Making history palpable

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, DEC. 20. COINS, IT is said, makes history palpable and a recently brought-out illustrated monograph titled, "Coins of the Venad Cheras", by Ms. Beena Sarasan, numismatist, attempts to do exactly that with early Travancore history.

Literature on the Venad coins has been scanty while the great dynasties of the Cholas, Pandyas and the Sangam Cheras had received the attention of numismatists, says Ms. Sarasan, who is also an Income Tax official. Venad was alluded to only in connection with other dynasties and most of the Venad coins had in fact been classified as Pandya coins.

Venad, which included Thiruvananthapuram, Ambasamudram, Eraniel, Kalakkad, Tovala, Kottar and Kanyakumari, was the southernmost "nadu" of the Kulasekhara empire during the period between 800 AD and 1102 AD. It was ruled by hereditary governors right from the ninth century AD and later grew and transformed into modern Travancore.

Venad could have been introduced to a coin-based economy through the legacy of the Cholas, the monograph says. However, a uniform coinage evolved only after the unification of Venad under the banner of Sree Padmanabhaswamy, following the dedication of the kingdom to the family deity in 1750 AD.

The earliest silver coins of Venad that have been discovered are the silver coins of Vira Kerala Varma, according to Ms. Sarasan. A hoard of 31 silver coins bearing the name of Vira Kerala was discovered in Tirunelveli district. Many of the Vira Kerala coins have punctures indicating that they were tested to ascertain the purity and quality of the metal used.

The monograph throws light on a species of coins called Thira cash, minted to "ameliorate the hardship of people who do not have small change for their petty purchases and transaction in marketplaces", as a proclamation issued during the rule of Dharmaraja in 1786 says.

It was customary for a Thira cash with a new mudra to be introduced at an interval of three years. As per the proclamation, the Thira cash was to be minted at Padmanabhapuram, the old capital of Travancore itself and then despatched to the northern regions of Venad.

Copper, tin and "Thiravam", which Ms. Sarasan points out is bronze, were to be used for minting these coins. These metals were purchased and brought to Purakkad, near Alappuzha, and from there to Colachal by boat for onward transportation to Padmanabhapuram. The minted cash was to be transported back to Purakkad for distribution and sale in market places. The proceeds were to be remitted to the "pepper treasury" at Mavelikkara.

The monograph also propounds the theory that the vast majority of the Parasu (battle-axe) coins of Venad actually represent Parasurama, the legendary founder of Kerala. The foreword to the 90-page illustrated monograph has been written by the historian, Prof. A. Sreedhara Menon.

By M. Harish Govind

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Section  : Southern States
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