Tiruvankod, India

History

Nanjilnadu, which is the present Agasteeswaram and Thovalai taluks of the Kanyakumari district, was under the rule of Cheras. Idainadu comprising the present Kalkulam and Vilavancode taluks were under the rule of Cheras. When the power of Cheras declined due to the rise of Hoysalas and western Chalukyas, the Venad (descendants of the Cheras) took advantage of the situation and gradually established their hold on many areas of Nanjilnadu. The annexation commenced by Veera Kerala Varma was to a large extent continued by his successors and completed by 1115 A.D.

In 1729, Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma took control of the Travancore throne from his uncle, King Rama Varma. He defeated the forces of the Dutch East India Company under Eustachius De Lannoy in 1741 at the Battle of Colachel. Marthanda Varma expanded the kingdom towards north up to Aluva and established the state of Travancore. By this, the present day Kanyakumari District came to be known as Southern Travancore. Later, the capital was shifted from Padmanabhapuram (in present-day Kanyakumari District) to Thiruvananthapuram.

After Marthanda varma, Travancore kingdom was a principle state during the colonial period.

From the History section of Thiruvithamcode on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.