The majestic Shakthan Thampuran Palace

 

The city of Thrissur was designed in the form it is today by one of the most important Kings of the Cochin dynasty whose love for the city and its people gave him the title of Shakthan Thampuran. The city has many iconic sites named after him but one which celebrates his life is the beautiful Shakthan Thampuran Palace that one finds in the city center near the iconic Vadakumnathan temple. Built for the sole purpose to be the residence of royalty the palace is a beautiful structure with a varied history over the centuries. 

The Kochi rulers were called Perumpadappu Swaroopam & they ruled provinces from their magnificent palace at Tripunithura. The earlier name of this palace was Vadakkekara Kovilakam & the earlier Cochin Rajas used the residence only as a summer palace on their visit to Thrissur. The palace was a simple structure then made in traditional Kerala architecture with rooms & quarters with a large area around. When Rama Varma Thampuram took the throne of Kochi in 1790 his love for Thrissur made him change the place of his residence near Vadakkumnathan & the palace was reconstructed to its current form. The main structure of the palace which is a 2 tiered building was retained & additions were made to make it more elaborate. The current palace has a blend of Dutch & Kerala architecture. The high roofs & thick walls of the palace are designs taken from Dutch engineers who built many similar structures around Cochin during their time before the British took over. The Dutch also designed the high doors & windows with benches at the bottom typical to European style. The palace also has a beautiful portico with projection in the middle of the building. The rooms are large & provide easy access to light & breeze. The interior of the palace has floors paved with Italian marbles. The Nalukettu design at the back of the palace is based on Kerala style with a laterite stone rectangular peedam. The Naalukettu also has a small temple to worship the royal deity Pazhayannur Bhagwathi. The Oottupura (dining hall) & kitchen are designed as any normal feudal houses of the time with large areas to cater many people. The construction of the palace was such that even in difficult weather conditions the inhabitants inside would have a pleasant stay. The 2nd tier of the palace has a beautiful walking corridor which gives all inside the palace the view of the gardens around. The palace in its current style was completed in 1795 & Shakthan Thampuran is said to have ruled Kochi from this place.

Shakthan Thampuran was a shrewd statesman & believed in the overall betterment of his people giving them access to all important aspects of life. He was also very clear on how to keep a stronghold on the feudal lords who enjoyed a high esteem in the society. The name Shakthan is a title bestowed on him for his strict approach against criminals & enemies. The feudal lords who maintained great power were made to give up their chieftainship after Shakthan Thampuran became the king. He also diluted the powers of the temple priests who controlled the Namboothiri community. As part of his administrative astuteness the first thing Shakthan Thampuran did was to create an easy access for people movement by creating a simple passage along the center of the city. For this purpose he cleared the large teak forests around the Vadakkunnathan temple & created the Thekkinkaadu Maidan. The long circular road one still sees around the maidan was built & named the Swaraj round. The need to have a large maidan was fulfilled when Shakthan Thampuran decided to start the mother of all poorams - Thrissur Pooram. At the time Arattupuzha Pooram was the largest & Shakthan Thampuran created the Thrissur Pooram where all deities around Thrissur came to the ground to pay obeisance to Vadakkumnathan. The pooram grew from its initial days to now being one of the most important events in the whole of Kerala. The rule of Shakthan Thampuran is considered to be the Golden Era of the Cochin dynasty & his ideas of administration were also adopted by later kings in all other parts of Kerala. Shakthan Thampuran also had cordial relations with the Dutch, Zamorins, Travancore, British & Mysore rulers who all recognised his valor. It is only because of the efforts of Shakthan Thampuran that Thrssur became known as the cultural capital of Kerala. Shakthan Thampuran died in the palace & was buried in the palace compound. One can find his ornamental tomb along with a Zamorin king & another Cochin Raja. 

The Palace today is a museum looked after by the Archeological department of Kerala. The museum houses items of the Cochin dynasty along with a numismatics collection, bronze gallery & collection of epic graphic texts. The museum also has some of the unique sculptures from the stone age & 9th century.The palace is also a place where one can find one of the oldest serpent groves (sarakaavu) having idols of Nagaraja & Nagayakshi. There is also a heritage garden here preserving indegenosu plants & trees some centuries old. There is also evidence that Tipu Sultan stayed here & there is a flagpost one can find in the compound belonging to the Mysore raja. The whole palace compound is a vast area which has many edicts of history attached to it. The palace visit takes every visitor back to the time of the Shakthan Thampuran & it's a great place to know one’s history better.