Krishnapuram Palace, Kayamkulam

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Krishnapuram Palace, Kayamkulam

• The Krishnapuram Palace is a palace and museum located
in Kayamkulam near Alappuzha in Alappuzha district, Kerala in
southwestern India.
• It was built in the 18th century by Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (1729–
1758 AD), the Travancore kingdom.
• It is built in the architectural style of Kerala with gabled roof, narrow corridor
and dormer windows, near the Krishnaswamy Temple at Krishnapuram
• The palace is maintained by the Archaeological Department of Kerala and
contains exhibits that belonged to the Palace and its former occupant, the
Travancore Maharaja Marthanda Varma.
• It is also famous for a large pond within the palace complex. It is also said that
an underground escape route runs from the bottom of the pond as a possible
escape route from enemies
• Among the many Kerala-style paintings seen in the palace, a distinctly placed
mural painting is titled "Gajendra Moksham" of 154 square feet (14.3 m2) size,
which is said to be the largest such find in Kerala. It is placed on the western
end of the ground floor of the palace
• The palace was built by King Marthanda Varma .
• Before the construction of the palace, the King demolished an earlier palace at
the site, which had been built by the King Veera Ravi Varma of Odanad (reign
1700–1775 AD).
• Initially, a small palace of a single story, known locally as Ettukettu, was built in
the traditional style with an adjacent pond, temple and urappura under the
management of Prime Minister Ramayyan Dalawa, which was later enlarged by
Prime Minister Ayyappan Marthanada Pillai.
• The palace complex has many other buildings, which are a combination
of traditional and Western architecture.
• The present building, a three-storied structure within the complex, was
renovated in the 1950s by the Archaeological Department of Kerala in modern
style conforming to the scientific techniques prescribed for the protection of
heritage buildings.
The Krishnapuram Palace, as one of the finest and rarest examples of a typical
Keralite-style architecture, known in the local language as Pathinerakettu, is
complete with gabled roofs, narrow corridors and dormer windows. It is a miniature
replica of Padmanabhapuram Palace, which was the headquarters of Travancore
Rajas.
• The palace complex originally encompassed a total land area of 56 acres

(23 ha). However, over the years, as the monarchic rule ended, the palace was
completely neglected and fell to disuse, and was dilapidated.
• Many of the buildings surrounding the main palace of the Maharaja got
demolished or destroyed and the palace complex got reduced to a mere 2.55
acres (1.03 ha) enclosed within a 10 feet (3.0 m) high compound wall.
• The main palace, which was run down, was rebuilt to its original state as a three
storied monument by the Archaeological Department of Kerala in the 1950s.
• The rare documents and artefacts which were kept at other locations were
brought back, restored and eventually exhibited in the palace that has been
converted into a Museum
• The palace restored to its originally built plans, conforming to Vastu
Shastra norms, has 16 blocks or Kettus with four Nadumuttam or open area in
the centre or courtyards.
• The windows, doors and ventilators were placed in such a way as to ensure
fresh air circulation and natural lighting in all the rooms.
• There are 22 rooms (which open into the shady internal courtyards) with
ornamental wooden partitions with carvings.
• The building is set with verandas (passages) all round to protect the outer walls
getting damaged due to rains
• The materials used in its construction consisted of laterite stones, rubble,
teak, rosewood and Angili wood.
Roofing (red-tiled gabled) is steep and tiled with Mangalore tiles, which
accentuates the beauty of the structure.
A special feature of the carpentry adopted in building the palace consisted of
wooden hinges and locks for doors and windows, instead of metallic fittings and
fixtures.
The flooring consists of polished wood and also of black and red oxide-coated
concrete. The steps are made of polished granite blocks
A small stream was created to flow close to the southern vicinity of the palace
which also functioned as a secret escape route in times of emergency.
An underground tank or pond that stretches to the centre of the building was part
of the palace; it provided air-conditioning effect of moderate temperature in all
interior rooms.
The palace compound has many Padippuras, particularly at the main entrance,

which are significators of status.
• Within the palace is the archaeological museum which has an exhibit of
the Gajendra Moksham a 3 metres (9.8 ft) high mural, which is the largest
single piece of mural painting so far discovered in Kerala.
• The literal meaning of 'Gajendra Moksham' is the "salvation orMoksha of the
elephant king Gajendra."
• The theme of the mural is mythological and depicts an elephant saluting Lord
Vishnu in devotion while the other minor gods, goddesses and saints look on.
Lord Vishnu was the family deity of the Kayamkulam Kings.
• This mural, in a fusion of colours and expressions, was placed prominently at
the entrance to the palace from the pond to enable the kings to worship the
deity after their daily ablutions

Krishnapuram Palace, Kayamkulam

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Krishnapuram Palace, Kayamkulam

• The palace complex originally encompassed a total land area of 56 acres

The palace compound has many Padippuras, particularly at the main entrance,

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