Sakthan Thampuran
Context:
Recently, Minister of State for Tourism and Thrissur MP Suresh Gopi vowed to replace the statue of Sakthan Thampuran, which was damaged by a state transport bus, with a new bronze statue if the Kerala government fails to do so within 14 days.
About Sakthan Thampuran
- Raja Rama Varma Kunjipillai, also known as Rama Varma IX, and widely remembered as Sakthan Thampuran, ruled the Cochin kingdom from 1790 to 1805.
- Born in 1751 to Ambika Thampuran and Chendose Aniyan Namboodiri of the Cochin royal family, he was raised by his aunt, who gave him the name “Sakthan,” meaning “powerful.”
- The term “thampuran” is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word “samrat,” meaning emperor.
- The Cochin kingdom, part of the Late Chera Empire, spanned the region between Ponnani in Malappuram and Thottappally in Alappuzha, Kerala.
- Sakthan Thampuran became heir apparent in 1769 at the age of 18, advising the king to maintain friendly relations with both the Dutch and the English, who were competing for control over trade in the region.
- He is credited with orchestrating Mysore’s attempted invasion of Travancore, which had allied with the English East India Company.
- This led to the Powney Treaty, freeing Cochin from Mysore’s dominance and formalising its ties with the British.
- Sakthan Thampuran abolished the institution of Yogiatirippads, the spiritual heads of the Vadakkumnathan and Perumanam temples, and brought temple management under government control.
- In 1797, Sakthan Thampuran initiated the Thrissur Pooram as an alternative to the Arattupuzha Pooram, which was then the largest temple festival in Kerala.
Thrissur Pooram
Thrissur Pooram is an annual Hindu temple festival held in Thrissur, Kerala, India. It is considered the largest and most famous pooram (temple festival) in Kerala, attracting over 1 million visitors. The festival is celebrated at the Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur every year on the Pooram day—the day when the moon rises with the Pooram star in the Malayalam Calendar month of Medam (April-May).
History
Before Thrissur Pooram, the largest temple festival in Kerala was the one-day Arattupuzha Pooram. In 1796, when temples from Thrissur were late for the Arattupuzha Pooram, they were denied access to the procession. Sakthan Thampuran then decided to start Thrissur Pooram on the Pooram day in May as a mass festival, inviting temples to pay obeisance to the presiding deity Vadakkunnathan (Shiva) at the Vadakkunnathan Temple. Home NewsThrissur Pooram: All you need to know about the grand temple festival in Kerala. Thrissur Pooram is considered by the UNESCO as the most spectacular festival event on the planet.