TALES FROM THE CAPITAL CITY – 142

 THE JHAROKHAS OF TRAVANCORE - 

THE CASE OF PADMANABHAPURAM PALACE COMPLEX

Window of the palace at Pulpanabhaporum from which the Ranees view the processions, albumin print, 1868, Royal Collection Trust

The ‘jharokha,’ the Indian equivalent of the ‘oriel window,' has been identified as a significant medieval architectural element ever since Islamic architectural trends amalgamated with the indigenous. Jharokhas were often placed on the façade of palatial structures, overlooking a street or an important open space. While the women in the cloistered harems of the palaces and havelis framed their gaze to the other side of the world through jharokhas, the same was associated with the kingly ritual—the jharokha darshan—when the architectural setup served as the point from which the ruler addressed the public audience. The Mughal courtly custom of the emperor appearing before the subjects at the jharokha made it popular amongst their feudatories. It is perhaps due to the infiltration of Mughal courtly customs into south Indian provincial courts that the jharokha also got assimilated into the regional architectural vocabulary.

In Travancore, the oldest specimen of a jharokha can be found in the sprawling Padmanabhapuram complex in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu. The ambari mukhappu overlooking the processional street on the northern side of the palace complex is an exquisitely carved bay window, fashioned like an ambari or howdah, with five openings supported by rampant vyali (mythical beast) figures on the outside and crowned with a conical roof. The window inspired the European architect R.F. Chisholm, who incorporated four replicas of the same in the Napier Museum in Thiruvananthapuram, designed by him. A champion of the Indo-Saracenic architectural style, Chisholm would have found the ambari mukhappu a ready ingredient for his masterpiece work in Travancore.

Watercolour sketch showing the northern street and the ambari mukhappu, by R.F. Chisholm, RIBA Library Drawings and Archives Collection

The jharokha window at Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram

A view of the forecourt at Padmanabhapuram, the jharokha atop the entrance gateway is seen on the right

That said, let us now look at a less discussed jharokha at the Padmanabhapuram palace complex. This window is strategically placed atop the grand doorway, overlooking the large forecourt in front of the palace, and connected to the other wings through secured corridors. During the eighteenth century, the forecourt would have been a happening place when the capital of Travancore was still based in Padmanabhapuram. The view from this elevated space makes one appreciate the ingenuity of the architects of yore who designed such a space from which the sentries could keep an eye on the activities both in the large quadrangle and also in the smaller yard in front of the poomukhamalika (entrance hall). On special occasions like navaratri, the kilivāthil (small windows) opening to the front quadrangle enabled the royal ladies to witness the celebrations and activities, seated comfortably, away from the teeming crowds below. Various recreational activities, like animal combats and wrestling, staged in the front quadrangle were witnessed by the king and his officials from the same bay window.

The jharokha window, Padmanabhapuram, a closer view.

(More on the other jharokhas in Thiruvananthapuram later).

Sharat Sunder Rajeev

15.08.2023

TALES FROM THE CAPITAL CITY – 141

THE RAJAGOPURAM OF PADMANABHASWAMI TEMPLE

The eastern gopuram of Padmanabhaswami temple, also known as the ‘Rajagopuram’, is undoubtedly one of the majestic edifices erected by the rulers of the erstwhile Travancore kingdom. Though the credit for constructing the gopuram is claimed by Anizham Tirunal Martanda Varma, the founder of the Travancore kingdom, the annals at Padmanabhaswami temple take us back to the sixteenth century, to the reign of Aditya Varma, when Thottathil Achari, a master craftsman, is recorded to have laid the foundation stone of the eastern gopuram in 741 M.E. (c.1566 C.E.). Subsequent chronicles shed light on the internal strife among the Venad rulers and the powerful madampis, disrupting the smooth conduct of the construction activities. 

The royal commission was destined to remain dormant until the eighteenth century when Marthanda Varma took matters into his own hands. Martanda Varma appointed Kesavan Vishnu Thrathan of Thycattu Illam as the Stapathi and went about a thorough renovation of the Padmanabhaswami temple. When Marthanda Varma passed away in 1758 C.E., only five out of the seven storeys of the gopuram had been finished; however, the work progressed through the reign of Karthika Tirunal Rama Varma. The gopuram, when finished, stood at a soaring height of about a hundred feet and had every inch of its exterior decorated with fine stucco figurines depicting episodes from the Hindu epics.

Sannidhi-Vaasal, the eastern entrance to Padmanabhaswami temple, c.1868, The Royal Collection Trust. Note the absence of the finials in this photograph.

The gopuram, though it maintained an irrefutable presence in the skyline of the capital city, was to remain incomplete for the next hundred years. The earliest photograph of the gopuram from 1868 shows it without the seven golden finials—the kalashas—atop the ridge. The task of completing the project was taken up (c.1872) by Dewan Sir. Sashiah Sastri K.C.S.I. during the reign of Maharajah Ayilyam Tirunal Rama Varma (r.1860-1880). 

Sir A. Sashiah Sastri, Dewan of Travancore.

The following details regarding the completion of the eastern tower can be gleaned from the biography of the Dewan:

“The tower of Sri Padmanabha Swami temple at Trevandrum, which had been long left incomplete, was completed. Finials plated with gold were set up over the topmost storey of the tower and the gilt spires of Sri Padmanabha became a landmark amid the green fields and verdant groves for forty miles around.”

The eastern gopuram with the finials, c.1900 (attributed to D’Cruz, the Govt. Photographer), The British Library collection.

Sharat Sunder R

July 2023.