Munnu was a Mughal commander who attacked Venad during the reign of Lakshita Rani (1677 - 1684). He may have attacked the kingdom during Malayalam Era 855 (AD 1680) [1]

Attack of Venad

He invaded Venad through the southern borders and held Thiruvananthapuram. Lakshita Rani went to the Nedumangad palace for safety. Parotta from northern Kottayam came to her rescue during this period. Munnu was killed by Parotta in the battle at Thiruvattar. At the Time Parotta attacked Munnu, the majority of his cavalry was dispersed from Varkala to Thovala to collect taxes. Munnu was attacked by a swarm of bees and he fell down from his mount during the battle. He was slain with arrows and stones thrown using slingshots. Three hundred horses and many swords and spears were captured from the defeated army by Parotta. Lakshita Rani adpted him to the Venad household as Iraniyal prince and gave official recognition of the help rendered. Following this, Parotta became the primary advisor of the Rani.

Historian P. Sankunni Menon has recorded that the custodians of the temple and the eight Nair families of Travancore called ''Ettuveettil Pillas'' had locked the Padmanabhaswamy Temple and had run away fearing caste pollution. For a period of time, the region from Thovala to Edavaya was under the control of the Mughal commander. Even though he didn't attempt large scale conversions, this attack has had a very significant influence on the culture of the region from Kollam to Kalkulam.[1][2]

Defeat of Munnu

Parotta raised a force armed with bows and arrows, slings, swords and lances. He personally led the army against the Mughal forces and attacked them unexpectedly at Manacaud. As the Mughals didn't have a sufficient force, all their horse men having been scattered about between Varkala and Thovalai collecting the revenue, they were unable to make a stand and was obliged to retreat precipitately to Thovalai. Parotta pursued him and the Mughal commander was reinforced by a party of horsemen from Thovalai and the other southern regions. He made a stand near the side of a hill at Thiruvattar, and a severe battle ensued. While the jungles, and rocks with which the locality was covered, presented insuperable obstacles to the Mughul commander's cavalry and threw it into confusion. Archers and slingers continued their attack on the Mughals. While the conflict was going on, many of the horsemen were killed and, a nest of wasps, on one of the trees under which the commander was fighting on horseback, was disturbed by the throwing of a stone from one of the slings and the insects came down in swarms, and stung the Mughal commander on his face. The commander fell down. The fallen chief was soon killed by the archers and his army was thus defeated. Parotta succeeded in securing around three hundred horses and about a hundred prisoners with many swords, lances, and other weapons from the defeated army. [1]

Aftermath

Venad regained the lands occupied by the Mughal chieftain. Parotta organised a battalion of cavalry with the captured horses and brought all the rebellious feudatories under his control. He then acted as the queen's principal counsellor and commander of the troops of Venad. Lakshita Rani elevated him to the position of heir apparent. Subsequently, misunderstandings arose between her and the heir apparent and it is believed that he was assassinated.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Menon, A.Sreedhara. "Kerala History and it's Makers, pg 75".
  2. ↑ Yesudas, R. N. The History of the London Missionary Society in Travancore, 1806-1908. p. 173.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.