Demise
The maharajah died on 17 February 1798,at the age of 74, after a long reign that was prosperous, save for the invasion of the kingdom by Tipu Sultan. He had maintained the sovereignty of Travancore and protected it from destruction by the superior Mysore forces. He maintained the friendship cultivated with the British by his uncle Marthanda Varma. More importantly, he came to be known as Dharma Raja due to the asylum he provided to the thousands of people from Malabar fleeing to escape forced proselytization by Tipu Sultan. So pleased were these subjects of Malabar that many families of kings and nobles stayed back in Travancore.
Karthika Thirunal Maharajah had four wives or Ammachis. His first wife was Panapillai Kali Amma Nagamani Amma from Vadasseri. His other three wives hailed from Thiruvattar, Arumana and Nagercoil. He constructed four Ammaveedus for his wives in Trivandrum in the last decade of the 18th century and these families are his descendants. The Maharajah's brother married from the Puthumana Ammaveedu and his grandson was the poet Irayimman Thampi. The Maharajah's descendant from Arumana Ammaveedu married Balarama Varma, his successor, and their descendant was the consort of Visakham Thirunal Maharajah.
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