THE MYSTERY OF CHERAMAN PERUMAL AND MAHABALI

The Muslim Perumal And the Hindu Mahabali

There is a reference to a Sankara Varman or Chengal Perumal (621-640), meeting Muhammad Nabi (C.570-632), around AD 627. Nabi was 57 then. In the Muslim chronicles, there is another reference to a Zamorin of Kozhikode getting converted to Islam, as Abdu Rahman Zamiri (for Samoodiri), in CE 638. It was when the third Khalifa, son-in-law of Nabi, Uthman ibn Affan sent a delegation under Mughira Shu'ba, a companion of the prophet, to Kozhikode. On his return journey from Mecca, Zamiri died at Zafar, then in Yemen, now Dhofar, in Southern Oman. His qabr is still there. Afterwards, it was customary for the Zamorin, to dress up as a Muslim, during the Ariyittuvazhcha, or anointing ceremony, and take an oath saying he was a representative of the Perumal who went to Mecca.

The earliest available manuscript on Islam in Kerala, Tariq Zuhar Al Islam fil Malibar, by Muhammad Malik, mentions, the pilgrim leader, Zahiruddin Taqiuddin meeting the Perumal at Kodungallur, while on a journey to Srilanka, to see the Foot of Adam, or Adam's Peak. He met the Perumal again on his return. Perumal went with them to Arabia and the Perumal met Nabi in Jeddah, on Shawwal 27, Thursday, six years before Hijra, which is AD 617. He was converted to Islam as Thajudin and returned to Malabar after a few years. On the journey, he passed away in Sahar Mukalla, Yemen, on Muharram 1, Monday. It was the first year of Hijra, that is, CE 622.

Al Mukalla is the main seaport and capital city of Hadhramount in Yemen, a southern port of Arabia, on the Gulf of Eden, close to the Arabian Sea, 480 Kilometres east of Eden. It was founded in 1035, as a fishing settlement. Till the middle of the 11th century, it was part of Oman.

The old city is seen from Mukalla Port

Umar Muhammad Suhravardi says the Perumal was converted under the influence of the King of Mahal dweep, Maldives, Kilimanjaro. The Mahal King was known to Malik Dinar of Basra, and the King read out the accounts of Nabi's amazing deed of splitting the moon, to the Perumal and his minister, Krishnan Munjad. They decided to visit the Qabr of Nabi. But, when Munjad spurned Perumal's wife's lustful advances, she cooked up a molestation story against Munjad and the Perumal plotted to kill him. Realizing the sin, Perumal decided to join Islam and go to Mecca. Maybe it was a ploy by Sreedevi to discourage the Perumal from embracing Islam, under the influence of Munjad.

Munjad, who escaped, went to Male and got converted as Husain Khwaja and the Perumal went along with his nephew Kohinoor, to Mecca, in AD 701, during the Caliphate of Walid. The Perumal was joined in Kozhikode by Munjad's relatives, Mustha Mudukad, Neelinishada, Sharipad and their servants Marjan and Aswad, residing at Chaliyam. They were received in Basra by Malik Dinar and Jaffer Sulayman presided over the conversion. From there they went to Arabia, stayed for 12 years and the Perumal died in Sahar Mukalla, on his return journey to Malabar.

Still, there is a ritual of offering, Vattala payasam, to Krishna at the Chirakkal Kadalayi temple to expiate Perumal's sin. He had four wives in four different royal families, and Sreedevi belonged to the Kolathiri swaroopam. He listened to her word, committed a sin, hence had to go to Mecca-the offering is to expiate that sin.

Shaikh Zainudin in  Tuhfatul Mujahideen gives the period of Perumal's conversion being 200 years after Hijra began, so, in the year 822. Keralotpathi insists it was Palli Bana Perumal, not  Cheraman Perumal, who went to Mecca. Bana Perumal got converted first to Buddhism and then to Christianity and Islam. Cheraman was the fifth Perumal after him. The book alleges that it was the Muslims who concocted the myth that Cheraman got converted. We can see politics interfering here. The book has CE 332 as the year in which Perumal met Nabi. But Nabi began his religious work only after CE600, thus bulldozing the very foundations of the book. There are other versions which say Perumal went to Mecca in 825. 

The Caliphate showing Khorasan, CE 750

Maybe two Perumals got converted and went to Mecca. Sankara Varma during Nabi and the last Perumal Ramavarma Kulasekhara after Nabi.

Maybe both died in Arabia and Ramavarma was instrumental in Malik Dinar's visit to Kerala.MGS Narayanan opines that Perumal's conversion would have been in 1122. There is every chance since Yemen history says Mukalla was founded only in 1035. Maybe, it was a second Perumal conversion, as we will see later.

Madayi Mosque

There are several people with the name, Malik Dinar. The name denotes an Iranian, not an Arab, according to A Shusterry. If that he journeyed from Kodungallur to Khorasan in Iran, and died en route is true, it might be the disciple of the famous Sufi of Basra, Hassan, who died in 744. Then the reference in Rihlat al Muluk that Malik Dinar started off to Kodungallur in 701, becomes logical and we are given to believe Kalady, where Adi Sankara was born, was administered by an Islamic Perumal. It was absolute anarchy in Kerala then.

In the legend, Perumal, before leaving for Mecca, instructs the Zamorin to look after the Muslims and the Qasi, well. If there was a Qasi, there was a mosque, before the Perumal.

It is said that Malik Dinar had Perumal's letters with him, and when shown, the King gave him a Buddha vihara, where the Cheraman mosque was erected. The Vihara was constructed by Palli Bana Perumal. There is a version that says the Arathalli temple was gifted and converted into a mosque in 629. The Madayi mosque in Kannur, the third mosque in Kerala, was constructed with the help of the King of Kolathunad. The history of the Arakkal Muslim Kingdom of Kannur says the mosque was built by Kohinoor, the nephew of Cheraman Perumal. There is also a version which gives its credit to the Nair minister of Kolathiri, who got converted to Islam. Ibn Battuta, the 14th-century traveller, records meeting a King, whose grandfather did convert to Islam and built the Valapattanam mosque.

Malik Dinar Mosque,Thalangara

In the Arakkal history, the nephew of Cheraman is not Kohinoor, but Saifuddin Muhammad Ali, who was known as Mahabali earlier, son of Cheraman's sister Sreedevi, living at Dharmadam, North of Thalassery. He was converted by Perumal and Malik Dinar, on their way from Kodungallur to Basra, via Dharmadam. They travelled to Mecca from the erstwhile Poynadu, comprising, Edakkad, Ancharakkandi and Mavilayi, governed by Randuthara Achans.Perumal got down at Sahar Mukalla,went to see Nabi at Jeddah.He called Saifuddin Muhammad Ali at the time of his death and advised him not to visit Kodungallur or Travancore. Mahal king, Munjad and Malik Dinar met Perumal at Mukalla and got letters from him. On return, Malik Dinar embarked at Dharmadam, and sent Perumal's letters through the trader, Gulam Syed Muhammad, to the King of Kodungallur. He built the Madayi mosque.

Before the conversion of the Perumal, there was Islam in Kannur, the Arakkal branch had stemmed from a princess of the Kolathiri family who had married the Nair minister, an Arayan Kulangara Nair, who got converted. Their successors were called Mammali kidavu s, meaning children of Muhammad Ali, or Mahabali, meaning, Perumal's sister had married an Arayan Kulangara Nair. Then, it was not Malik Dinar, but Kohinoor, or Saifuddin Muhammad Ali, who built the Madayi mosque. 

Inside Cheraman Masjid,Kodungallur

The legend that Kerala Muslims adore, is the one in which the Perumal is Thajudin. He went from Kodungallur, Koyilandi Kollam, and Dharmadam to Sahar Mukalla Bandr (port), went to Jeddah and met Nabi who converted and named him, Thajudin. Malik Dinar married Perumal's daughter, Rajiyat. The Perumal died of fever and was interred in Sahar Mukalla Mosque. His fourth son, Thaqiudin went to Madurai and built 22 mosques, including the one at Kodungallur.

Thajudhin(Tajudhin) is mentioned in the report of Rahmatullahi Ahaihi in his Musthadarak a Hadeeth, narrated by Abu Saeed Al Khudry. He describes Thajudin Al Hindi meeting Nabi and presenting a container of a pickle with ginger in it." Nabi fed his companions ginger and I also was fed a piece from it", records Rahmatullah. It becomes an eyewitness account thus. Thajudin, in this account, heard of Nabi's miracles from traders and met him through them, and witnessed the splitting of the moon, by Nabi. This incident was in Hijra 5. So, it was in AD 627, and if we take this as history, the converted Perumal was Sankara Varman, who ruled from,621-640.So,it was not the last Perumal,Ramavarma Kulasekhara.

Thajudin passed away in the Oman port city of Salalah, en route to his return to India. The qabr of Thajudin is there in Hazrat Syedina Tajuddin Dargah, in Al Baleed, Salalah. He went to Jeddah from Mukalla, and on his return, fell sick at Salalah, and died in the port of Zafar, now Dhofar, on the Eastern border of Yemen, in Southern Oman.In local parlance, he is Chakrawati Farmas. By a strange coincidence, here, Sankara Varma the Perumal, who became Thajuddin, gets identified as Abdurahman Zamiri, the Zamorin, whom I mentioned at the beginning. The qabr is in the same city. Salalah is a greenish area like Kerala, with coconut trees, Plantain, Papaya and pepper. It is claimed by the local people that, it is the result of the dua made by Thajudin to Allah, to make the land his own home place. The distance between Mukalla and Dhofar is 680 Kilometers,10 hours.

Qabr of Thajudin in Salalah

The confusion about the Perumal who became a Muslim got confounded when the term, Cheraman Perumal was taken as an individual. It was a common term for the ruler, meaning, Chera's Perumal for Kerala. The Perumal, when first brought to rule, were not in Kodungallur. They were stationed at Thalyur, North of Thaliparambu, in Kannur. The Perumal sent by the Chola king stayed at Chozhakkara palace and the one sent by the Pandya king at Pandivampana, according to Keralotpathi. Palli Bana Perumal, who became Muslim, stayed at Banapuram. His father was from the Kodungallur Perunkovilakam. That he got converted makes sense, because the mosque, Palli, is attached to his name, which, definitely was a later addition. Palli is also a Buddhist word, hinting at a mix-up.

Cheraman Masjid/C.AD 625

What was the motive behind the conversion?
He had a quarrel with the Brahmin priests, his tongue was pulled out, he was dethroned and went to Mecca. Another version is that he murdered Bhutharaya Perumal, with the help of the Nambudiris after his defeat at the hands of the latter, forcing him to abdicate the throne. This made Nambudiris decorate him as a glamorous Kshatriya King. Keralotpathi brings in Parasurama, saying, the Perumal sought a solution to enjoy the wealth of Parasurama illegally. 

The Brahmin diviners told him, he has the solution only in Islam, and he will get an excuse when he kills Commander Nair, for an illicit relationship with his wife. He gifted 28 provinces to 29 kings before sailing to Mecca. When at last Mangat Unnikumara Menon came to see the Perumal at Thrikkariyur, he had only the land where the cock crows (Kozhikode?) and a bushy land (chullikkad). The place where the Perumal lived in this story, is Thrikkariyur, where Thunjath Ezhuthachan was born, much later. He knew better.

I have also read, the Perumal went to Mecca from Eraniel in Travancore. During the close of the temple festival there, an elephant is driven to the pond and asked to search for the Perumal. Here the story is, after Varaguna Pandyan defeated the Perumal in a battle at Vizhinjam in Travancore, the frustrated Perumal went to Mecca. In this chronicle, Kohinoor is not his nephew, but the Travancore Queen's son.

Mannar Koil

Fine. The last Perumal, Ramavarma, towards the end, lived not in Kodungallur, but Kollam.M G S Narayanan has proved that the Chera Perumals ruled during 800-1124. In the fierce war with the Cholas, Kulothunga Chola destroyed Perumal's capital Mahodayapuram, near Kudungallur and he shifted the capital to Kollam, around 1100. He had pressure from the Nambudiri brahmins. In the political turmoil, the Perumal abdicated in favour of his son, Kotha Varma(1102-1125). Perumal rule by that time had ended, Kollam had been captured by Kulothunga Chola in 1096, and Venad had become independent. It is believed that Perumal's sister had married a prince of the Perumbadapu royal family in Ponnani. The inscription, dated 1102 in the Rameswarathu temple in Kollam, records that the Perumal lived in the Panamkovil Palace. 

So, it is certain that it was not a Perumal who got converted in 627 or 638, even if the conversion account is true. If we take into account the evidence provided by MGS, it was not the Perumal, it was his son, King Kotha Varma, who may have embraced Islam. Hence, we find a nephew, not the Perumal's son, in the chronicles. For the benefit of chroniclers, Maldives is closer to Kollam than Kodungallur. The Perumal, being a friend of Sundara Murthy Nayanar, leading a monastic life after the abdication, makes sense. He is not Thajuddin, anyway. 

Koil idol

It takes us to the Mannar Rajagoplaswamy Kulasekhara Perumal Temple,40 kilometres west of Tirunelveli, near Ambasamudram, on the banks of the Tamiraibharani and Karuna rivers. The history of the temple with several inscriptions records that the Perumal stayed 30 years there, and died worshipping the Rama idol there. 

From the myriad myths, the one inference one can arrive at is that one Perumal/Perumal's son, did embrace Islam, and the legend is a concoction of Buddhism and Islam. In the olden days, Hindus seldom differentiated between the two,calling Muslims, Boudhas. I have always felt the story of Vamana dethroning Mahabali is based on the Cheraman myth, and there is a Mahabali, Saifuddin Muhammad Ali, in the story. Vamana destabilizing Mahabali is symbolic of, Nambudiri Brahmins dethroning the Perumal, after his attempt on the life of Munjad. Even in the Muslim chronicles, there is a reference to a rebellion by the Nair chieftains against the Perumal.

Embracing Islam was an escape route for him. Only the excommunicated sought conversion. In my childhood in Tripunithura, during Onam, a Muslim used to arrive, from Nettur, singing, paeans to the Perumal. Later I read the song in one short story, Vilapangal, by N S Madhavan. Thus, Onam always brings to my mind, a Muslim.

Reference:

1.Caste invades Kerala:A Social History of India/S N Sadasivan
2.Tuhfatul Mujahideen/Zaindudin
3. Keralotpathi
4. Outline of Islamic Culture/A Shusterry
5. Kerala Muslim Charitram/P A Said Muhammad
6. A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar/Francis Buchanan
7. The Southern Gates of Arabia/Freya Stark
8. Genesis and Growth of the Mappila Community/Dr Hussein Randathani
9.Muhammad Rasulullah/M Hamidullah 
10.Perumals of Kerala/MGS Narayanan 
11.Tadkirat-al Kiran Tarik -i,Khulufa-i-Arab/Sayyid Shah Kabir Tanaferi 
12.Islam in Kerala/Syed Mohideen Shah
13.Muslimingalum Kerala Samskaravum/P K Muhammad Kunji

See my Post,ARAKKAL ALI RAJA'S ATTACK OF MALDIVES

EXPOSING THE PARASURAMA MYTH

KERALA WAS THERE MUCH BEFORE PARASURAMA

In the oldest Purana, Matsya Purana, the incarnation of Parasurama happened in the Malaya Mountain. He killed the race of Kshatriyas and filled seven lakes with their blood, and then did penance at Gokarn. Varuna appeared and blessed him. Parasurama went to Kanyakumari and flung his axe into the sea. The sea receded in the area between Kanyakumari and Gokarna. The area thus formed was 160 Kada.

Parasurama makes his appearance in the Aithareya Aranyaka of Rigveda, the Sahyadri episode in Skanda Purana, Kerala Mahatmyam, Keralotpathi, Kerala Avakasa Kramam and Kerala Vamsakavyam. Chattambi Swamikal has tried to expose Parasurama in his work, Pracheena Malayalam, quoting the Sahyadri episode.

Guru,Chattambi,Neelakanta Theerthapadar

From Malaya Mountain, he saw fishermen below, on the sea shore, climbed down, took out the string from the Angle (choonda) made it the sacred thread, and thus made them Brahmins. So, the Malayali Brahmins, Nambudiris were originally fishermen, according to Chattambi Swamikal. The Kerala he founded spread from south of the Vaitharani river to Subrahmanyam, in the North, From Sahya Mountain to the sea, in the form a Soorpa (Sanskrit for Malayalam Muram, a flat, shallow sieve used to winnow grain). Though he recovered a land, Brahmins from North India, refused to come and inhabit it. So he made fishermen, Brahmins.

The problem with this episode is, Kerala existed before Parasurama, because, the incarnation of Vamana was just before him, in which we have the story of Mahabali reigning over Kerala. In Dasavathara, Vamana is 5th and Parasurama is 6th. So, to fill the loophole, it is said that Vamana recovered Kerala from Mahabali, then gave it to sage Kasyapa, Kasyapa, in turn, to Gowders, Dravidas, scholars and priests.

In Thretha Yuga, the kings like Karthavirya Arjuna, protected and nurtured the earth. Afterwards, conceding to the prayers of Brahmins like Kasyapa, Mahavishnu incarnated as the son of Jamadagni. The son, Prasurama, killed Kshatriyas 21 times, gifted the entire land to priests like Kasyapa and Vasishta while he performed Aswamedha, climbed over Mount Sahyadri and meditated, viewing the vast expanse of the sea before him. When Narada arrived, Parasurama the fool lamented that he has no space to sit, because he has gifted the lands to the priests. Narada advised him to split the Ocean. Parasurama sent the arrow from the Mountain, creating Ramakshetra, or Kerala. The place where the arrow, or, Bana, fell, came to be known as Banavalli.

An Asoka pillar edict

The entire myth of Parasurama collapses here, because, instead of his brand axe, he sent the arrow. In this story, he sent the arrow from Sahyadri, not from Kanyakumari. Most importantly, Kerala was there, before Parasurama, because of Vamana.

The recovered area was called seven Konkanas: Kerala, Thulanga, Saurashtra, Konkan, Kamhad, Karnataka and Barbara. Kerala Mahatmyam says he flung the axe with his left hand from Kanyakumari, whereas, Keralotpathi differs by insisting, he threw the axe from Gokarn, and Nagas ruled over the area when Brahmins fled. It says Parasurama made Durga the protective deity, made and deposited the Rasi gold coins, under the earth. When fortunate people dig the earth, Rasi appears as a treasure.

Historically, the word Kerala first appears in the rock pillar edicts of Emperor Asoka(BC 274-237), by referring to a king, Kerala Putra. Kerala was one of the four kingdoms in South India, the other three being, Chola, Pandya, and Sathya Putra. The whole area was called Thamizhakam. Pandyas say Parasurama was a Pandya king, and the era of him was known as Parasurama Sathakam. Chera history mentions that Parasurama anointed Bhanu Vikrama, the Chera king on the throne. The Chera legend also says it was Velkezhu Kuttuvan, the king who recovered the land from the sea by throwing his spear. There are other versions too: it was the Pandyan who ruled Vadingalamba who threw the spear. No, it was Ugra Pandyan who ruled Madurai, who got the spear from Siva and threw it into the Ocean.

Kerala Putra in the Asoka edict is considered a Chera King. The Chera empire consisted of modern Kerala, Coimbatore and Salem with Muziris or Karur as the capital.

The Kerala Brahmins took out the spear from the Tamil legend, fixed an axe, and brought Parasurama the Brahmin into the picture. Thunchath Ezhuthachan is said to have written Keralotpathi, based on the Sanskrit Kerala Mahatmyam, which is quite unlikely, because the text is so raw, and has no sublimity associated with Ezhuthachan. It does seem to be written by a Nair because the text accepts Nambudiri dominance. The new converts to Brahminism, had their Kuduma (tuft of hair)on the front, whereas in North India, it is on the back. The politics is, Malayali Brahmins will never be accepted by the North Indian Brahmins, and they will remain in Kerala to do the rituals. The capital of the 64 Brahmin families, was Vellappanad. Sudras were brought from different parts. The Malayali Brahmins violated the laws given to them by eating meat and instigating wars. They split into Val Nambi and Pattini Nambi, the former wielding the sword and the latter only the umbrella and conch. Since they took to battles, the Tamils came to Chengannur and entered into a conflict over the cremation of a dead body, the body was thrown into the river. From then downwards, Chengannur Nairs, avoided using lime (Chunnambu), while chewing betel leaves.

The Brahmins became corrupt and were removed from administration and Perumals were brought from Keyapuram. They stayed in the capital of Thalyur, North of Thaliparambu in modern Kannur. A period comes when the Brahmins quarrel with the Perumals and take over the reins again, with Thrikkariyur (birthplace of Ezhuthachan 1495-1575)) as capital. From then on, Brahmins were allowed to wed Kshatriya women...It is a long story in Keralotpathi. The book is also considered the handiwork of the Brahmins in the 18th century, which is disputed by M R Raghava Warrier and Rajan Gurukkal in their history of Kerala, because, a copy of the text was found in 1527, in Nellikanthuruthy kazhakam, North of Payyannur. But that doesn't absolve the Brahmins from fixing Parasurama as the founder.

Caldwell

The fact is, Kerala has nothing to do with Parasurama, and the name Kerala has nothing to do with coconut, Keram. The state, historically was Cheralam, the Chera country. Cheralam means the declivity of a mountain. Plini who lived in the first century AD mentions, Muziris is in Chelobotras. The alphabet,' k'in Dravida becomes, 'ch', when followed by a vowel, in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu, according to Robert Caldwell (1814-1891), the linguist. Thus Kerala becomes Cherala. Conversely, 'ch' becomes,'k'too-Cheera, and spinach, becoming, Keera is a fine example. Chera Puthran became Kerala Puthran with the root of the name in Cheru or mud, from an area where paddy is sown. Kerala, is thus, Cherala, the wetland. Coconut is out, and Paddy is in.

Reference:
1. The Eight Anthologies/John Ralston Marr
2.Kerala Charithram/Raghava Warrier, Rajan Gurukkal
3. Kerala: Word Lore/Dr V Sankaran Nair
4. Keralotpathi

© Ramachandran

See my Post,PARASURAMA,DALITS AND THE ART OF AXING

 

PARASURAMA,DALITS AND THE ART OF AXING

It Was a Fight Between Two Political Ideologies

The myth of Parasurama as the founder of Kerala is very well known.But rarely have Keralites traveled to the contradictions of the myth,proving that Malayalis have not taken him that seriously.

He is the son of Jamadagni and Renuka, in the popular myth.When Renuka was eight years old, her father's Guru,Agasthya, advised him to marry her off,when she attains the desirable age, to Jamadagni, son of sage Ruchika and Sathyavathi,meaning,the sages of yore did marry.
Jamadagni and Renuka were staying in the Ramsrang hills near Savadatti,in Belgaum,Karnataka.She used to help him in daily rituals,after bathing in the Malaprabha river. She fetched water from there using a pot made of fine grains of sand,or unbaked clay,tying a snake as rope,or rather,held together by her devotion to her husband.The literal meaning of the name Renuka,is,fine grains of sand.She had five childrean:Vasu,Viswavasu,Brihudhanyu,Brithyakanya, and Ramabhadra.Ramabhadra was Parasurama,getting the nick name from the axe,he wielded.

Parasurama idol,Udupi

One day,while Renuka was collecting water,she saw gandharvas(manes) making love in the waters,felt butterflies in her stomach,and was enamored by one gandharva.She lost her purity,dissolving the pot,in the river water,in the process.When Jamadagni asked his sons,one by one,to kill their mother,only Parasurama obeyed,hacking her with his axe,and his request to restore life to his mother and brothers granted.The boon to both Renuka and Parsurama was exotic:they won't experience the memory of death.
Jamadagni was later killed by the Haihaya King Karthavirya Arjuna,wanting the divine cow,Kamadhenu,which Jamadagni owned,for himself.The king was axed by Parasurama,and he enacted a genocide of the King's race for the next 21 generations.Renuka immolated herself in the pyre of her husband.That custom of Sati was abolished centuries later,by the efforts of a Bengali,Rajaram Mohan Roy.
Renuka,who survived death,is known by different names,in different places as Mathangi,Renuka,Yellamma or Maariyamma.She is  Maariyamma,or Yellamma in South India and she becomes the Dalit,Yellamma,as pointed out by Wendy Doniger,in her book,The Hindus:An Alternative History.When Renuka was about to be hacked,she embraced a dalit woman,Yellamma,who stood between death and Renuka,and both  became victims to Parasurama.When Jamadagni restored their lives,the head of Renuka went to Yellamma and that of Yellamma to Renuka,transposing Brahmins and dalits,at will.Brahmin head for Maariyamma(Renuka) and dalit head for Yellamma.Goat and Chicken were sacrificed for Yellaamma,only Buffaloes for Maariyamma.Dalits were raised to these 'high pedestals',by the Bhakthi movement.

Thomas Mann

The story of the transposed heads reoccurs in India now and then.The heads of a sage and a prostitute get transposed in the Sanskrit play,Bhagavadajjukam by Somadatta,which we staged as youngsters in a University drama festival.It is a story of the conflict between mind and body,which happened to Renuka-a sage is termed His Holiness,whereas Renuka becomes,Her Horniness!The Nobel winning German novelist,Thomas Mann adapted the Indian myth to write his novella,The Transposed Heads,in which he tells the story of two male friends,the intellectual Shridaman and the earthy Nanda beheading themselves,their heads then transposed,and Shridaman's wife,the confused Sita,falling in love with both.It was Mann's strong reaction to the assumption that there is a dichotomy between spirit and life,and mind and the body.He found the need to reshuffle the present scale of values and meanings by constantly juxtaposing with older ones.
In the Dasavathara myth of evolution of human beings from the water species,Parasurama appears 6th,Srirama 7th and Srikrishna the 8th.Mysteriously,mocking at people who create legends,Parasurama meets both Srirama and Krishna in the later Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabaratha.

Renuka Temple and Parshuram Lake,Sirmour,Himachal Pradesh

The first chapter of Ramayana,Balakanda(Sargas 74-76),which I studied in school,describes the meeting of two incarnations,Parasurama and Srirama,after the wedding of Sita and Rama.Though they were two incarnations,maybe unaware of it,they fall into a conflict in the first meeting itself.When Rama and his brother Lakshmana were returning from Mithila with Guru,Sage Vasishta,they were blocked and Parasurama challenged Srirama to destroy his thapo bala,the power he amassed through penance, by stringing another bow.Parasurama challenged:Rama,I heard that you broke the bow of Siva in the palace of King Janaka,during Sita's marriage.I am going to test your prowess.I will give a Vaishnava bow to you.Show me that you can string it.
Srirama strung the bow and sent the arrow,piercing the prowess of Parasurama and sending him to Mahendragiri for another round of penance.
This story in the North Indian Valmiki Ramayana,gets another version,in South Indian Kamba Ramayana,written by the widow's son,thereby an out caste,the Tamilian,Kambar.Kambar says,Parasurama took it as an affront,stringing his Guru,Siva's bow,by Srirama.He forcibly made an encounter and asked Rama to string the Vaishnava bow.When Rama asked for the target,Parasurama said,he can destroy the whole world sending the arrow,but for the time being,he should aim at his Thapobala.When Rama did,Parasurama surrendered those instruments of destruction to Rama,thereby fulfilling the mission of his incarnation.So,the mission was only partially success before the advent of Rama.

Dasavatara/Albert Museum,London

In both the stories,Saivism is pitted against Vaishnavism,giving,the latter a victory over the other.The issue here is,all incarnations are said to be that of Vishnu.Then why one incarnation,Parasurama,pleading for Siva?A case of an over sight by the interpolations by the politicians of those times.The political ideologies then,were,Saivism and Vaishnavism.
The meeting of Rama and Parasurama, is related to the Pandavas by King Lomapada, during their Vanavasa,in Mahabaratha.Here,the story is entirely different.
When Rama became famous as an upright King,Parasurama went and met him.He gave Rama the bow with which he decapitated the Kshatriyas,and demanded that he string it.When Rama took aim,Parasurama asked him to take the bow close to his ear and aim.Then,Rama burst out,and Parasurama saw the whole universe manifested in front of him.Rama sent the arrow,the universe was filled with darkness,there was lightning followed by thunder and then a deluge.Stars fell down extinguished. Realizing Rama  an incarnation,Parasurama bowed before him,and went back to Mahendragiri.Knowing his miserable plight of losing all power,Manu advised him to have a dip in the Vadhoosara river,in the particular spot,Deeptoda,where his ancestor ,Bhrigu once had a dip.A dip in the divine river guaranteed regaining lost lust re.
Parasurama met the other incarnation Krishna twice.
The first time was when,Krishna and his brother Balarama  climbed the Mount Gomanta.Parasurama who was there,asked Krishna to slain the Karvaira King,Srigala Vasudeva,inhabiting the valley under the Mount.Parasurama met Krishna a second time ,while he was en route to the  Kaurava durbar,as a messenger of the Pandavas.Krishna climbed down from his chariot,seeing the earlier incarnation,in conversation with fellow sages.Parasurama advised Krishna to show the Kauravas the real picture.Later we see Parasurama,in the durbar,at the time of the entry of Dharmaputra.We see Parasurama in the durbar,again,when Krishna communicates his mission to Dhritarashtra.When Kauravas sought solace in silence,Parasurama stands up and retells the story of King Dambotsava,who learned a lesson because of inflated ego and arrogance.He was always in search of enemies,and sages advised him to meet Naranarayanas.Dambotsava went and challenged them in their asrama at,Badarika.Though they spurned the challenge,Dambotsava rained them with arrows,and they,in turn,covered the entire sky with arrows.Dambotsava shed his ego and apologised to the sages.

The Malayalam word,Damb,denoting arrogance has its etymology in Dambotsava.Dambotsava literally means,celebration of arrogance.
In Mahabharatha,there is a conflict between Parasurama and Bhishma;Parasurama can be seen in Yama's durbar too.
There are 22 Parasurama temples in India,and he is considered the builder of seven temples in the Gokarn belt from where he flung his axe to the sea to reclaim the lost state of Kerala.The seven temples are,Udupi,Kukke Subramanya,Kumbasi,Koteswara,Sankaranarayana,Kollur and Gokarn.It is unfortunate that he has only one temple in the state he is said to have founded-Thiruvallam in Thiruvananthapuram.About Kerala and Parasurama,later.
Two bows have been mentioned here:Siva's bow was Pinaka/Thrayambaka,which he wielded on his hand, un stringed because,his rival,Vishnu could break it at the incantation of a mantra.Siva gave the bow to Vasishta,and he gifted it to King Janaka.Vishnu's bow was Sarnga.Both the bows were designed by Viswakarma,a proletarian,who would have been the first to string the bow,much before Rama.But he had not participated in the Swayamvara,because only Kshatriyas were invited. 
The war between Saivism and Vaishnavism is also visible in Parasurama's establishment of 64 villages.Among those villages,no one is there in Southern Kerala,Venad.Since the fore fathers of Nambudiris were saivites,their women were banned from going beyond Kannetti,hence no Parasurama village in the South.The Potti Brahmins,Vishnavites from Tulunad,were free,though Nambudiri's never considered them to be Brahmins.
In the final analysis,Parasurama should be considered the sage who laid foundation for the ART OF AXING.Scholars think the epic,Ramayana is older than Mahabaratha because Rama appears in Mahabaratha,in the Ramopakhyana,in Aranya parva,told to Yudhishtira.The dating becomes very tricky because the older Parasurama appears every where.If  the politics of the epics is read judiciously,it becomes easy.We see a destructive Parasurama in Ramayana,whereas he is sane,giving ethical advise,in Mahabaratha.Saivism  being older than Vaishnavism,Ramayana has to be older than Mahabaratha.Destruction precedes creation.

Reference:Encyclopedic Dictionary of Puranas,Vol 1/Swami Parameswarananda.

See my Post,THE EGG AND THE TEXT:THE TRAVAILS OF WENDY DORNIGER



 

ARAKKAL ALI RAJA'S ATTACK OF MALDIVES

Ali Raja of Arakkal had Blinded the Sultan

There is a reference to the Raja of Arakkal, Kannur, in Kerala, Kunhi Amsa II, in the book, Kingdom of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan (Sultanat-e-Khudadad in Urdu) by Mahmood Khan Mahmood, translated by Anwar Haroon. I quote:

Ali Raja became the ruler of the coastal areas and he further developed his naval forces and attacked the islands close to Malabar, from where the people who were non-Muslims used to attack and oppress the Maplas. He captured their Raja and gouged both his eyes. After the capture of their Raja, all the people of the island surrendered to the Navy Commander Ali Raja and he returned to Mangalore along with the Raja of the islands. When Hyder Ali came to know that Ali Raja had gouged out the eyes of the Raja of the islands, he apologized to him and allotted him the land which could get him enough income for his living and punished Ali Raja by taking away his Commander ship (page 49).

This is called platitude. The Raja of the islands, captured by Ali Raja, was not a non-Muslim. It was the Sultan Hasan 'Izz ud Din(1759-1766) of the Maldives, whom Ali Raja blinded after capturing.

The incident was in 1763, after Hyder Ali captured Bednur, in Shimoga, in Karnataka, from the Ikkeri King.

Arakkal Flag, earlier

When Hyder Ali overthrew Krishnaraja Wodeyar in Mysore in 1757, Kunhi Amsa declared, "God is powerful and his fruit shall ripen", and entered Hyder's service as Naval Chief. After the capture of Bednur, he invited Hyder Ali to Attack the Chirakkal King or Kolathiri.

Kunhi Amsa established a large and well-armed fleet of 10 dhows and 3o larger sketches, in the Indian Ocean, in an attempt to conquer islands that had withstood the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Ali Raja, Muhammad Ali II sent Mappila forces to help Aurangazeb, in the Child's War of 1686-1690. The Mappila force was sent in 1689, to be part of the strong Mughal fleet from Janji, commanded by Siddi Yaqub or Yaquat Khan, Mughal Admiral, from Murud Janjira, the Fort at Murud, Raigad, Maharashtra. (1) It was the only undefeated Fort on the Western Coast during all invasions. His fleet was manned by the Mappilas and Abyssinians.

English Surrender, 1690

The Child's War was fought between the English East India Company and the Mughal Empire. In 1682, the Company sent William Hedges to Shaista Khan, Mughal Governor of Bengal, to obtain firman to grant England regular trading privileges throughout the Empire. The Company's Governor in London, the economist, Josiah Child then interfered with Hedge's mission, causing Aurangzeb to break off negotiations. Child declared war with the Mughals and sent Vice Admiral Nicholson in 1685 with 10 ships carrying 12 to 70 guns each and 600 men, to be reinforced by 400 men from Madras. His instruction was to seize Chittagong. What happened to those ships is another story. 

In 1690, the English surrendered and pleaded pardon with Aurangzeb. The English had to prostrate before him and pay a huge indemnity. So, Arakkal had a tradition. Legend takes it to the time Cheraman Perumal-Perumal and Malik Bin Dinar reached Dharmadam, near Thalassery, where his sister Sreedevi was living and converted her son, Mahabali, who became Muhammad Ali. Ali, belonging to the Arayan kulangara Nair Family of Kolathiri chieftains, married a princess from the Kolathiri family, and the Arakkal branch began. In this legend, Perumal left for Mecca from the ancient Poynadu comprising, Edakkad, Ancharakkandi and Mavilayi, governed by Randuthara Achans. Arakkal followed the Matriarchal system of inheritance, in which, succession was only to the offspring of the females, a system followed by Nairs, for, the male members were dying early, fighting wars in the army. 

Muliagee Palace in Male built in 1906

The Arakkal Kingdom had little more than the Kannur town and the Lakshadweep Islands (Agatti, Kavaratti, Androth, Kalpeni and Minicoy), originally leased from the Chirakkal king. Two brothers from the Arakkal family, Mammali and Kunjikoyamu were in the Travancore Navy, during 1707-1720 (see my post, Three Malabar Pirates in Travancore).

Male Sultan's Palace,1885

The Sultanate of Maldives was established in 1153, overthrowing the Buddhist King, Dhovem, and the first Sultan was, Koimala. The embarking fleet of Kunhi Amsa from Lakshadweep and Kannur carried on board, in 1763, Sepoys and on its pennon, the colours of Hyder Ali. They captured the Maldives and enacted cruelties upon fellow Muslims there. The Sultan 'izz Ud din's eyes were gouged out. Kunhi Amsa returned to Bednur to pay homage to Hyder and present the Sultan before him. Hyder Ali was outraged to see the Sultan blind. Hyder ordered the insane Admiral Kunhi Amsa out of the Command of his fleet and begged forgiveness from the Sultan. The deeply afflicted Hyder arranged to escort the Sultan to the Maldives and sought solace by withdrawing from his palaces and living in simplicity.

Child

The Sultan, son of Huraa Mohammed Famukdeyri and Amina Dio, daughter of Mohammed Kateeb of Muli,  succeeded Amina of Maldives and established the Huraa dynasty.

Kunhi Amsa had also captured 'izz Ud din's predecessor, Sultan Muhammad ImaduddinIII(1750-1757)and held him captive in Kavaratty where he died in captivity. He was the second son of Sultan Muhammed Imaduddin II and Amina Dio of Fenfushi. His father, who was the Prime Minister to Sultan Ibrahim Mudzhiruddin, overthrew the Sultan, establishing the Dhuyamgili dynasty. Imaduddin III was captured by Kunhi Amsa in 1752, transported to Kavaratty and occupied Male until he died in captivity in 1757. The occupation was ended by Muleegey Dom Hussain Maniku, a direct descendant of the penultimate Christian King, Joao. After the death of Imaduddin III, Maldives was ruled by Regents-first by his sister, Sanifa Rerdi Kabafalanu and then by his daughter, Amina of Maldives. The de facto Regent was Maniku, and Amina succeeded after her father's death.

The estranged Kunhi Amsa was taken back as Admiral by Hyder Ali in 1766 when he attacked Malabar, and his brother, Sheikh Ali, was appointed, the Chief of Port Authority. Kunhi Amsa, his brother and their men seized the Chirakkal palace whereupon the king and family fled to Travancore, and relatives of the king took refuge in the Tiruvangad Temple, near Thalassery, and the Zamorin committed suicide at Kozhikode.

Shaista Khan

Kunhi Amsa and Junumabe II who succeeded him were staunch allies of Hyder and Tipu Sultan but didn't get any special treatment after the Srirangapattana treaty of 1792. She signed the agreement in 1796, with the British, but continued possession of Kannur and Lakshadweep, with no claim to sovereignty. Up to 1864, Arakkal Raja was entitled to a seven-gun salute. With the outbreak of the war between France with the British, Lakshadweep remained unnoticed, but the British occupation became permanent there in 1875. On December 15,1908, all claims of Arakkal ended, agreeing to an annual pension of Rs 23,000, the claim to Minicoy as private property was also rejected.

________________________

1. In 1686, the East India Company, which had unsuccessfully tried to obtain a firman that would grant them regular trading privileges throughout the Mughal Empire, initiated the Anglo-Mughal War. This war ended in disaster for the English after Aurangzeb in 1689 dispatched a large fleet from Janjira that blockaded Bombay. The ships, commanded by Sidi Yaqub, were manned by Indians and Mappilas.

-Faruki, Zahiruddin (1972) [First published 1935]. Aurangzeb & His Times. Bombay: Idarah-i Adabiyāt-i Delli. p. 442.

Reference:

1. Malabar Manual/Logan
2. Kerala Muslim History/P A Syed Mohammed 
3. A Survey of Kerala History/A Sreedhara Menon
4. A History of Bengal/Charles Stewart

See my Post, THREE MALABAR PIRATES IN TRAVANCORE

  

A KANNUR BRIDE FOR THE SON OF TIPU SULTAN

TIPU AND THE ARAKKAL FAMILY TIED THE KNOT IN 1789

In his book,Splendors of Royal Mysore:The Untold Story of the Wodeyars,Vikram Sampath alludes to a mysterious part in the life of Tipu Sultan.I quote:
The confirmed resistance of the Nairs and the tacit under standing and support they received from the British became a nightmare for Tipu.This was the most decisive event during his reign,other than the attacks of the Nizam and Marathas or subjugating the Wodeyar family in Mysore.He entered into matrimonial alliance with the Arakkal family to consolidate his position,in Malabar.His son,Abdul Khaliq was married to Arakkal Bibi's daughter.He even sent further requests to the British at Tellicherry to refrain from helping the rebels in Malabar.

Tipu's sons handed over to Corwallis:Painting by Robert Home,1793-94

Sampath has not revealed the source of this information.A Sreedhara Menon,in his History of Kerala, records:Tipu visited Kannur and celebrated the nuptial ceremony of his son,Abdul Khaliq,with the daughter of Arakkal Beevi.After transferring some territory of Kolathiri, to Beevi,he went to Chavakkad by the sea shore,and from there, to Coimbatore.
 

Abdul Khaliq

The period of the marriage was,1789,according to East India Company records.It was when Tipu descended on Malabar through the Thamarassery ghat.Born in 1782,his son  Khaliq was just seven year old then.Three years later,in 1792,he was held a hostage,with his young brother,Muizz-ud-din,by the British,as part of the treaty of Srirangapattana.Khaliq was just 24,when he died on September 12,1806.

Arakkal Palace

On cross checking,I  found the marriage, has been mentioned in the Malabar Manual of William Logan,itself:Tipu visited Kannur and solemnized the preliminary ceremonies of a marriage between Bibi's daughter and Khaliq.
The decision of the marriage,was politically correct. A relationship with Arakkal , the only Muslim kingdom in Kerala,would have served his interests in the region,very well.Hyder Ali's wish to marry off Tipu to a daughter of the Nizam was once rejected by the Nizam,on the ground that Hyder was just a Punjabi commoner.Then,Hyder fixed a Navayat girl, Raushan Begum,daughter of Imam Saheb Bakshi of Arcot.Tipu himself chose,Ruqayya Banu,his child hood flame,daughter of General Lala Milan who died in the battle of Melkote.She was also the sister of Commander Burhanuddin.Tipu married both, the same evening,in 1774,when he was 24.
Then,Arakkal Raja was,Junumabe II.Her predecessor,Kunhi Amsa II had died in 1777.She ruled the kingdom during, 1777-1819.In the Arakkal family,even the female ruler was called Raja.There is historical evidence of Tipu meeting her,which will be discussed later.

Ghulam Ali handing over Sons

When Hyder Ali overthrew Krishna Raja Wodeyar II in 1759,Kunhi Amsa II  declared allegiance,and Hyder made him  the Naval Chief.In 1752,Kunhi Amsa had captured the Sultan Muhammad Imaduddin III(1750-1757) of Maldives,transported him to Kavaratti,part of Lakshadweep under Kunhi Amsa.He died in captivity.After becoming Hyder's Naval Chief,Kunhi Amsa captured the then Sultan of Maldives,Hasan 'izz Ud-din(1759-1766) and presented him to Hyder,after gouging out his eyes.Hyder,apologized to the Sultan for gouging out the eyes, gave him back the Sultanate and divested Kunhi Amsa of the Navy Commander ship.The relationship was recouped after the conquest of Bednur,in 1763,to crush the Nair rebellion.Ali Raja Muhammad Ali III had sent Mapila forces to help the Mughal King Aurangazeb, during the Child's war of 1686-1690.Sir Josiah Child was the Governor in London.Arakkal lineage was much more royal than that of Tipu.It traces its beginning to the Commander of Kolathiri,Arayankulangara Nair,embracing Islam,alongwith his wife,who was a princess from the Kolathiri family.
It is certain that the child marriage didn't mature or bear fruits.Before dying in 1806,at the young age of 24,Khaliq saw the empire falling and he went through hell.

Fatheh Hyder Ali

Tipu Sultan(1750-1799),had 16 sons in various women,and the last son died at child birth in 1797,two years before his death.His 11th son,Muhammad Nizam Ud din died the same year he was born,in,1791.History has the other 14:Fateh Hyder Ali(1771-1815),Abdul Khaliq(1782-1806),Muhi Ud din(1783-1811),Muizz-Ud din(1783-1816),Miraj Ud din(1784-),Muin Ud din(1784-),Muhammad Yasin(1784-1849),Muhammad Subhan(1785-1845),Muhammad Shukrullah(1785-1837),Sarwar Ud din(1790-1833),Muhammad Jamal Ud din(1795-1872),Munir Ud din(1795-1837),Sir Gulam Muhammed(1795-1872),Ghulam Ahmed(1796-1824).

Khaliq from the top painting

He had two sons in 1782,three in 1784,two in 1785 and three in 1795! That he begot three sons in 1795 is interesting since,the treaty of Srirangapattana was in 1792,and after that he was spending most of the time in his harem or zanana.Captain Thomas Marriot who was in charge of the harem,has recorded that there were 333 women of Tipu including servants and 268 women of Hyder and few eunuchs in the harem.The eunuchs were the gate keepers of the women's apartments.The women were from near and far-there were Turks,Georgians,Persians and there were women from Arcot,Thanjavur,Hyderabad and Delhi,apart from locals.There were two sisters of the Raja of Coorg,a niece of his Dewan Purnaiya and three relatives of the Wodeyars.George V Valentia,who visited the harem after the death of Tipu,has written in his Voyage and Travels,that each lady furnished her apartment according to the fashion of her country.Apart from Tipu,his confidential friend,Rajah Khan had free access to the women.If in Constantinople,the woman of the day was selected at the fall of a kerchief,here Tipu conveyed his intention to the Chief Minister,who in turn,known it to the woman.A diary was found after Tipu's death which  contained,in his own hand writing,names of the girls in the principal families with their age annexed.

Muizz-Ud-din

The harem was also a safe place for a woman,according to the book,Tarikh-i-Tipu,of Kirmani.The wife of Abdul Karim,Tipu's brother,was found in Hyder's harem.She was the daughter of the Nawab of Savanoor,ill treated by Karim.She was placed in the harem by Tipu.I don't know whether the claim of the author is right or wrong.Karim's son,Fatheh Hyder Ali,has also been referred to as Tipu's elder son in records.I have read the last Raja of Coorg,Chikkaveera Rajendra had made his father's women in the harem,his own concubines.Kirmani says,Tipu had sent back captured wives of Maratha sardars with gifts.But from Coorg and the Palegar family of Chitradurga,Tipu had forcibly taken princesses.

Muhi-Ud-din

Tipu,as I said before,married for the first time in 1774 when he was 24 and last probably in 1796 when he was 46.Among the first two wives,the one found by Haider was wife  in name only. She,Raushan, was called Padshah Begum.Taking her as Tipu's wife was resisted by the womenfolk in the palace,because,there were 'unpleasant rumors' about her family.His favorite,Ruqayya died in 1799,during the siege of Srirangapattana, out of shock.He married his last wife,Khadija Zaman Begum,daughter of Sayid Saheb,who was in the service of Tipu, in 1795.She died next year in child birth.There is a document called,Authentic Memoirs of Tipu Sultan,written by a British Army officer,which says,Tipu's wife was about 20, delicate and captivating.This has to be Khadija.So,Tipu had three official wives.The British took Tipu's sons,Abdul Khaliq and Muizz Ud din,in 1792,as hostages,at the end of the third Mysore war.Khaliq,the second son was, born in 1782,and Muizz,the fourth son,a year later,in 1783. Eyewitness accounts of the Siege say that Khaliq was 8 and Muizz 5.It is wrong.Khaliq, was 10 and Muizz,9. Khaliq was the favorite of the Governor General Charles Cornwallis and Lady Oakley,wife of the Governor of Madras,Charles Oakley.Maybe the frailty gave the child less age.It will not be wrong to assume Khaliq and Muizz  were born to Ruqayya Banu,because,Khaliq and Muizz were in the palace,and Ruqayya finally died in the palace. The women who didn't beget sons,were,discarded at the harem.The Kannur marriage gets some authenticity now,as Khaliq,in all probability,is the son of Ruqayya,though there is a theory that Khaliq was the son of a Hindu wife of Tipu.The eyewitness account of 1799 says the mother of the boys died of fright after the attack.It was Ruqayya.

Muhammad Subhan

The article 2 of the treaty of Srirangapattana ,1792 said:That the two sons of Tipu shall be detained as hostages till the stipulated sum to be paid at 3 installments,not exceeding 4 months each, shall be discharged-on payment there of,and the cession of one half the country and release of the prisoners-the said 2 sons shall be immediately dismissed.
It took not 4 months,but 18 months,for the release and return of the sons,Khaliq and Muizz Ud din.But all the sons along with family and relatives,about 300,were captured and confined after the Fourth Mysore war and the assassination of Tipu in 1799.So Khaliq became a hostage a second time,at age 17.He lived for 7 more years.

The world got the eye witness account of the 1792 hostage scene from A Narrative  of the Campaign in India Which Terminated the War with Tipoo Sultan,in 1792,by Major Alexander Dirom.He describes:The eldest boy,rather dark in color,with thick lips,a small flattish nose,and a long thoughtful countenance was less admired that the youngest,who is remarkably fair,with regular features,a small round face,large full eyes,and a more animated appearance".The only artist present at the scene was,Robert Home,who was the official war artist of the third Mysore war.

 

Muhammad Yasin

Khalik and Muizz,were delivered to Lord Cornwallis the Governor General,on February 26,1792,by the Vakil of Tipu,Ghulam Ali Khan."These children were this morning the sons of Sultan my master,their situation is now changed,and they must look up to your Lordship as their Father",Ghulam Ali said,as he led them to Cornwallis. Ghulam Ali(1758-1863)Senior Mysore Military Commander,had traveled to Constantinople to meet Sultan Abdul Hamid I during 1786-1790,from Malabar(Tadri port in records)and returned via Alexandria,Jeddah to Kozhikode.He accompanied the sons to Madras. The Madras Council voted 1663 pagodas for the accommodation of the sons  in the Fort St George of Madras.Cornwallis was appointed Governor of the Fort William,Bengal,in February,1786.In the painting by Home,he has included himself in the scene,standing in the left fore ground,holding a port folio.Home was the son of a Scot from Berwick.When the hostage sons left in the afternoon,Tipu was on the rampart,above the gateway.They were received with 21 gun salute near the tent,and met by,Sir John Kennaway and the Maratha and Nizam Vakils,or Commanders.They were led to the Head Quarters,each mounted on caparisoned elephants,seated in silver gowder.The procession was led by Camel harcarras and seven standard bearers carrying small green flags suspended from rockets,followed by 100 pikanen,with spears inlaid with silver, a guard of 200 Sepoys, and a part of horse.At HQ,they were received by a Battalion of Bengal Sepoys,commanded by Captain Thomas Welsh.Enroute to Madras,they visited Hyder's tomb at Kolar,and arrived at Madras on 29 June 1792.Before occupying a house at Fort St George,they stayed in tents.Col John Doyeton was their guardian.

The real Tipu:Portrait by John Zottam.1780.

Elaborate exchanges of gifts happened from next day.Cornwallis gave each a gold watch,following day,Khaliq and Muizz gave him,a Persian sword,jewels and shawls.Corwallis gave a Gun and a pair of pistols.Two palanquins,never unpacked,were found in the palace in 1799.
 

The Palanquin of Khaliq

In 1794 February,after fulfillment of the treaty,when Khaliq and Muizz prepared to return to Srirangapattana,Cornwallis and Lady Oakley presented to Khaliq,the 'most beautiful palanquin in India,ornamented with solid silver and gold moldings,each side supported by decorative snakes.Muizz used to recite Quranic and Persian verses to Cornwallis.Both were introduced to the Madras social scene with dance,music and dinners.
Now,coming back to the historical background of the marriage,Arakkal Junumabe II had sought protection from the East India Company in 1789, and stated positively that Tipu will be coming shortly to the coast with the whole force.She,it seems,was playing a deep game.Tipu's visit  primarily,was to appease the warring Kannur chieftains.Though the Mappilas of the coast were with the Beevi,the Mappila s of the South resisted Tipu's authority,and posed a threat to the Beevi.After Hyder's death in 1782,Beevi had signed an agreement with the Company,a year before the Mangaluru treaty of the Company,with Tipu.By 1789,she had been reinstated in her territory.Tipu's entry to Malabar in 1789,was his second,as all Rajas and Chieftains of North Malabar revolted and declared independence from Mysore.He devastated Kadathanad just before the marriage ceremony.One of the princes of Kolathiri, was killed by Tipu's soldiers during his escape and his dead body was dragged by elephants through Tipu's camp and subsequently hung upon a tree,along with 17 of his followers.Tipu,after the ceremony,handed over a portion of Chirakkal to the Beevi,and by the projected marriage,the trouble from the rebellious Mappila s in the South rapidly disappeared,and they stood on the side of Tipu's troops,later.He left Malabar,never to return.

Dirom's book

A year before,in 1788,Tipu had sent Mohammed Dervich Khan,Akbar Ali Khan and Mohmmed Osman Khan as Ambassadors to King Louis XVI of France.They informed the French government Tipu desired one of his sons received education in Paris.The French approved of the idea,if,before leaving for Paris,or in the course of his journey,the prince could learn to read and write,French,learn a little Calculus and Arithmetic. Louis XVI,who had commissioned a substantial diplomatic gift of Sevres porcelain for Tipu,persuaded one of the Ambassadors to sit for his portrait to Mme Yigee Le Brun.It seems,Tipu had decided to sent Khaliq to Paris.

Muhammad Shukrullah

When the British learned of Tipu's order in 1799,to the Dutch agents in Paris,to procure arms and ammunition,the British started the Fourth Mysore war,killing Tipu.This time,it was Major General David Baird,who received the surrender of Tipu's sons.After the death of Tipu,Baird asked Major Alexander Allan to enter the Fort carrying the flag of truce.He recognized one of the hostage sons.The General was severely affected by the sight of the princes.He received them with regard,assuring no violence.He gave them in charge to Lt Col Patrick Agnew and Captain Marriot.They conducted the princes to the Head Quarters camp,escorted by the 8th  Company of the 33rd Regiment.As they passed,the troops were ordered to pay compliment of presented arms.On June 19,they were transferred to Vellore Fort and eventually on 20 August,1806,to Kolkata,after the Mutiny in the Vellore Fort in the early hours of 10 July,the day of Tipu's daughter's wedding.It was the first war of Independence,51 years before,1857.If in 1857,Bahadur Shah Zafar was declared King,the Vellore mutineers declared Shehzada Fatheh Hyder Ali,elder son of Tipu,as King(he is also referred as Tipu's brother Abdul Karim's son).He had escaped the captivity at Vellore Fort and joined the Maratha Forces,in 1801.The British feared the presence of Tipu's descendants in South India.A descendant of Tipu,Noor Inayat Khan,became an Allied spy during Second World war.Her father Hazrat Inayat Khan,was a descendant of the uncle of Tipu Sultan.The 14th and last surviving son of Tipu,Sir Gulam Muhammad Khan,was recognized by the British as the official Head of the family,and was knighted in 1870.He died of dengue fever in 1872.His family branch and estate still survives.
The Arakkal kingdom came to an end in 1790,the year in which St Angelo Fort in Kannur was stormed by General Robert Abercromby.The Dutch had sold the Fort to Arakkal for One lakh,in 1772,along with the palace.

Reference:
1.History of Tipu Sultan/Mohibul Hassan
2. History of Kerala/A Sreedhara Menon
3.Splendors of Royal Mysore/Vikram Sampath
4.A Narrative of the Campaign in India/Major Alexander Dirom
5.Tarikh-i-Tipu/Hussein Ali Khan Kirmani
6.Voyage and Travels/George Valentia
7.Ali Raja of Cannanore/K K N Kurup
8.Tipu Sultan's Search for Legitimacy/Kate Brittlebank
9.Indian Renaissance:British Romantic Art and the Prospect of India/Hermione De Almeida
10.Kingdom of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan/Mahmood Khan Mahmood.Trans:Anwar Haroon
11.The Chirakkal Dynasty:Readings through History/M Sini
Note:The charcoal sketches of the sons are by James Hickey

See my Post,MUHAMMAD AYAZ KHAN(NAMBIAR)