Thiruvananthapuram houses World's only palm-leaf manuscript museum

Located in the Kerala capital of Thiruvananthapuram, the recently opened Palm Leaf Manuscript Museum is the world’s first of its kind and deals exclusively with both obscure and celebrated tales of the erstwhile Travancore kingdom that comes lauded as Asia's first to defeat any European power on Indian Soil. 

The museum houses 187 manuscripts and other artefacts related to the erstwhile kingdom dating back to a period of 650 years till the end of the19th century. It also contains documents from the regions of Kochi and Malabar.

Accounts of the famous Battle of Colachel in 1741 AD between Travancore ruler Marthanda Verma (1729-58) and the Dutch East India Company are among the manuscripts of the museum. The battle resulted in the defeat of the European power by the valiant Travancore ruler at Colachel, 20 km northwest of Kanyakumari in present day Tamil Nadu 

This battle put an end to the expansionist designs of the Dutch in India and resulted in Travancore becoming Asia's first state to defeat a European power.

The museum houses eight galleries ready to be explored. These galleries represent different segments of Travancore history: ‘History of Writing’, ‘Land and people’, ‘Administration’, ‘War and peace’, ‘Education and Health’, ‘Economy’, ‘Art and culture’, and ‘Mathilakam Records’. 

These galleries also feature films and QR code technologies meant for securing information.

The museum is located in a three-century-old building that functions as the Central Archives under the state government. 

Palm Leaf Manuscript Museum is an invaluable introduction to the erstwhile Travancore kingdom. If you're interested in the history of the kingdom, this museum should be one of your stops in Kerala. 

Itmad- ud- Daulah’s tomb: Magnificent Mughal edifice

Built by Nur Jahan, wife of fourth Mughal emperor Jahangir, for her father, Itmad-ud- Daulah’s tomb is one of the earliest buildings in which pietra dura, a method of decorating the walls with floral designs studded with semi-precious stones, was used. Pietra dura is also used on a large scale in the Taj Mahal.

Also known as mini Taj, the structure is the first Mughal building built entirely from marble. Built between 1622 and 1628 it is also the first tomb to be built on the banks of the Yamuna.

Nur Jahan’s father Mirza Ghiyas Beg was given the title of Itmad- ud- Daulah (pillar of the state). He was the wazir (Prime minister) of the Mughal empire under Jehangir. 

Bhatti

Bhatti, the author of Ravanavadha, was the court poet of Dharasena IV (AD 645-650), the Maitraka ruler of Valabhi. Ravanavadha, (the Death of Rāvaṇa), more popularly known as Bhattikavya (Bhatti’s Poems), is a poem on the story of Rama.    

Bhattikavya is sometimes included in the list of mahakavya.

Namalinganusasana or Amarakosha by Amarasimha

Also called Trikanda, Amarakosha is a Sanskrit lexicon compiled in ancient India by Amarasimha who was one of the famous Navaratnas, or Nine Gems who adorned the court of the Gupta ruler Vikramaditya Chandragupta II (c. 376-415). 

Most of Amarakosha’s works have been lost to us. 

 

Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan: Poet Warrior

Illuminated mausoleum of Rahim in Delhi / Image Credit: Parveen Sharma 

Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, popularly known as Rahim, was a medieval Hindi poet, scholar of Sanskrit and Persian and powerful minister and military commander during Mughal emperor Akbar’s reign. 

According to tradition he was one of Akbar’s ‘Navratnas (“Nine Jewels”). The Navratnas were nine individuals of extraordinary ability gracing the court of Akbar. 

                                                                        Rahim's Tomb 

Rahim was born in 1556 to Bairam Khan, the preceptor to Mughal emperor Akbar. The father-son duo were both titled Khan-i-Khanan. Rahim was four years old when his father was killed in 1561 AD by an Afghan at Patan on his way to Mecca. 

On the instruction of Akbar, Baburnamah was translated into Persian in 1589 by Rahim.

Rahim died in 1627. He lies buried in the mausoleum built by him for his wife Mah Banu in 1598. The tomb is situated in Nizamuddin East on the Mathura Road in Delhi. 

Malik Maqbul Khan-i-Jahan Tilangani

                                                    Malik Maqbool tomb Delhi/ Image source

Jahan Khan or Malik Maqbul whose mausoleum in the Nizamuddin Basti in Delhi is the earliest octagonal tomb in India was the Wazir (Prime Minister) of the Delhi Sultanate under Firuz Shah Tughluq ((r. 1351–1388), the third ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty.  

Also known as Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul Tilangani, Malik Maqbul was originally a Brahmin from Telangana in the service of the Kakatiya kingdom in eastern Deccan. He converted to Islam when the kingdom under Prataprudra was annexed to the Delhi Sultanate in 1323 during the reign of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq who had sent his son Ulugh Khan (later Muhammad bin Tughlaq) to bring the Hindu kingdom under the Muslim rule. Malik Maqbul was known as Gannama Nayaka or Yugandhar before his conversion.        

Malik Maqbul was given the title of Khan-i-Jahan by Firuz Shah Tughluq who had succeeded Muhammad bin Tughlaq in 1351 AD.  Firuz Shah Tughluq appointed Malik Maqbul his Wazir. In this role Malik Maqbul managed the affairs of the state efficiently. 

After the death of Maqbul in 1370, his son, Juna Shah, was made the prime minister by Firoz. He was, however, killed by Muhammad Khan, the third son of Firoz Tughlaq, when Juna Shah tried to wrest the control of the state and become the ruler himself.  

Malik Maqbul lies buried in mausoleum in Nizamuddin West in Delhi. The mausoleum, built by his son Juna Shah, is considered the first octagonal tomb in India. Tomb of Sufi saint Shah Rukn-i Alam in Multan is the only other octagonal mausoleum in the Indian subcontinent that pre-dates this tomb. 

Data Ganj Bakhsh Khwaja Ali Hujjwiri

Tomb of Hazrat Data Ganj Baksh / Image source

Also known as Data Ganj Baksh (Distributor of Unlimited Power), Khwaja Ali Hujjwiri lived in 11th century AD and is considered to be the earliest Sufi Saint of repute who made India his home. 

Sufism is a form of Islamic mysticism. 

Born in Ghazni in Afghanistan, he died in Lahore and his tomb, known popularly as Data Darbar, is an important place of pilgrimage in the city.

Also called Shaykh al-Hujwiri, Khwaja Ali Hujjwiri was a scholar and is known for compiling Kashf-ul-Mahjoob or Kashf al-Mahjub (Revelation of Mystery), a Persian treatise on Sufism, which was translated into English by British Orientalist and scholar Reynold Alleyne Nicholson. The work gives the biographies of Sufis from Prophet Muhammad's days to his own time. 

His shrine in Lahore was visited by famous Chisti saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti who paid his homage to him by hailing him as 'Ganj Baksh' , the perfect pir.