Sakthan Thampuran

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About Sakthan Thampuran:

Sakthan Thampuran, also known as Raja Rama Varma Kunjipillai or Rama Varma IX and ruled over the Cochin kingdom from 1790 to 1805.
He was born in 1751 to Ambika Thampuran and Chendose Aniyan Namboodiri of the Cochin royal family, but was raised by an aunt who called him Sakthan, meaning ‘powerful’.
Strategist and ruler
- As an 18-year-old he advised his king to maintain friendly relations with both the Dutch and the English, who were vying for a larger share of trade in the region.
- Sakthan is said to have orchestrated Mysore’s attempt to invade the Travancore kingdom, which had established relations with the English East India Company.
- This would result in the Powney treaty which freed the Cochin kingdom from its allegiance to Mysore, and helped formalise its relations with the British.
- He ended the institution of the Yogiatirippads — the erstwhile spiritual heads of key temples of that time.
He started the Thrissur Pooram in 1797 as an alternative to the Arattupuzha Pooram, then the largest temple festival in the state.

Q1: What is Thrissur Pooram?

Thrissur Pooram is celebrated in Kerala during the Malayalam month of Medom (April-May).It is considered to be the Mother of all Poorams, a cultural highlight that towers above all other festivals.It is celebrated in the grand assembly of Gods and Goddesses in and around Thrissur.

Source: Who was Sakthan Thampuran, whose fallen statue in Thrissur Suresh Gopi wants to reconstruct