royal residence was developed around 1601 AD by Iravi Varma Kulasekhara Perumal who ruled Venad somewhere around 1592 and 1609. It is trusted that the Thai Kottaram was implicit 1550. The author of cutting edge Travancore, King Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (1706–1758) who ruled Travancore from 1729 to 1758, modified the royal residence in around 1750. Ruler Marthaanda Varma committed the kingdom to his family divinity Sree Padmanabha, a type of Lord Vishnu and ruled the kingdom as Padmanabha dasa or worker of Lord Padmanabha. Thus the name Padmanabhapuram or City of Lord Padmanabha.

                      In the late eighteenth century, unequivocally in 1795 the capital of Travancore was moved from here to Thiruvananthapuram, and the spot lost its previous transcendence. In any case, the castle complex keeps on being one of the best illustrations of conventional Kerala design, and a few segments of the sprawling complex are additionally the sign of customary Kerala style engineering. The Palace however encompassed altogether by the State of Tamil Nadu is still some portion of Kerala and the area and Palace fits in with the Government of Kerala. This Palace is kept up by the Govt.of Kerala Archeology Department.

                     Padmanabhapuram Palace was reconstructed using granite in most parts by Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma in 18th century. Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma, the successor of Marthanda Varma built ‘Oottupura’ and other features. ‘Upparikka Maliga’, the King’s quarters was built in 1744 A.D.



HIGHLIGHS IN  PADMANABHAPURAM PALACE:



     Mantrasala (King's Council Champer)

                     

         
                   King's Council chamber is the most lovely parts of the whole royal residence complex. It has windows, with shaded mica, which keep the warmth and the dust away, and within the gathering chamber stays cool and dull. Fragile and lovely grid work can be seen all around the committee chamber.The floor is likewise delightfully done, with a fine and immaculate completion. The floor is dull hued and is made of a blend of fluctuated substances, including blazed coconut shells, egg white et cetera. The astounding perspective is that this specific floor completion and composition couldn't be copied in whatever other development.

     Thai Kottaram (Mother's Palace)

                 Mother’s palace, designed in traditional Kerala style, is the oldest construction in the entire palace complex and is believed to be constructed around mid-16th century. True to the traditional Kerala style, there is an inner courtyard, called 'nalukettu'. In the inner courtyard, sloping roofs from all four sided taper down. Four pillars on four corners support the roof. On the south-west corner of the mother’s palace, there is a relatively small room, called the chamber of solitude or 'ekantha mandapam'. The camber of solitude has very beautiful and intricate wood carvings of every description all around. Of particular interest is a pillar of single wood, with very detailed and beautiful floral designs.

     Nataksala  (Hall of performance)  

               This is a relatively new building, constructed at the behest of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal, who reigned in Travancore from 1829 to 1846. He was a great connoisseur of arts, especially music and dance. He himself composed music and has left a rich legacy to classical carnatic music. The Nataksala or the hall or performance has solid granite pillars and gleaming black floor. There is a wooden enclosure, with peepholes, where the women of the royal household used to sit and watch the performance.

 Four - storeyed central building :

               The four-storied building is located at the centre of the palace complex. The top floor served as the worship chamber of the royal household. Its walls are covered with exquisite 18th century murals, depicting scenes from the puranas, and also few scenes from the social life of the Travancore of that time. There are several rooms just below the worship chambers, which included the king's bedroom. The ornamental bedstead is made of 64 types of herbal and medicinal woods, and was a gift from the Dutch merchants. Most of the rooms here and in other parts of the palace complex have built-in recesses in walls for storing weapons like swords and daggers.

 Thekee Kottaram  (Southern Palace)

               The southern palace is as old as the ‘Thai kottaram’ (Mother's palace), which would make it about 400 year old. Now, it serves as a heritage museum, exhibiting antique household articles and curios. Collections of items give an insight into the social and cultural ethos of that period

 Uppirika Malika :

         The most appealing working in the entire royal residence is the 'Uppirika Malika' which comprises of three storied. "Uppirika" is the abridged term of "Muppirika" which implies the habitation of the eldest individual from the crew. A wooden bunk is raised on the top most floor in the conviction that "Master Vishnu" the boss divinity. The main floor contains a wooden bunk made of 64 restorative plants, on which Maharaja used to rest. The restorative bunk was displayed to Maharaja "Marthanda Varma" by the Dutch East India Company in 1750, as a sign of fellowship.

The Navarathri Mandapa:

 To the west of the Zuppirika Mandapa is the Navarathri Mandapa which is an open corridor of wonderfully lovely stone columns with hanging pendants reminiscent of the Nayakar style of design. In the Navarathri Mandapa, exhibitions of Bharatha Natya and musical presentations occurred in the regal vicinity.    


Visiting Hours : From 09.00 AM to 01.00 PM and 02.00 P.M to 04.30 P.M .


Closed on:          Every Monday and National holidays    

                 

Entry Fee :Rs 25 for Adult & Rs.10 for Children.

Fees for Foreigners : Adult Rs 200 & Children Rs 50

Video and Camera Fee are Rs 1500 & Rs 25 Respectively


Separate fee for Car parking