Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma

Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma

Sri Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma (Malayalam: ശ്രീ സ്വാതി തിരുനാള്‍ രാമ വര്‍മ) (April 16, 1813 – December 25, 1846) was the Maharaja of the state of Travancore ))in India. He reigned under the regency of his mother Maharani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi from 1813 till 1815 and then under the regency of his aunt Maharani Gowri Parvati Bayi till 1829. In 1829 he turned major and assumed full powers of ruler and reigned as Maharaja of Travancore until his death in 1846.

Besides being an able ruler, he was a patron of music and was a musician himself. He encouraged both broad systems of Indian music, Hindustani and Carnatic music, though he was essentially a connoisseur of the Carnatic music tradition. He is credited with composing over 400 compositions in Carnatic and Hindustani music. Some of his favorite compositions were Padmanabha Pahi, Deva Deva, Sarasijanabha and Sree Ramana Vibho. Swathi Thirunal was fluent in a number of languages including Malayalam, Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Tamil, Oriya and English.

The Astronomical Observatory in Thiruvananthapuram, the Museum & Zoo, the Government Press, Trivandrum Public Library (now State Central Library) and the Oriental Manuscript Library were started by Swathi Thirunal. The Maharajah was also an honorary member of the Royal Asiatic Society from 1843.