Odanad-The Daily Ledger

Odanad (Malayalam: ōṭānāṭŭ, also known as Onattukara, Onad, Kayamkulam, Kallikoilon and Chirava Svaroopam) was a feudal state in late medieval Kerala. It was established in the 11th century, and disestablished in 1746 when it became part of Travancore after Venad King Marthanda Varma's northern expedition. The last king of Odanad was King Kotha Varma. At the time of its dissolution, it was composed of the present-day taluks of Mavelikkara, Karthikapally, Chenganur in the Alappuzha district and Karunagapally in the Kollam district. In the 15th century, the capital of Odanad was moved from Kandiyoor-Muttom, Mavelikkara to Eruva and Krishnapuram, near Kayamkulam, which led to the state being called Kayamkulam. After this shift, Kayamkulam became the commercial centre of Odanad, while Mavelikkara remained its cultural centre. Odanad was controlled by Nair lords, among whom the ruler of Kayamkulam was the most prominent.

Kayamkulam is better known as Onattukara. Kayamkulam place is spread in karthikapally and mavelikara thaluk. The Sri Krishna Swamy Temple in Eruva, located two kilometres north of Kayamkulam, is one of the prominent establishments in Onattukara.

Odanad

Etymology

The word Odanad is a transliteration of the Malayalam word ഓടനാട്, ōṭānāṭŭ, which is a portmanteau of ഓടം, ōṭām meaning boat, and നാട്, nāṭŭ, meaning land, so Odanad means the land of boats. An alternative hypothesis is that the first part of the word derives from ഓടമുള, ōṭāmuḷa, meaning bamboo, and that Odanad means the land of bamboo. Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran's Sanskrit work Mayura Sandesam describes Odanad as the land of vines.

Odanad

Kayamkulam is the capital of Odanad, the central figure in the festival of Onam. The state was hence known as Onattukara (ഓണാട്ടുകര, ōṇāṭṭukara), which translates to the land of Onam.

Odanad

The state was metonymically referred to as Kayamkulam after the capital was moved to the city of Kayamkulam.

History

11th – 14th century

Copper plate inscriptions in Thiruvalla, dated to the 11th century, mention Odanad and Mattom, then its capital. These inscriptions, along with the Unnuneeli Sandesam, also note the significance of Chennithala whips in Odanad.

Most of the records of the rulers of Odanad come from the temple records of the Kandiyoor Sree Mahadeva Temple.

15th – 18th century

In 1743, Odanad was bordered by the feudal states of Pandalam, Thekkumkur, Elayadath, Vadakkumkur, Purakkad and Thrikkunnapuzha, according to records left by Julius Valentin van Gollenesse, Commander of Dutch Malabar at the time.

Odanad was demarcated from Vadakkumkur by the southern road from the Kandiyoor Sree Mahadeva Temple, which formed Odanad's western border with Vadakkumkur. The eastern half of the temple was under the jurisdiction of Vadakkumkur, while the western half was in Odanad.

Following the annexation of Quilon by King Marthanda Varma of the newly established Kingdom of Travancore, Odanad organised a confederacy to liberate Quilon and restore its ruler. The Northern Alliance of Odanad, Purakkad, Vadakkumkur, and Cochin succeeded in retaking Quilon and restoring its ruler. When the ruler of Quilon died in 1734, Odanad claimed the territory by virtue of adoption and immediately took possession of it. Travancore still claimed Quilon for itself and war broke out in 1739. The Queen of Elayadath, restored by the Dutch Empire, attacked Travancore from the east, while Odanad moved in from the north and the Dutch landed in the south. Travancore made quick work of the untrained levies of Elayadath and, turning south, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Dutch in the Battle of Colachel. After failing to hold the Kilimanoor Fort in 1742, the forces of Odanad were chased back to the walls of their capital. The defeated ruler signed a separate peace agreement, the Treaty of Mannar, according to which Odanad became a tributary of Travancore and ceded it more than half of its territories.

By 1746, Odanad had been persuaded by the Dutch to take up the leadership of a new confederation which included Chembakassery, Thekkumkur and Purakkad. In this fourth war known as Battle of Purakkad between the states, Odanad was again defeated and its territories finally annexed to Travancore.