Samantha Kshatriya

Samantha Kshatriya

The Samanta Kshatriya are a community of Kerala, India. The Samanta Kshatriyas make up a part of the erstwhile royal families of the Hindu Kingdoms and princely states that existed in Kerala until the creation of the Indian Republic. Since most of the members of the Samanta Kshatriya community were royalty,their residences are still called Swaroopams or kottaram or kovilakams which all mean palace in Malayalam. Members of this community hold the surname Koil Thampuran, Varma and Raja. One view is that Samanta Kshatriya royal families such as the Kolathiri and Travancore had its origins among the Bunts in the neighbouring region of Tulu Nadu.Unlike most Kshatriyas(warriors) found in India, Samanta Kshatriyas did not actively take part in warfare (apart from rare instances), relying instead on their cousins like Kiryathil Nairs and Illathu Nairs to command armies. The Samanta Kshatriya also followed a matrilineal system of inheritance known as marumakkathayam.