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    Padmanathapuram Palace

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    Naviz Joyl S
    The Padmanabhapuram Palace was constructed in the 14th century as a mud palace and later restructured in the 18th century using granite. It is located in Padmanabhapuram fort in Tamil Nadu and contains 14 palaces and 127 rooms spread over 6.5 acres. Some of the architectural highlights include intricately carved wooden pillars, ceilings and floors, as well as secret underground passages. It provides insights into the culture and history of the Travancore Kingdom.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Padmanathapuram Palace

    Uploaded by

    Naviz Joyl S
    124 views31 pages
    The Padmanabhapuram Palace was constructed in the 14th century as a mud palace and later restructured in the 18th century using granite. It is located in Padmanabhapuram fort in Tamil Nadu and contains 14 palaces and 127 rooms spread over 6.5 acres. Some of the architectural highlights include intricately carved wooden pillars, ceilings and floors, as well as secret underground passages. It provides insights into the culture and history of the Travancore Kingdom.

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    The Padmanabhapuram Palace was constructed in the 14th century as a mud palace and later restructured in the 18th century using granite. It is located in Padmanabhapuram fort in Tamil Nadu and contains 14 palaces and 127 rooms spread over 6.5 acres. Some of the architectural highlights include intricately carved wooden pillars, ceilings and floors, as well as secret underground passages. It provides insights into the culture and history of the Travancore Kingdom.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    124 views31 pages

    Padmanathapuram Palace

    Uploaded by

    Naviz Joyl S
    The Padmanabhapuram Palace was constructed in the 14th century as a mud palace and later restructured in the 18th century using granite. It is located in Padmanabhapuram fort in Tamil Nadu and contains 14 palaces and 127 rooms spread over 6.5 acres. Some of the architectural highlights include intricately carved wooden pillars, ceilings and floors, as well as secret underground passages. It provides insights into the culture and history of the Travancore Kingdom.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 31

    PADMANABHAPURAM

    PALACE
    L
    O
    C
    A
    T
    I
    O
    N

    M
    A
    P
    LOCATION:
    The palace is emplaced in
    Padmanabhapuram fort in Thuckaley,
    near Kanyakumari inTamil Nadu. It is
    at a distance of about 65 km from
    Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city
    of Kerala.

    NEARBY
    SIGHTSEEING:
    Puthenmalika Palace Museum,
    Kovalam Beach, Museum
    Complex, Attukal Bhagvathy
    Temple, Kannakanu Palace,
    Karikakkom Temple and Christ
    Church are the important sites
    S
    I
    T
    E

    L
    A
    Y
    O
    U
    T
    PLAN OF THE PALACE
    Distance from Kanyakumari:
    45 km

    Distance from Nagercoil: 15


    km

    Distance from
    Tiruvananthapuram: 55 km

    HISTORY

    The palace was built by Trippapur Moopam, the head of the Trippapur
    Swarupam Dynasty that ruled over Padmanabhapuram. It was
    constructed in the 14th Century, as a mud palace in the Nalukettu style
    of architecture that prevailed in Kerala.

    The palace was restructured in the 18th Century, using granite in most
    of the parts of the fort, by Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma, King
    of Travancore, who named the palace Padmanabhapuram after the
    name of prime deity of Travancore, Lord Padmanabhaswamy.
    CULTURE
    Tamil, Malayalam (due to its proximity
    to Kerala) and English are widely
    spoken by the people. These three
    languages are used as a medium of
    teaching in all
    The culture is amajor schools.
    mixture of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Christianity,
    Hinduism and Islam are
    the main religions practiced, with Christians accounting to nearly
    half of the populace. Some of the communities in the district are
    Nadars, Nanjil Nadu Vellalars, Paravas, Mukthavas, Vilakki
    Thalanayar, Kammalar or Asari, Chackarevars, Kerala Mudalis etc.

    Some of the prominent festivals that are celebrated here are


    Christmas, Onam, Bhagavathy Amman Temple festival, St. Francis
    Xavier's feast, the Peer Mohammed Durgah at Thuckalay and Ayya
    Vaikunda Avataram festival at Swamithope among others.except
    ORIENTATION
    Padmanabhapuram is not of the genre of the grand
    palaces of India like that in Rajasthan or Mysore. So at
    first sight it can leave you trifle disappointed but this
    magnificent palace constructed out of wood is unique
    and is the largest wooden palace in Asia.
    The palace complex houses 14 palaces with 127 rooms
    and is spread over an area of 6.5 acres. It offers a
    repository of cultural treasures like murals belonging to
    17th and 18th century, exquisite woodwork on walls,
    black and red shiny floors made using a variety of
    products. The more you explore the palace the more
    you get mesmerized by its beauty. The roofs are made
    with maroon colored tiles, sloping steeply. Also on offer
    is a myriad of inner courtyards and underground
    passages
    POOMUKHAM
    It was here the king entertained
    special guests
    . Built in the indigenous
    architectural style of Kerala, the
    entrance of this building is
    shaped as a triangle.
    On the wooden ceiling 90 flowers have been carved.
    Each of them is marvelous and unique. Also do feature
    here are the rarest of the rare things like hanging brass
    lamp with a knight on horse back
    , a cot built of seven pieces of polished granite,

    a Chinese chair presented to the king by the Chinese


    merchants and the Onavillu presented to the king by
    the landlords and the chief tans of different clans during
    the Onam festival.
    The onavillus are the finest examples of the exquisite
    beauty of Kerala style of paintings.
    MANTHRASALA
    The manthrasala is a hall of considerable
    importance.Generally the term 'Mantra' refers to
    administration of Kingdom. It was at this hall that
    the king held discussions with his ministers.
    The palace was constructed around 1601 A.D by
    Iravipillai Iravivarma Kulasekhara Perumal who
    ruled Travancore between 1592 A.D. and 1609 A.D.
    In the late 18th century, the capital of Travancore
    was shifted from here to Thiruvananthapuram, and
    the place lost its former glory. However, the palace
    complex continue to be the best examples of
    traditional Kerala architecture, and some portions
    A steep and narrow flight of wooden stairs leads to
    a trap door that opens into the first floor, which
    houses the mantrasala, or council chamber, where
    the king held his cabinet meetings. The narrow
    staircase and the heavy trap door are said to have
    been designed with the intention of warding off
    unexpected attacks- only one person can enter at a
    time. The black, highly polished floor here is quite
    special. It is made of a mixture of lime, burnt
    THAI KOTTARAM
    Thaikkottaram is one of
    the oldest buildings in the
    complex built in the
    traditional style of
    ItNalukettu.
    was the Queen Mother`s palace.
    It has a Nadumittam (open courtyard) in the
    centre. The attractions here are red polished
    floor, intricately carved wooden pillars and
    painted ceilings.
    There is an elevated pathway on the left of the
    building. It has in its mid-way, a trapdoor that
    leads to a dark tunnel.
    It was supposed to be a secret escape route
    Thaikottaram
    OOTUPURA
    On the Southern side of the palace is the ootupura,
    78m long double - storied building that houses two
    large dining halls, each of which can seat 1000
    persons at a time. Here the rulers of Travancore used
    to exhibit their legendary charity by serving free
    meals to 2000 Brahmins each day. Beyond the dining
    hall can be found the large glazed jars, which the
    Chinese used to bring pickles and savouries fo the
    King of Travancore
    UPPARIKA MAHAL
    Upparika Mahal is a four-storied tower that was used
    as the residential quarters of the king. It is the
    tallest part of the palace and consists of Treasury,
    fasting room, Bedroom and Puja chamber. The Kings
    bedroom is located in the second floor that can be
    reached by a narrow staircase. The
    Sapramanjakattil, an intricately carved royal cot is
    the centerpiece of attraction in the kings bedroom.
    Its a huge four-poster bed made using 67 different
    pieces of wood procured from medicinal trees. The
    bed has a symbol of snakes entwined around a cross
    over a pot of nectar. The King is said to have
    received this as a gift from the Dutch East India
    Company. The third floor of the Mahal houses the
    NAVARATHRIMANDAPAM

    A small shrine at Padmanabhapuram Palace is dedicated to Devi


    Saraswathy, the Goddess of learning. Navarathrimandapam a
    granite dance hall, the place for performances in the palace is in
    front of this shrine. This is arguably the most beautiful part of the
    palace. The attractions of the Navarathri Mantapa are the carved
    pillars and a well polished floor that creates reflections. Here
    AMBARIMUKHAPPU
    Ambarimukhappu or the royal balcony is the place where
    the King used to seat to watch chariot races during
    festivals or give special Darshan to publics. It is shaped
    like an Ambari ( Seat used on an Elephant). The
    windows are intricately carved out of wood
    VEPPUMOOTTU KOTTARAM
    Adorning the ladies' quarters, called veppumoottu
    kottaram, are two large belgian mirrors that stretch
    almost from floor to ceiling, while on the walls are
    watercolours of Lord Krishna, the dark-skinned
    lover boy of 6,000 gopikas.
    The watercolours have since been shiffted to
    another room, but it requires a feat of imagination
    to conjure up visions of princesses gazing forlornly
    at the impossibly perfect images of the master of
    love, even as dancers performed at the navarathri
    mandapam below,
    all glimpsed through slats in the viewing corridor
    meant exclusively for the ladies of the Kingdom.
    WOODEN WORKS
    Ceiling carved with 1000 different designs of Lotus found at
    theThai Kottaram in Padmanabhapuram Palace.
    This palace is a symbol of traditional Kerala style.
    Special
    Features

    1.Chinese Jars,
    2. Brass lamp in the
    Poomugham,
    3.Carved Jackfruit - Wood
    Pillars Slats in the Viewing
    Corridor,
    4.Coloured Window,
    5.Shrine
    Other Attractions
    Royal chairs with Chinese carvings
    Belgian mirrors in the ladies
    chambers
    Hanging brass lanterns that are lit
    unceasingly since the 18th century
    Hanging cage through which eagles
    tore apart those sentenced for crime
    The dressing room of the King`s
    sister with two hanging beds
    Open air swimming bath
    hall
    Chandravilasam the summer resort of the royalty
    located to the north west
    Indravilasam partly built in a Neo- Classical style
    of building housing residence as well as an
    audience
    MUSEUM
    The museum is located on one side of the
    palace ramparts where once the royal
    stable stood. The Museum boasts of a rich
    collection of unique exhibits form 8th to
    18th century. The highlight of the Museum
    is :
    - Stone and bronze sculptures
    - Rare coins and copper manuscripts
    - Armoury section
    - Puppets, Cutlery throne
    - Paintings, Murals et
    The centrepiece of attraction in the King's
    bedroom is the huge four-poster bed made of 67
    different pieces of wood from medicinal trees.
    The bed, which has a symbol of serpents
    entwined around a cross over a pot of nectar is
    believed to have been gifted to the king by the
    Dutch East India Company during the time of
    Captain Adrian Van Goens, who complied the
    Hortus Indicus Malabaricus in the 16th Century
    BUILDING MATERIALS
    The Palace is famous for its 17th and 18th
    century murals, carved mahogany ceiling,
    colored mica windows, secret underground
    passages, inner courtyards, durbal hall,
    museum, four poster medicinal bed,
    Belgian mirror, granite dance halls and
    special black shiny floors which are made
    from a unique combination of egg white,
    jaggery, lime, burnt coconut, charcoal and
    river sand.

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