Travancore is interpreted in Malayalam as Thiruvithamkur and in Sanskrit as Sreevzhumkode meaning the seat of prosperity. It is the southernmost corner of the continent with Kanyakumari as the “Land’s End”.
Boundaries: Arabian Sea in the South and the West, Coimbatore and Kochi in the North, Madurai, Thirunelvelli and Ramnad in the East.
Area: 7,625 square miles.
Fauna: Elephants, the Indian Bison, sambur, barking deer, mouse-deer, Nilgiri wild goat, Indian sloth.
Flora: Forest resources were a treasure chest. 600 species of timber and 3,500 species of flowering plants and shrubs.
Travancore held a unique position among the Princely States of India. The illustrious ruler Anizham Tirunal Marthanda Varma of immortal fame after subjugating the different principalities consolidated them into compact kingdom, and dedicated to the presiding Deity in Thiruvananthapuram, ruled as a vassal of the Lord. The character thus stamped on the state has never lost sight of by his successors on the throne of Travancore. They have striven to discharge the sacred trust handed down to them with unswerving loyalty. Later rulers of the 19th century came under the influence of western ideas provided laws and administrative measures which while allowing the original character to be retained made Travancore one of the most progressive states in India.
Travancore is proud to claim allegiance to a dynasty which traces its ancestry in unbroken continuity to the great Chera Emperors of South India. The territorial extent of Cheras became diminished to a small portion called Venad. It was powerful to withstand aggression. It comprised Kannetti in the north and Nanjinad in the south. Kollam was made its capital owing to its international links. Aiyanatikal Thiruvatikal ruled Venad in the first century of the Malayalam Era.